An A320 flight crew reports refused an aircraft due to the deferral of the cockpit door entry system...

Attributes
ACN	892573
Time
Date	201006
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit Door
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180 Flight Crew Total 8000 Flight Crew Type 1500
Person 2
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 250 Flight Crew Total 14000 Flight Crew Type 2200
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

Narrative:

Upon arrival at plane; we were confronted with the cockpit door aural warning not working and the door access panel being disabled. The flight attendant stated that she was not comfortable flying in the plane with no way to get into the cockpit if we were incapacitated. The system was deferred. Upon discussion between the captain and myself I do not believe it is a safe idea to defer such a problem. No one can get in the cockpit if both pilots are incapacitated and in the event of a loss of control on landing/taking off; no one can get into the cockpit either from the inside or outside of the plane if we are unable to get out ourselves. The A320/319 does not have on exterior handle by the first officer's window to get into the plane. The door will unlock if no power is on the plane; but if the engines are still running after the incident the door cannot be opened and also noone can get in the cockpit to shut down the engines if we are dead/incapacitated. I don't believe a plane would be dispatched if both escape lines were missing (one way of getting out of the plane) and I don't think it is a good idea to dispatch a plane with the above condition.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Flight Crew reports refused an aircraft due to the deferral of the cockpit door entry system.

Narrative: Upon arrival at plane; we were confronted with the cockpit door aural warning not working and the door access panel being disabled. The Flight Attendant stated that she was not comfortable flying in the plane with no way to get into the cockpit if we were incapacitated. The system was deferred. Upon discussion between the Captain and myself I do not believe it is a safe idea to defer such a problem. No one can get in the cockpit if both pilots are incapacitated and in the event of a loss of control on landing/taking off; no one can get into the cockpit either from the inside or outside of the plane if we are unable to get out ourselves. The A320/319 does not have on exterior handle by the First Officer's window to get into the plane. The door will unlock if no power is on the plane; but if the engines are still running after the incident the door cannot be opened and also noone can get in the cockpit to shut down the engines if we are dead/incapacitated. I don't believe a plane would be dispatched if both escape lines were missing (one way of getting out of the plane) and I don't think it is a good idea to dispatch a plane with the above condition.

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.