Narrative:

Flight was very busy on departure due to thunderstorms and rain showers in the area. On climbout; we were cleared on a 070 heading to avoid a thunderstorm. Soon after; we were cleared back on course; then direct to the next fix to avoid the weather. We had to reenter the departure route into the FMS to make sure it avoided the thunderstorm. At 10400 ft we received a cabin altitude warning. A check showed both packs on; with pressurization in man; and the outflow valve full open. After switching to automatic the outflow valve did not appear to close. During this time we leveled off; and got clearance to descend to 9000 ft. The rear flight attendant called the cockpit to inform us she could see daylight around the 2L door and could hear a rushing sound of air. After what seemed like several minutes since switching back to automatic the plane did not appear to pressurize. At this time I elected to return for an uneventful landing. The landing was not overweight. After being notified by the flight attendant about the door seal at the 2L door; I now thought there was a pressurization problem caused by this door. My thought process completely changed to returning to have maintenance look at the door. I felt the slowness of the plane to pressurize was caused by the door. I moved on from the issue of taking off in man. The logbook write-up also reflects the door issue. In addition as now I was thinking it was a door seal issue; I elected to continue with my next flight. In defense of my thought process; when I was a second officer on the 727; I had a flight where we did not pressurize properly due to a malfunctioning rear cabin door and that may have clouded my thinking. At the tine I did not put it together; that the door seal issue may be caused by taking off in man. It was yesterday that I realized that may be normal for not having any pressurization. In retrospect I should have called timeout then to truly reflect on what happened. I was obviously not thinking clearly. I rushed to the replacement aircraft to continue; without focusing on what had occurred.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Captain experienced cabin altitude warning at 10400 FT and found the pressurization control set to manual with the outflow valve full open. Returning the control to automatic did not immediately correct the problem and a Cabin Attendant called to report light and air noise around the 2L door. Captain elected to return to their departure airport for maintenance.

Narrative: Flight was very busy on departure due to thunderstorms and rain showers in the area. On climbout; we were cleared on a 070 heading to avoid a thunderstorm. Soon after; we were cleared back on course; then direct to the next fix to avoid the weather. We had to reenter the departure route into the FMS to make sure it avoided the thunderstorm. At 10400 FT we received a cabin altitude warning. A check showed both packs on; with pressurization in MAN; and the outflow valve full open. After switching to AUTO the outflow valve did not appear to close. During this time we leveled off; and got clearance to descend to 9000 FT. The rear Flight Attendant called the cockpit to inform us she could see daylight around the 2L door and could hear a rushing sound of air. After what seemed like several minutes since switching back to AUTO the plane did not appear to pressurize. At this time I elected to return for an uneventful landing. The landing was not overweight. After being notified by the Flight Attendant about the door seal at the 2L door; I now thought there was a pressurization problem caused by this door. My thought process completely changed to returning to have maintenance look at the door. I felt the slowness of the plane to pressurize was caused by the door. I moved on from the issue of taking off in MAN. The logbook write-up also reflects the door issue. In addition as now I was thinking it was a door seal issue; I elected to continue with my next flight. In defense of my thought process; when I was a Second Officer on the 727; I had a flight where we did not pressurize properly due to a malfunctioning rear cabin door and that may have clouded my thinking. At the tine I did not put it together; that the door seal issue may be caused by taking off in MAN. It was yesterday that I realized that may be normal for not having any pressurization. In retrospect I should have called timeout then to truly reflect on what happened. I was obviously not thinking clearly. I rushed to the replacement aircraft to continue; without focusing on what had occurred.

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.