Flight attendant reported falling down an open maintenance hatch while performing duties.

Narrative:

I show up for duty to fly on aircraft in ZZZZ. We had mechanical issue and with all the passengers on board was performing my flight attendant (flight attendant) duties at C1 position. After a few hours on the ground; announcement was made that the passengers will disembark the aircraft. Fas were directed to perform duties. I had to collect menu cards and customer survey forms and carry them on a tray. After the collection I returned to front galley and due to heavy people present waited few minutes on the right side in front galley. Then proceeded with the tray (with the forms) and followed the lead flight attendant towards L1 storage closet to store the forms. Not being aware that the maintenance bay hole was open; within couple steps I suddenly found myself falling down into the hole still holding the tray full of forms. I was not able to move for a few minutes and had a lot of sharp pain on the right side of my back and right arm. With help from maintenance I was lifted and transferred to flight deck. I was able to move but was in pain. After returning to hotel; with the help of coworkers I went to [the hospital] in ZZZZ.it is very urgent issue. Any maintenance floor opening must be blocked at all times during opening for maintenance work. This accident happened because that open hole was not secure or had any signs of danger or proceed with caution sign. When the floor bay area is open flight attendant activity should be suspended or limited.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Flight Attendant reported falling down an open maintenance hatch while performing duties.

Narrative: I show up for duty to fly on aircraft in ZZZZ. We had mechanical issue and with all the passengers on board was performing my FA (Flight Attendant) duties at C1 position. After a few hours on the ground; announcement was made that the passengers will disembark the aircraft. FAs were directed to perform duties. I had to collect menu cards and customer survey forms and carry them on a tray. After the collection I returned to front galley and due to heavy people present waited few minutes on the right side in front galley. Then proceeded with the tray (with the forms) and followed the Lead FA towards L1 storage closet to store the forms. Not being aware that the maintenance bay hole was open; within couple steps I suddenly found myself falling down into the hole still holding the tray full of forms. I was not able to move for a few minutes and had a lot of sharp pain on the right side of my back and right arm. With help from Maintenance I was lifted and transferred to flight deck. I was able to move but was in pain. After returning to hotel; with the help of coworkers I went to [the hospital] in ZZZZ.It is very urgent issue. Any maintenance floor opening must be blocked at all times during opening for maintenance work. This accident happened because that open hole was not secure or had any signs of danger or proceed with caution sign. When the floor bay area is open FA activity should be suspended or limited.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1651075
Time
Date	201905
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Widebody Transport
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Interior Door
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness