Narrative:

The door handle (forward right galley door 1R) opened up twice at FL280. The door was locked and armed at departure. I doublechked with the purser. The door arming device jammed with the door handle in the up and open position. The mechanic said 'this isn't right' when checking the door handle. It was loose with no tension or spring to lock it. It just moved up and down freely. All doors at our airline on the B767's are being adjusted to be less tight (less spring and tension) when moving the door handle. This is very serious, since our planes have been in service for over 15 yrs with a tight closing door handle mechanism. The company is making them looser, so no one is injured when the door is opened from the outside. If the door handle is loose, the door is not locked properly. If a slide was deployed when the handle opened up at a lower altitude, it would go into the engine, hang on the wing and bring a B767 down.callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated that when the door first opened, a pilot came back and pushed the handle down in a locked position. The plane went down to a lower altitude and the door handle stayed down, so the pilots thought it was safe to go back to their original cruise altitude, and it popped open twice at this higher altitude. The first indication the reporter had of the problem, since he was working in business class, was that his ears were popping, and he thought he felt a breeze. The door handle was popped open in a strange angle, a half way angle. At first, the pilots didn't want the purser to situation in her jump seat for descent and landing, but later changed their minds. The door handle was in this strange position the whole time until landing in sfo. They took the plane OTS and the crew got on another plane 4 hours later. The mechanics said the plane needed an overhaul. The mechanics said that the B767 door handles were being recalibrated, because in the past, the handles were hard to open, and when they opened, they popped open in the faces of flight attendants using the intercom phone, injuring their noses and faces. The reporter re-emphasized that boeing should be made aware of what his airline is doing to their fleet of B767's.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DOOR 1L POPPED OPEN HALF WAY TWICE AT FL280. AIRLINE IS LOOSENING B767 DOOR HANDLES BECAUSE OF CABIN ATTENDANT INJURIES. RETURNED TO AIRPORT. PLANE TAKEN OTS.

Narrative: THE DOOR HANDLE (FORWARD R GALLEY DOOR 1R) OPENED UP TWICE AT FL280. THE DOOR WAS LOCKED AND ARMED AT DEP. I DOUBLECHKED WITH THE PURSER. THE DOOR ARMING DEVICE JAMMED WITH THE DOOR HANDLE IN THE UP AND OPEN POS. THE MECH SAID 'THIS ISN'T RIGHT' WHEN CHKING THE DOOR HANDLE. IT WAS LOOSE WITH NO TENSION OR SPRING TO LOCK IT. IT JUST MOVED UP AND DOWN FREELY. ALL DOORS AT OUR AIRLINE ON THE B767'S ARE BEING ADJUSTED TO BE LESS TIGHT (LESS SPRING AND TENSION) WHEN MOVING THE DOOR HANDLE. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS, SINCE OUR PLANES HAVE BEEN IN SVC FOR OVER 15 YRS WITH A TIGHT CLOSING DOOR HANDLE MECHANISM. THE COMPANY IS MAKING THEM LOOSER, SO NO ONE IS INJURED WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE. IF THE DOOR HANDLE IS LOOSE, THE DOOR IS NOT LOCKED PROPERLY. IF A SLIDE WAS DEPLOYED WHEN THE HANDLE OPENED UP AT A LOWER ALT, IT WOULD GO INTO THE ENG, HANG ON THE WING AND BRING A B767 DOWN.CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THAT WHEN THE DOOR FIRST OPENED, A PLT CAME BACK AND PUSHED THE HANDLE DOWN IN A LOCKED POS. THE PLANE WENT DOWN TO A LOWER ALT AND THE DOOR HANDLE STAYED DOWN, SO THE PLTS THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL CRUISE ALT, AND IT POPPED OPEN TWICE AT THIS HIGHER ALT. THE FIRST INDICATION THE RPTR HAD OF THE PROB, SINCE HE WAS WORKING IN BUSINESS CLASS, WAS THAT HIS EARS WERE POPPING, AND HE THOUGHT HE FELT A BREEZE. THE DOOR HANDLE WAS POPPED OPEN IN A STRANGE ANGLE, A HALF WAY ANGLE. AT FIRST, THE PLTS DIDN'T WANT THE PURSER TO SIT IN HER JUMP SEAT FOR DSCNT AND LNDG, BUT LATER CHANGED THEIR MINDS. THE DOOR HANDLE WAS IN THIS STRANGE POS THE WHOLE TIME UNTIL LNDG IN SFO. THEY TOOK THE PLANE OTS AND THE CREW GOT ON ANOTHER PLANE 4 HRS LATER. THE MECHS SAID THE PLANE NEEDED AN OVERHAUL. THE MECHS SAID THAT THE B767 DOOR HANDLES WERE BEING RECALIBRATED, BECAUSE IN THE PAST, THE HANDLES WERE HARD TO OPEN, AND WHEN THEY OPENED, THEY POPPED OPEN IN THE FACES OF FLT ATTENDANTS USING THE INTERCOM PHONE, INJURING THEIR NOSES AND FACES. THE RPTR RE-EMPHASIZED THAT BOEING SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF WHAT HIS AIRLINE IS DOING TO THEIR FLEET OF B767'S.

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.