Narrative:

We arrived at the aircraft to find 2 mechanics in the cockpit resourcing the ams computer. The lead turned to me and said 'don't get too comfortable because this aircraft isn't going anywhere for quite a while.' I said 'why; what is up? I didn't see anything in the history that would indicate a problem.' he then informed me the inbound crew had verbally briefed them that door 4R arming lever was frozen in the 'armed' position. The inbound flight attendant was unable to move it at block-in and it had been previously deferred by maintenance control. He then said this is becoming a common problem on the 777. I proceeded to the back of the aircraft to assess the situation. There I found the door 4R bussel (slide cover) laying over 3 rows of seats and the door partially torn down. I asked the mechanics what the status was. I was told they were attempting to adjust the cable but it was stuck due to moisture intrusion (ice). The lead then said he thought he would need a new cable; but one was not on station. After 3 hours of work; the mechanic said 'we have the arming lever working but it was 'pretty stiff.' I went aft to look at it and was followed by the lead flight attendant; my first officer; a couple more flight attendants and the customer service supervisor. We observed the mechanic move the lever back and forth but with great difficulty. I asked the purser to arm the slide. This she attempted normally by lifting the cover with one hand and arming the slide with the other per their training. She could not move it so she used both hands while the mechanic held the cover up. Even by adding her body weight to the attempt; she was unable to move it. On going with the arming lever issue; the girt bar flags were misaligned with the arming lever in each position. The right indicator was difficult to tell if the girt bar was attached or not with the slide 'armed.' I told the lead that in my opinion the door was still 'unsafe.' received another call from passenger operations saying maintenance was going to sign the aircraft off and return it to the previous deferral and since it 'came in this way we should be able to take it out that way.' I was given a maintenance release; via the aircraft printer; returning aircraft to service and operating under the same inbound deferral. As I considered the 'frozen lever' to be a significant new event after the deferral and that the door not only could be armed/disarmed by all flight attendants and that attachment of the girt bar could not be confirmed using 'normal procedures' I entered the refusal in ACARS to both dispatch and to maintenance control per the fom. Arriving at the 'cleared aircraft' a second time; the lead flight attendant informed me 'we have mechanic in the back working on door again.' I met the lead mechanic at the forward end of coach. He said they had located a new cable in the morning; but line maintenance decided to re-rig the door again. He said he had cleared the door in the evening with it working 'normally' but had decided to give it one more check just before we would arrive. At that time he found the arming lever once again frozen. He said it is due to water intrusion and is a chronic problem now on the 777s. I asked how the moisture was getting in to interfere with the door and he said 'I have no idea. It shouldn't be there.' air carrier is choosing to try to operate these doors under deferrals rather than find the cause and solution. Additionally; I was told the status of my aircraft repeatedly by supervisory staff that never made a trip to the aircraft; yet they 'knew' more than I did about its safeness. Water inside the door seems to be a chronic problem. That water will freeze when the aircraft is flown at altitude over long segments inhibiting the function not only of the arming lever but possibly the slide's function itself.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain describes the events that led to his refusal of a B777-200 for a cabin door slide/raft arming lever that was frozen in the 'armed' position. Problem caused by water intrusion into the door and freezing the arming lever.

Narrative: We arrived at the aircraft to find 2 mechanics in the cockpit resourcing the AMS computer. The Lead turned to me and said 'Don't get too comfortable because this aircraft isn't going anywhere for quite a while.' I said 'Why; what is up? I didn't see anything in the history that would indicate a problem.' He then informed me the inbound crew had verbally briefed them that door 4R arming lever was frozen in the 'armed' position. The inbound Flight Attendant was unable to move it at block-in and it had been previously deferred by Maintenance Control. He then said this is becoming a common problem on the 777. I proceeded to the back of the aircraft to assess the situation. There I found the door 4R bussel (slide cover) laying over 3 rows of seats and the door partially torn down. I asked the mechanics what the status was. I was told they were attempting to adjust the cable but it was stuck due to moisture intrusion (ice). The Lead then said he thought he would need a new cable; but one was not on station. After 3 hours of work; the Mechanic said 'We have the arming lever working but it was 'pretty stiff.' I went aft to look at it and was followed by the Lead Flight Attendant; my First Officer; a couple more Flight Attendants and the Customer Service Supervisor. We observed the Mechanic move the lever back and forth but with great difficulty. I asked the Purser to arm the slide. This she attempted normally by lifting the cover with one hand and arming the slide with the other per their training. She could not move it so she used both hands while the Mechanic held the cover up. Even by adding her body weight to the attempt; she was unable to move it. On going with the arming lever issue; the girt bar flags were misaligned with the arming lever in each position. The right indicator was difficult to tell if the girt bar was attached or not with the slide 'armed.' I told the lead that in my opinion the door was still 'unsafe.' Received another call from Passenger Operations saying Maintenance was going to sign the aircraft off and return it to the previous deferral and since it 'came in this way we should be able to take it out that way.' I was given a Maintenance Release; via the aircraft printer; returning aircraft to service and operating under the same inbound deferral. As I considered the 'frozen lever' to be a significant new event after the deferral and that the door not only could be armed/disarmed by all Flight Attendants and that attachment of the girt bar could not be confirmed using 'normal procedures' I entered the refusal in ACARS to both Dispatch and to Maintenance Control per the FOM. Arriving at the 'cleared aircraft' a second time; the Lead Flight Attendant informed me 'we have mechanic in the back working on door again.' I met the Lead Mechanic at the forward end of coach. He said they had located a new cable in the morning; but Line Maintenance decided to re-rig the door again. He said he had cleared the door in the evening with it working 'normally' but had decided to give it one more check just before we would arrive. At that time he found the arming lever once again frozen. He said it is due to water intrusion and is a chronic problem now on the 777s. I asked how the moisture was getting in to interfere with the door and he said 'I have no idea. It shouldn't be there.' Air carrier is choosing to try to operate these doors under deferrals rather than find the cause and solution. Additionally; I was told the status of my aircraft repeatedly by supervisory staff that never made a trip to the aircraft; yet they 'knew' more than I did about its safeness. Water inside the door seems to be a chronic problem. That water WILL freeze when the aircraft is flown at altitude over long segments inhibiting the function not only of the arming lever but possibly the slide's function itself.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.