B737 flight crew reported a close call that could have resulted in an inadvertent escape slide deployment when a ground agent trainee tried to open the aircraft door from the jet bridge.
Synopsis
B737 flight crew reported a close call that could have resulted in an inadvertent escape slide deployment when a ground agent trainee tried to open the aircraft door from the jet bridge.
Narrative
Lack of communication started with gate agent not telling me about jumpseaters. We had two; one in the back and one up front. I'm curious on when the flight deck jumpseater was cleared for the jumpseat. We were closed up checklist complete and I asked the ground crew if they were ready for brake release. They replied that they were. Released the brake and had FO call for push. Then nag seemed to happen at once. I noticed the jet bridge in my peripheral and realized it was still touching the aircraft. My flight attendants called and said someone tried opening the door. They caught the handle in motion and prevented it from opening before slide deployed. But that was way too close. I noticed there was a pilot on the jet bridge with a boarding pass and his crew badge. I called the ground crew and told them; I was resetting the brake and called my FAs to tell them they could let the other pilot on. I think it was one of the station managers who came down and we debriefed the incident. He had a trainee apparently who tried to open the door. Talked about the incident and he said he would give more training. That's a plus but they really need to get on comms with the crew so that we know their intentions and so we can make informed decisions rather than them trying to make them for us. I don't mind getting a fellow employee a ride home but the manner in which this went down was a potential safety hazard.
Second reporter narrative
We had closed the door awaiting pushback. The ramp had confirmed they were ready. We then realized that the jet bridge was still pulled up to the aircraft. We were coordinating with ramp as to why the jet bridge had not been pulled back when a gate agent trainee; had come down to the aircraft and tried to open the boarding door to board a jump seater who was already on the paperwork. They had not coordinated to open the door for disarming. The flight attendant grabbed the door in order to stop the slide from deploying. No one had informed the ramp; us; or the flight attendants that the door was going to be opened to board the jump seater. The door was disarmed before being opened. The rest of the flight continued without issue.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.