Narrative:

On climb out, flight attendant calls and complains about a loud air noise coming from around the forward entrance door. We looked up at the overhead panel. There was no door light, but the aircraft was not pressurizing normally. We leveled off at 10000 ft. First officer was flying. At this time the flight attendant calls back and says she can feel air coming around the door. The aircraft was pressurized only to 7000 ft. Captain pulls out QRH and reads loss of pressurization checklist. At first we thought we just had a bad door seal. The captain decides to take a look. He notices the door is not sealed on the left side. All attempts to close the door fully fail. When the captain came back he performed the door annunciator checklist even though we did not have a light. It was now time to land at a suitable airport. By this time we were closer to ZZZ2, but our radar showed bad WX in that area. While I fly and talk on #1 radio, the captain attempts to call dispatch. Dispatch confirms the bad WX in ZZZ2, by this time we were already past it, so we continued to ZZZ. Communication with the flight attendants and passenger was kept up with. We did not declare an emergency. The question is, 'should we have turned back to ZZZ1 when we were abeam ZZZ2 or continue to ZZZ? Or, should we have not messed with any of the above and just turned around when first notified?' we wanted to assess the problem fully so we did. There was no reason to rush. We were safe and sound at 10000 ft. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated the passenger agent at the departure station may have not closed the door correctly but at no time did the door warning light illuminate. The reporter said at the diversion station the technicians believed the door was false latched and adjusted the stops and the door operated normally.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-700 ON CLBOUT AT 7000 FT HAS CABIN ATTENDANT RPT OF LOUD NOISE FROM 1L DOOR. UNABLE TO PRESSURIZE CABIN DIVERTS TO SUITABLE ARPT.

Narrative: ON CLBOUT, FLT ATTENDANT CALLS AND COMPLAINS ABOUT A LOUD AIR NOISE COMING FROM AROUND THE FORWARD ENTRANCE DOOR. WE LOOKED UP AT THE OVERHEAD PANEL. THERE WAS NO DOOR LIGHT, BUT THE ACFT WAS NOT PRESSURIZING NORMALLY. WE LEVELED OFF AT 10000 FT. FO WAS FLYING. AT THIS TIME THE FLT ATTENDANT CALLS BACK AND SAYS SHE CAN FEEL AIR COMING AROUND THE DOOR. THE ACFT WAS PRESSURIZED ONLY TO 7000 FT. CAPT PULLS OUT QRH AND READS LOSS OF PRESSURIZATION CHKLIST. AT FIRST WE THOUGHT WE JUST HAD A BAD DOOR SEAL. THE CAPT DECIDES TO TAKE A LOOK. HE NOTICES THE DOOR IS NOT SEALED ON THE L SIDE. ALL ATTEMPTS TO CLOSE THE DOOR FULLY FAIL. WHEN THE CAPT CAME BACK HE PERFORMED THE DOOR ANNUNCIATOR CHKLIST EVEN THOUGH WE DID NOT HAVE A LIGHT. IT WAS NOW TIME TO LAND AT A SUITABLE ARPT. BY THIS TIME WE WERE CLOSER TO ZZZ2, BUT OUR RADAR SHOWED BAD WX IN THAT AREA. WHILE I FLY AND TALK ON #1 RADIO, THE CAPT ATTEMPTS TO CALL DISPATCH. DISPATCH CONFIRMS THE BAD WX IN ZZZ2, BY THIS TIME WE WERE ALREADY PAST IT, SO WE CONTINUED TO ZZZ. COM WITH THE FLT ATTENDANTS AND PAX WAS KEPT UP WITH. WE DID NOT DECLARE AN EMER. THE QUESTION IS, 'SHOULD WE HAVE TURNED BACK TO ZZZ1 WHEN WE WERE ABEAM ZZZ2 OR CONTINUE TO ZZZ? OR, SHOULD WE HAVE NOT MESSED WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE AND JUST TURNED AROUND WHEN FIRST NOTIFIED?' WE WANTED TO ASSESS THE PROB FULLY SO WE DID. THERE WAS NO REASON TO RUSH. WE WERE SAFE AND SOUND AT 10000 FT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THE PAX AGENT AT THE DEP STATION MAY HAVE NOT CLOSED THE DOOR CORRECTLY BUT AT NO TIME DID THE DOOR WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATE. THE RPTR SAID AT THE DIVERSION STATION THE TECHNICIANS BELIEVED THE DOOR WAS FALSE LATCHED AND ADJUSTED THE STOPS AND THE DOOR OPERATED NORMALLY.

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.