A320 flight attendant discovered a low pressure reading on a door assist bottle during preflight and...

Narrative:

My flying partner and I advised the captain that door 2R's door pressure gauge was reading 1;350 and according to numbers posted on the door should be closer to 1;800 psi. The captain came back to door 2R and confirmed the door pressure gauge read 1;350. The captain contacted mechanics to look at door 2R. A maintenance supervisor who declined to identify himself wanted to talk with me and questioned why I was checking the door pressure gauge on the aircraft? He asked me if it was in my manual as a safety check. I told him at one time it was but it was no longer. I told the maintenance supervisor that we noticed the discrepancy and felt it was important to tell the captain and have it checked. In the presence of the purser the maintenance supervisor made the following statement: 'checking the door pressure gauge is not your responsibility and is a waste of my mechanics time because the door pressure gauges are checked periodically by my department.' to my knowledge the door assist pressure was not filled and we left the gate on time. Every door on the airbus has posted on each door numbers for door assist pressure gauges according to outside temperatures. The outside temperature for 1;350 psi is in the neighborhood of -40 C. The temperature this day was approximately 26 C (80 F). Are the posted door assist gauge numbers a 'suggested' minimum level or are they the minimum pressure for safe usage of an airbus door assist during an evacuation? If they are the minimum and no additional pressure was added did we leave approximately 400-500 psi lower than the minimum? If I see or encounter anything that appears safety related should I ignore it because it is 'not my responsibility' to check it? I do not believe that pointing out an apparent discrepancy in any safety related situation is a waste of time.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 Flight Attendant discovered a low pressure reading on a door assist bottle during preflight and informed the Captain. The Flight Attendant was subsequently told by a Maintenance Supervisor; that it is not her duty to check the bottle pressures; no maintenance was done prior to departure.

Narrative: My flying partner and I advised the Captain that door 2R's door pressure gauge was reading 1;350 and according to numbers posted on the door should be closer to 1;800 PSI. The Captain came back to door 2R and confirmed the door pressure gauge read 1;350. The Captain contacted mechanics to look at door 2R. A Maintenance Supervisor who declined to identify himself wanted to talk with me and questioned why I was checking the door pressure gauge on the aircraft? He asked me if it was in my Manual as a safety check. I told him at one time it was but it was no longer. I told the Maintenance Supervisor that we noticed the discrepancy and felt it was important to tell the Captain and have it checked. In the presence of the Purser the Maintenance Supervisor made the following statement: 'Checking the door pressure gauge is not your responsibility and is a waste of my mechanics time because the door pressure gauges are checked periodically by my department.' To my knowledge the door assist pressure was not filled and we left the gate on time. Every door on the Airbus has posted on each door numbers for door assist pressure gauges according to outside temperatures. The outside temperature for 1;350 PSI is in the neighborhood of -40 C. The temperature this day was approximately 26 C (80 F). Are the posted door assist gauge numbers a 'suggested' minimum level or are they the minimum pressure for safe usage of an Airbus door assist during an evacuation? If they are the minimum and no additional pressure was added did we leave approximately 400-500 PSI lower than the minimum? If I see or encounter anything that appears safety related should I ignore it because it is 'not my responsibility' to check it? I do not believe that pointing out an apparent discrepancy in any safety related situation is a waste of time.

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	904988
Time
Date	201008
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Exterior Pax/Crew Door
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A320 flight attendant discovered a low pressure reading on a door assist bottle during preflight and informed the captain. The flight attendant was subsequently told by a maintenance supervisor; that it is not her duty to check the bottle pressures; no maintenance was done prior to departure.