Two pilots report that a flight attendant sustained hot water burns when she lifted the handle on th...

Narrative:

While in level cruise flight in smooth air at FL410; the captain received a call from the 'a' flight attendant that there was an incident in the cabin involving the 'B' flight attendant. Apparently; she had been burned by hot water during the brewing process with the aft #2 coffee maker. The captain immediately asked if she was alright and if she needed any medical assistance. He was told she was okay except for some burns. We all agreed that we could safely continue on our way to [our destination] and that she could continue her duties. Once on the ground; the captain spoke to the injured flight attendant in the aft galley and she assured him that she was okay and willing to continue with her trip. She commented that she had lifted the handle on the coffee maker while it was brewing. In conversation with the captain; we drew the conclusion that this action was an operational error and we believed it was the cause of the incident. We then departed and discussed the incident further. The captain felt in the interest of safety it would be best to have the station maintenance change the coffee maker. Because of the situation; and the assumption that incident was operator error; no logbook entry was made before departing. After further conversation with the captain; we realized that an error in judgment was made and a report should be filed. Follow company guidance and policy.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Two pilots report that a Flight Attendant sustained hot water burns when she lifted the handle on the aft #2 coffee maker during the brewing process on their B737-700 aircraft.

Narrative: While in level cruise flight in smooth air at FL410; the Captain received a call from the 'A' Flight Attendant that there was an incident in the cabin involving the 'B' Flight Attendant. Apparently; she had been burned by hot water during the brewing process with the aft #2 coffee maker. The Captain immediately asked if she was alright and if she needed any medical assistance. He was told she was okay except for some burns. We all agreed that we could safely continue on our way to [our destination] and that she could continue her duties. Once on the ground; the Captain spoke to the injured Flight Attendant in the Aft Galley and she assured him that she was okay and willing to continue with her trip. She commented that she had lifted the handle on the coffee maker while it was brewing. In conversation with the Captain; we drew the conclusion that this action was an operational error and we believed it was the cause of the incident. We then departed and discussed the incident further. The Captain felt in the interest of safety it would be best to have the Station Maintenance change the coffee maker. Because of the situation; and the assumption that incident was operator error; no logbook entry was made before departing. After further conversation with the Captain; we realized that an error in judgment was made and a report should be filed. Follow company guidance and policy.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1114501
Time
Date	201309
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Galley Furnishing
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 166
Person 2
Function	Captain
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 214 Flight Crew Type 10000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Two pilots report that a flight attendant sustained hot water burns when she lifted the handle on the aft #2 coffee maker during the brewing process on their B737-700 aircraft.