Narrative:

Was working position B; and was preflighting my emergency equipment. The seal on the first aid kit (fak) was completely missing. I told the captain. Shortly after that; [another] flight attendant informed me that her automated external defibrillator (aed) was inoperative with a red X and was beeping. She informed the captain; who then called maintenance. The captain told us maintenance said the flight can go one leg with the aed deferred. The captain; [the other] flight attendant; and myself believed that this was a no go item. The captain called his chief pilot and I called the inflight supervisor on call. She basically said it was up to maintenance and the captain; and said that in the event we should still use the aed cause it could possibly have a shock left in it. I replied with; 'so I should say sorry I might or might not be able to save your life?' I was trying to make a point; not that I would ever say that to a person. She responded with telling me we never say that; which I told her I know; then she proceeded to tell me the procedures of what to do in the event of a heart issue on board. I told her I am very much aware of the procedures; I just wanted verification that we were able to fly with the aed inoperative. She said she would follow up with the flight; and I said thank you. I went back to the captain and the chief pilot had basically said the same thing to him; and that the call was his to make. After a deliberation and a discussion on back up emergency procedures in case something happens; we boarded and departed.this was a 3 hour flight with a full load of passengers. This situation put all of us; especially [the other] flight attendant and myself; in a very precarious situation. In training it is embedded in our brains about emergency equipment and was always told aed's were a no go item. You cannot predict when you will have a medical emergency; so to say it's okay for one leg is not acceptable and is very contradicting. The aed being inoperative very well could have occurred overnight at the station; but as far as the missing seal on the fak; that is unacceptable as well. The seal was not broken; and still there; it was completely missing.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMB-175 flight attendants discovered unserviceable emergency equipment during preflight (Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and Emergency Medical Kit (EMK)) and were informed that the MEL allowed one flight before repairs were required.

Narrative: Was working position B; and was preflighting my emergency equipment. The seal on the First Aid Kit (FAK) was completely missing. I told the Captain. Shortly after that; [another] flight attendant informed me that her Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was inoperative with a red X and was beeping. She informed the Captain; who then called Maintenance. The Captain told us Maintenance said the flight can go one leg with the AED deferred. The Captain; [the other] flight attendant; and myself believed that this was a no go item. The Captain called his Chief Pilot and I called the inflight supervisor on call. She basically said it was up to Maintenance and the Captain; and said that in the event we should still use the AED cause it could possibly have a shock left in it. I replied with; 'So I should say sorry I might or might not be able to save your life?' I was trying to make a point; not that I would ever say that to a person. She responded with telling me we never say that; which I told her I know; then she proceeded to tell me the procedures of what to do in the event of a heart issue on board. I told her I am very much aware of the procedures; I just wanted verification that we were able to fly with the AED inoperative. She said she would follow up with the flight; and I said thank you. I went back to the Captain and the Chief Pilot had basically said the same thing to him; and that the call was his to make. After a deliberation and a discussion on back up emergency procedures in case something happens; we boarded and departed.This was a 3 hour flight with a full load of passengers. This situation put all of us; especially [the other] flight attendant and myself; in a very precarious situation. In training it is embedded in our brains about emergency equipment and was always told AED's were a no go item. You cannot predict when you will have a medical emergency; so to say it's okay for one leg is not acceptable and is very contradicting. The AED being inoperative very well could have occurred overnight at the station; but as far as the missing seal on the FAK; that is unacceptable as well. The seal was not broken; and still there; it was completely missing.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.