Narrative:

Descending into phl, about 10 mins out from the airfield, the flight crew received a call on the interphone from the cabin. A male voice came on, a passenger, to tell us that our female flight attendant was locked into the lavatory and she could not get out. I sent the first officer back to investigate. He was gone for a couple of mins. He came back to the flight deck to tell me that the door was really stuck. I sent him back again with a jack knife to try to work the lock. A few mins later the first officer called me on the interphone and said he could not get the door open. He said the flight attendant was ok, and I then asked him to come back to the cockpit. I then made the in-range call to phl operations. I told them we were in range and we had a problem with the lav door, and that the flight attendant was locked in the lav. I asked them to call our flight control and maintenance to coordinate maintenance van meeting the aircraft. He laughed, said he understood and would take care of it. We monitored the frequency, no other xmissions were made. The first officer, on his way back to the flight deck, secured the aircraft for landing making sure items were stowed, seat belts were on, tray tables were stowed. After seating himself the first officer reported cabin was secure for landing and told me he checked each passenger seat belt. We ran through the checklist for landing and briefed each other on trying to make the landing and rollout as smooth as possible. I made a passenger announcement telling the cabin we would be landing shortly and to stow personal items and make sure the seat belt was securely fastened about them. After a normal landing, we taxied to parking where a maintenance van was waiting. The first officer deplaned the passenger making sure the propeller tie was on before they deplaned. After the passenger had deplaned, 2 maintenance people came on board to free the flight attendant from the lav. They were unsuccessful with the door latch and resorted to taking the door off the hinges to get her out. After a brief discussion about lav door MEL's I asked the flight attendant if she was ok to which she said yes. I asked the first officer to write up the lav door in the maintenance log while I went inside to call flight control. Inside operations I called flight control and said I wanted to make sure everyone was 'in the loop' on this flight with the broken lav door. I asked to talk to maintenance and flight control put me through. I talked to maintenance control briefly, then turned the phone over to the maintenance people who worked on the door to finish the documentation. I proceeded back out to the aircraft to set up for the next flight which was now pretty late. These were the events as they unfolded. The company self disclosed to the FAA before they asked me or anyone from the crew for a report. I believe we all did a good job to bring this flight to a safe conclusion. I want to commend the flight attendant, who was brand new to the company, for keeping a cool head, getting the passenger attention and explaining how to use the interphone to call us in the flight deck while talking through the door. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: captain states that the door had been written up the day before, and signed off as repaired, but obviously it was not repaired. The D328 (model 10 aircraft), accordion design lavatory door has 2 panels which bend inward when the door is opened. Reporter described 2 hooks on the door itself, which overlap and connect onto a pin on the door frame. The hooks on the door were apparently jammed. The flight crew didn't think of holding as an option since a frontal system had just passed, there was considerable turbulence, and they were in phl airspace. In monday morning quarterbacking, the reporter now thinks that in an emergency, he would have used physical force against the door. (The use of the crash axe may have caused harm to the flight attendant.) the company requested an incident report which was probably forwarded to the poi.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A FLT ATTENDANT BECAME TRAPPED IN THE LAVATORY DURING FLT. FLC WAS NOT ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR. ACFT LANDED WITH THE FLT ATTENDANT IN THE LAVATORY.

Narrative: DSNDING INTO PHL, ABOUT 10 MINS OUT FROM THE AIRFIELD, THE FLC RECEIVED A CALL ON THE INTERPHONE FROM THE CABIN. A MALE VOICE CAME ON, A PAX, TO TELL US THAT OUR FEMALE FLT ATTENDANT WAS LOCKED INTO THE LAVATORY AND SHE COULD NOT GET OUT. I SENT THE FO BACK TO INVESTIGATE. HE WAS GONE FOR A COUPLE OF MINS. HE CAME BACK TO THE FLT DECK TO TELL ME THAT THE DOOR WAS REALLY STUCK. I SENT HIM BACK AGAIN WITH A JACK KNIFE TO TRY TO WORK THE LOCK. A FEW MINS LATER THE FO CALLED ME ON THE INTERPHONE AND SAID HE COULD NOT GET THE DOOR OPEN. HE SAID THE FLT ATTENDANT WAS OK, AND I THEN ASKED HIM TO COME BACK TO THE COCKPIT. I THEN MADE THE IN-RANGE CALL TO PHL OPS. I TOLD THEM WE WERE IN RANGE AND WE HAD A PROB WITH THE LAV DOOR, AND THAT THE FLT ATTENDANT WAS LOCKED IN THE LAV. I ASKED THEM TO CALL OUR FLT CTL AND MAINT TO COORDINATE MAINT VAN MEETING THE ACFT. HE LAUGHED, SAID HE UNDERSTOOD AND WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT. WE MONITORED THE FREQ, NO OTHER XMISSIONS WERE MADE. THE FO, ON HIS WAY BACK TO THE FLT DECK, SECURED THE ACFT FOR LNDG MAKING SURE ITEMS WERE STOWED, SEAT BELTS WERE ON, TRAY TABLES WERE STOWED. AFTER SEATING HIMSELF THE FO RPTED CABIN WAS SECURE FOR LNDG AND TOLD ME HE CHKED EACH PAX SEAT BELT. WE RAN THROUGH THE CHKLIST FOR LNDG AND BRIEFED EACH OTHER ON TRYING TO MAKE THE LNDG AND ROLLOUT AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE. I MADE A PAX ANNOUNCEMENT TELLING THE CABIN WE WOULD BE LNDG SHORTLY AND TO STOW PERSONAL ITEMS AND MAKE SURE THE SEAT BELT WAS SECURELY FASTENED ABOUT THEM. AFTER A NORMAL LNDG, WE TAXIED TO PARKING WHERE A MAINT VAN WAS WAITING. THE FO DEPLANED THE PAX MAKING SURE THE PROP TIE WAS ON BEFORE THEY DEPLANED. AFTER THE PAX HAD DEPLANED, 2 MAINT PEOPLE CAME ON BOARD TO FREE THE FLT ATTENDANT FROM THE LAV. THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL WITH THE DOOR LATCH AND RESORTED TO TAKING THE DOOR OFF THE HINGES TO GET HER OUT. AFTER A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT LAV DOOR MEL'S I ASKED THE FLT ATTENDANT IF SHE WAS OK TO WHICH SHE SAID YES. I ASKED THE FO TO WRITE UP THE LAV DOOR IN THE MAINT LOG WHILE I WENT INSIDE TO CALL FLT CTL. INSIDE OPS I CALLED FLT CTL AND SAID I WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE WAS 'IN THE LOOP' ON THIS FLT WITH THE BROKEN LAV DOOR. I ASKED TO TALK TO MAINT AND FLT CTL PUT ME THROUGH. I TALKED TO MAINT CTL BRIEFLY, THEN TURNED THE PHONE OVER TO THE MAINT PEOPLE WHO WORKED ON THE DOOR TO FINISH THE DOCUMENTATION. I PROCEEDED BACK OUT TO THE ACFT TO SET UP FOR THE NEXT FLT WHICH WAS NOW PRETTY LATE. THESE WERE THE EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLDED. THE COMPANY SELF DISCLOSED TO THE FAA BEFORE THEY ASKED ME OR ANYONE FROM THE CREW FOR A RPT. I BELIEVE WE ALL DID A GOOD JOB TO BRING THIS FLT TO A SAFE CONCLUSION. I WANT TO COMMEND THE FLT ATTENDANT, WHO WAS BRAND NEW TO THE COMPANY, FOR KEEPING A COOL HEAD, GETTING THE PAX ATTN AND EXPLAINING HOW TO USE THE INTERPHONE TO CALL US IN THE FLT DECK WHILE TALKING THROUGH THE DOOR. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: CAPT STATES THAT THE DOOR HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP THE DAY BEFORE, AND SIGNED OFF AS REPAIRED, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE D328 (MODEL 10 ACFT), ACCORDION DESIGN LAVATORY DOOR HAS 2 PANELS WHICH BEND INWARD WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED. RPTR DESCRIBED 2 HOOKS ON THE DOOR ITSELF, WHICH OVERLAP AND CONNECT ONTO A PIN ON THE DOOR FRAME. THE HOOKS ON THE DOOR WERE APPARENTLY JAMMED. THE FLC DIDN'T THINK OF HOLDING AS AN OPTION SINCE A FRONTAL SYS HAD JUST PASSED, THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE TURB, AND THEY WERE IN PHL AIRSPACE. IN MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING, THE RPTR NOW THINKS THAT IN AN EMER, HE WOULD HAVE USED PHYSICAL FORCE AGAINST THE DOOR. (THE USE OF THE CRASH AXE MAY HAVE CAUSED HARM TO THE FLT ATTENDANT.) THE COMPANY REQUESTED AN INCIDENT RPT WHICH WAS PROBABLY FORWARDED TO THE POI.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.