Narrative:

We were given vectors to intercept the localizer on the ILS 4R approach into bos when the call bell sounded. The captain and I were both taken off guard by this because we were in sterile cockpit. However; we felt that there may be a safety of flight issue or physical threat to the flight attendant. The captain looked at me to answer to the call. When I answered the flight attendant sounded nervous and distressed and said that a passenger was 'being disruptive; arguing with her and is on his phone. He won't turn off his phone even though I made three announcements. Do I have time to go back again and tell him to turn it off?' I said; 'no; we are in the approach phase. Stay seated and we can make an announcement.' after the initial call we were cleared for the approach and had intercepted the localizer. The glide slope started coming down. The captain called for 'flaps 15' and I put the flaps into position. I informed the captain of the issue and she said to make a 'loud' announcement that all electronic devices must be turned off. I made an assertive PA. After the PA; the glide slope was still coming down to be intercepted and the captain called 'gear down'. I put the gear down and did the pilot not flying 'flow'. The captain called 'flaps 20 before landing checklist' and I did the respective pilot not flying duties. I asked if we needed to make sure the flight attendant was seated and the problem was handled because we were unsure where the passenger was and if he was a physical threat. The captain said 'yeah; call quickly to make sure' and I used the call button to call the cabin. The flight attendant answered and said that the passenger was 'not listening' but did not indicate that anything else was wrong and said he was in his seat. At that time; we stopped all communication with the cabin because we did not feel that there was an immediate threat to the approach or landing the aircraft. We continued the ILS 4R approach and landed without incident. Upon landing and clearing the runway we were instructed to contact ground. Ground gave us taxi instructions to taxi via 22R; east; to the gate. Then; per standard bos procedure; I took comm 2 to contact operations and get a gate assignment and the captain monitored comm 1. The captain said we should have security meet us to handle the passenger. I agreed and asked operations to have police meet the aircraft. We completed the after landing checklist; taxied to the gate; and completed the parking checklist. Upon reaching the gate; passengers were deplaned as usual (pending a 5 minute delay while we waited for security); the captain contacted operations; and I spoke with the police about the matter. ATC was not made aware of what happened because; after our final call to the cabin; we did not feel that there was a threat to the safe operation of the aircraft. Upon completing the flight we discussed what should have been done and what actions could have been better. We agreed that we should not have answered the call because the emergency switch (indicative of an emergency) was not used. Therefore; we should have continued the flight and assessed the situation further once we had landed. In the future; I will not answer calls initiated by the cabin during sterile cockpit unless the emergency switch is used to indicate an emergency condition. Answering the call only increases workload during a time of task saturation. I will also ensure that all crew members understand communication requirements and what is expected during sterile cockpit and emergency operations.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier First Officer discussed the propriety of a call from a Flight Attendant regarding a disruptive passenger during approach and landing.

Narrative: We were given vectors to intercept the localizer on the ILS 4R approach into BOS when the call bell sounded. The Captain and I were both taken off guard by this because we were in sterile cockpit. However; we felt that there may be a safety of flight issue or physical threat to the Flight Attendant. The Captain looked at me to answer to the call. When I answered the Flight Attendant sounded nervous and distressed and said that a passenger was 'being disruptive; arguing with her and is on his phone. He won't turn off his phone even though I made three announcements. Do I have time to go back again and tell him to turn it off?' I said; 'No; we are in the approach phase. Stay seated and we can make an announcement.' After the initial call we were cleared for the approach and had intercepted the localizer. The glide slope started coming down. The Captain called for 'flaps 15' and I put the flaps into position. I informed the Captain of the issue and she said to make a 'loud' announcement that all electronic devices must be turned off. I made an assertive PA. After the PA; the glide slope was still coming down to be intercepted and the Captain called 'gear down'. I put the gear down and did the pilot not flying 'flow'. The Captain called 'Flaps 20 Before Landing Checklist' and I did the respective pilot not flying duties. I asked if we needed to make sure the Flight Attendant was seated and the problem was handled because we were unsure where the passenger was and if he was a physical threat. The Captain said 'yeah; call quickly to make sure' and I used the call button to call the cabin. The Flight Attendant answered and said that the passenger was 'not listening' but did not indicate that anything else was wrong and said he was in his seat. At that time; we stopped all communication with the cabin because we did not feel that there was an immediate threat to the approach or landing the aircraft. We continued the ILS 4R approach and landed without incident. Upon landing and clearing the runway we were instructed to contact Ground. Ground gave us taxi instructions to taxi via 22R; E; to the gate. Then; per standard BOS procedure; I took Comm 2 to contact Operations and get a gate assignment and the Captain monitored Comm 1. The Captain said we should have security meet us to handle the passenger. I agreed and asked Operations to have police meet the aircraft. We completed the after landing checklist; taxied to the gate; and completed the parking checklist. Upon reaching the gate; passengers were deplaned as usual (pending a 5 minute delay while we waited for security); the Captain contacted Operations; and I spoke with the police about the matter. ATC was NOT made aware of what happened because; after our final call to the cabin; we did not feel that there was a threat to the safe operation of the aircraft. Upon completing the flight we discussed what should have been done and what actions could have been better. We agreed that we should not have answered the call because the EMER switch (indicative of an emergency) was not used. Therefore; we should have continued the flight and assessed the situation further once we had landed. In the future; I will not answer calls initiated by the cabin during sterile cockpit unless the EMER switch is used to indicate an emergency condition. Answering the call only increases workload during a time of task saturation. I will also ensure that all crew members understand communication requirements and what is expected during sterile cockpit and emergency operations.

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.