Narrative:

My crew and I arrived at the same airplane that we brought in the night before to begin our duty day. The airplane was not in the same condition that we left it in the night before. For example; cockpit switches were out of place; one galley carrier was missing; and the right overwing escape hatch seal was badly out of place. The flight attendants were positively sure that it was flush and secure the night before. I didn't know what to make of this except to think someone had tampered with the hatch. I lifted the cover to the hatch handle expecting to see the 'slide armed' light come on. It did not; so I gently and very slightly cracked the hatch to put the seal back in to it's proper position. I was able to do that successfully and we began boarding. Prior to pushback I noticed we did not have an armed indication on the right over wing hatch on the sd lower ECAM. I told the flight attendants this and they began working with the door in an attempt to get it armed. I walked back in the cabin to observe what was going on. The flight attendants were working with the the hatch and I returned to the cockpit to see if the door was armed. During this process the slide deployed; even though the slide never indicated 'armed' either on the sd lower ECAM or at the hatch itself. I believe the hatch was tampered with overnight because the seals were out of place and the hatch was disarmed. Upon arrival at our destination and getting a brief on how this was possible; I am sure of it. I believe the flight attendant may have accidentally jiggled the arm lever while trying to seat the hatch. I would suggest more training on how these hatches are armed and disarmed would have been very beneficial in this case. I can see how the flight attendants were confused as to what was actually going on with this hatch. It should be further emphasized that these hatches should only be administered to by maintenance. I think mci personnel should be carefully scrutinized in this case. Too many things were amiss with this aircraft on such a short overnight; switches out of place; items missing and this hatch.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 over wing Emergency Exit slide deployed as the crew attempted to seat the hatch seal which was dislodged when tampered with during a MCI overnight. Cockpit switches were also missed placed.

Narrative: My crew and I arrived at the same airplane that we brought in the night before to begin our duty day. The airplane was not in the same condition that we left it in the night before. For example; cockpit switches were out of place; one galley carrier was missing; and the right overwing escape hatch seal was badly out of place. The Flight Attendants were positively sure that it was flush and secure the night before. I didn't know what to make of this except to think someone had tampered with the hatch. I lifted the cover to the hatch handle expecting to see the 'slide armed' light come on. It did not; so I gently and very slightly cracked the hatch to put the seal back in to it's proper position. I was able to do that successfully and we began boarding. Prior to pushback I noticed we did not have an armed indication on the right over wing hatch on the SD Lower ECAM. I told the Flight Attendants this and they began working with the door in an attempt to get it armed. I walked back in the cabin to observe what was going on. The Flight Attendants were working with the the hatch and I returned to the cockpit to see if the door was armed. During this process the slide deployed; even though the slide never indicated 'ARMED' either on the SD Lower ECAM or at the hatch itself. I believe the hatch was tampered with overnight because the seals were out of place and the hatch was disarmed. Upon arrival at our destination and getting a brief on how this was possible; I am sure of it. I believe the Flight Attendant may have accidentally jiggled the arm lever while trying to seat the hatch. I would suggest more training on how these hatches are armed and disarmed would have been very beneficial in this case. I can see how the Flight Attendants were confused as to what was actually going on with this hatch. It should be further emphasized that these hatches should only be administered to by maintenance. I think MCI personnel should be carefully scrutinized in this case. Too many things were amiss with this aircraft on such a short overnight; switches out of place; items missing and this hatch.

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.