Unaware that the right engine was still running; awaiting ground power; the gate agent and flight at...

Narrative:

When we arrived at the gate the seatbelt sign was turned off; but we did not receive the door chime. I could see the ramp agent pushing the stairs to the aft door; so I made the announcement that we would be deplaning out both the forward and aft exits. Although the door chime had not been given; the ramp agent opened the aft door and gave me a thumbs up to allow passengers to deplane. The pilots never told us to hold passengers and I could see that the 'a' flight attendant had opened the main cabin door; so I let passengers start to deplane. I did not realize an engine was still running due to problems with the APU. I was having trouble getting my ears to pop and could not hear very well. The ramp agents never told me to keep passengers on board. Even after the passengers started getting off; the ramp agents continued to unload bags. I didn't fully realize what had happened until we were in the taxi on our way to the hotel and flight attendant 'a' brought it up. We all should have communicated better and the aft door should not have been opened by the ramp until the engines were shut down and it was safe for passengers to deplane.we need to stress the importance of the ramp [personnel] being aware of what is going on around them. The ramp [personnel] are the eyes and ears for flight attendants as we can't always see or hear what is happening outside the aircraft. Also making sure the cabin crew is more observant; not always counting on the ramp [personnel] to give them accurate info.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Unaware that the right engine was still running; awaiting ground power; the Gate Agent and Flight Attendant at the aft main door of a Q400 opened the door and deplaned passengers.

Narrative: When we arrived at the gate the seatbelt sign was turned off; but we did not receive the door chime. I could see the Ramp Agent pushing the stairs to the aft door; so I made the announcement that we would be deplaning out both the forward and aft exits. Although the door chime had not been given; the Ramp Agent opened the aft door and gave me a thumbs up to allow passengers to deplane. The pilots never told us to hold passengers and I could see that the 'A' Flight Attendant had opened the main cabin door; so I let passengers start to deplane. I did not realize an engine was still running due to problems with the APU. I was having trouble getting my ears to pop and could not hear very well. The ramp agents never told me to keep passengers on board. Even after the passengers started getting off; the ramp agents continued to unload bags. I didn't fully realize what had happened until we were in the taxi on our way to the hotel and Flight Attendant 'A' brought it up. We all should have communicated better and the aft door should not have been opened by the ramp until the engines were shut down and it was safe for passengers to deplane.We need to stress the importance of the ramp [personnel] being aware of what is going on around them. The ramp [personnel] are the eyes and ears for flight attendants as we can't always see or hear what is happening outside the aircraft. Also making sure the cabin crew is more observant; not always counting on the ramp [personnel] to give them accurate info.

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	948689
Time
Date	201105
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Q400
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
Person 2
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

Unaware that the right engine was still running; awaiting ground power; the gate agent and flight attendant at the aft main door of a Q400 opened the door and deplaned passengers.