Narrative:

The 3 flight attendants and first officer boarded the aircraft early. The captain was in operations getting paperwork. The first officer informed me that the electronic locking system for the flight deck door was inoperative and meled. The first officer then showed me how the deadbolt lock would be used as the backup. This is when we discovered that if any type of emergency or incident would occur; causing both pilots to be unconscious; there would be no way for a flight attendant or deadheading/non-revenue pilot to enter the flight deck and try to bring the aircraft full of passengers to safety. This concerned me tremendously; and made me feel quite uncomfortable to fly. After lengthy discussions with the captain; and continuous efforts on his part to try and clarify the situation; and the urgency of it; we made a decision to continue the flight. I respect the captain's decision and thankfully no incident occurred. However; I was not completely comfortable with the fact tht this is an approved MEL item. I understand that the odds of this happening are high; and the chances of a flight attendant being able to take the plane into minimal damage control are very rare. I do believe that anything can happen. We never think that a disaster can occur; nor do we believe that the impossible can happen. But it has been proven over and over again that if something were to happen; and knowing the facts; and that there might have been a slight chance to prevent it; correct it; or save it -- would be a larger disaster than the occurrence itself.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Flight Attendant is informed during preflight that the flight deck door lock is MEL'ed and can only be unlocked manually by the pilots from the flight deck.

Narrative: The 3 Flight Attendants and First Officer boarded the aircraft early. The Captain was in operations getting paperwork. The First Officer informed me that the electronic locking system for the flight deck door was inoperative and MELed. The First Officer then showed me how the deadbolt lock would be used as the backup. This is when we discovered that if any type of emergency or incident would occur; causing both Pilots to be unconscious; there would be no way for a Flight Attendant or deadheading/non-revenue Pilot to enter the flight deck and try to bring the aircraft full of passengers to safety. This concerned me tremendously; and made me feel quite uncomfortable to fly. After lengthy discussions with the Captain; and continuous efforts on his part to try and clarify the situation; and the urgency of it; we made a decision to continue the flight. I respect the Captain's decision and thankfully no incident occurred. However; I was not completely comfortable with the fact tht this is an approved MEL item. I understand that the odds of this happening are high; and the chances of a Flight Attendant being able to take the plane into minimal damage control are very rare. I do believe that anything can happen. We never think that a disaster can occur; nor do we believe that the impossible can happen. But it has been proven over and over again that if something were to happen; and knowing the facts; and that there might have been a slight chance to prevent it; correct it; or save it -- would be a larger disaster than the occurrence 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.