Flight attendant reports the captain of their transatlantic B767 flight agreed to depart despite a n...

Narrative:

The PA system was totally inoperative so we could not talk to the passengers via announcements; also no call bells could be heard. The telephones were not working except that the captain could call the purser. Myself; along with several other flight attendants; communicated to the captain; via the purser; that we felt that this was a no-go item since we could not be simultaneously and immediately notified to sit down for turbulence. We also pointed out that in an emergency landing; the captain would be unable to give the signal to remain seated or evacuate. And we brought up the fact that during a medical emergency we would not be able to page for medical personnel and the passengers would not be able to get the flight attendant's immediate attention. The captain said that none of these concerns were no-go items and that if there were any emergencies he would flash the seatbelt sign rapidly. During the demonstration; there was also no sound. It was determined by the purser that the subtitles would suffice. I; myself; made full individual briefings to the passengers sitting on the window exits.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Flight Attendant reports the Captain of their transatlantic B767 flight agreed to depart despite a near complete loss of communication capability between the fight deck; the passengers and the cabin attendants.

Narrative: The PA system was totally inoperative so we could not talk to the passengers via announcements; also no call bells could be heard. The telephones were not working except that the Captain could call the Purser. Myself; along with several other Flight Attendants; communicated to the Captain; via the Purser; that we felt that this was a no-go item since we could not be simultaneously and immediately notified to sit down for turbulence. We also pointed out that in an emergency landing; the Captain would be unable to give the signal to remain seated or evacuate. And we brought up the fact that during a medical emergency we would not be able to page for medical personnel and the passengers would not be able to get the Flight Attendant's immediate attention. The Captain said that none of these concerns were no-go items and that if there were any emergencies he would flash the seatbelt sign rapidly. During the demonstration; there was also no sound. It was determined by the Purser that the subtitles would suffice. I; myself; made full individual briefings to the passengers sitting on the window exits.

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.

Attributes
ACN	829874
Time
Date	200903
Place
Locale Reference	IAD.Airport
State Reference	VA
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B767 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cabin Address System
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant 6 Flight Attendant Current
Experience	Flight Attendant Airline Total 1 Flight Attendant Total 1 Flight Attendant Type 30
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR

Flight attendant reports the captain of their transatlantic B767 flight agreed to depart despite a near complete loss of communication capability between the fight deck; the passengers and the cabin attendants.