An ERJ170's aft slide armed/disarmed indicator did not accurately indicate the girt bar's actual position. When disarmed it indicated armed. Maintenance MEL'ed girt bar position indicator.
Synopsis
An ERJ170's aft slide armed/disarmed indicator did not accurately indicate the girt bar's actual position. When disarmed it indicated armed. Maintenance MEL'ed girt bar position indicator.
Narrative
Upon arming our doors for departure the Aft Flight Attendant called me back to inspect door R2. I went back there and the girt bar indicator was clear even though the ARMED or DISARMED indicator said it was ARMED I informed the Captain of the situation. We called Maintenance out to the aircraft; they visually inspected the slide and determined it was moving up and down even though the girt bar indicator wasn't indicating it was armed. They deferred the girt bar indicator. This event occurred because our fleet is aging and we are cutting corners and deferring items THAT should NOT be deferable. I do not even know why anything on the door can be deferred but according to our Maintenance Department the proper procedure was followed. It was inspected once prior to departure and that plane did at least 6 legs that day. Whether or not the slide was actually armed in the first place is any one's guess. I am very disappointed to see an item this crucial to the safety of the crew and passengers is a definable item.
Second reporter narrative
After completing boarding; Flight Attendant A announced via PA; 'Prepare doors for departure'; which I did. However; I noticed that door R-2 was not ARMED properly. I lowered the arming level and vent flap level and had following indicators: * Escape slide indication - red ARMED * Latch and lock indication: GREEN * Girt bar was CLEAR (not RED). Immediately; I tried to disarm the door and arm it again. Girt bar was still showing a clear indication. The Mechanics said this problem is deferrable and we can fly with a wrong clear indication of girt bar. From our initial training we have been told that this problem is huge and; of course; safety related. Flight Attendant A and I did not feel comfortable flying with that problem. However; the Captain is the one who makes the decision along with the maintenance team. So; the Captain said it's fine to fly with a door like that and we only needed the mechanic's visual inspection. We were both surprised because it's impossible to be sure that the slide is attached. The situation can change from the mechanic's inspection to the next time the door is armed/disarmed. If the slide would not be attached; we would have problems evacuating passengers from airplane in case of emergency. Also; there was a VERY high chance to blow the slide with no girt bar indication. We had 4 flights that day and the whole team was not happy or comfortable to continue working on this airplane. I was responding to Flight Attendant A every time we closed the door 'Aft doors look closed and cross checked' because I was not sure if R-2 door properly armed. Personally; I think we should not have used that plane with a safety-related problem and be stressed over that issue. Our company has had several incidents with slides and we felt that it could of happened to us that day.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.