Narrative:

After safety demonstration while taxiing; I noticed the light indicator at door-2R (right) was not 'on'. I recalled seeing it on before the all call after doors were armed. I immediately contacted the purser who contacted the pilot. Flight attendant sitting at door-2R pressed the light button several times to see if it would turn on and nothing happened. I took the light out of door-2L (left) and put it on 2R to see if it was the light bulb that was burnt and it still did not turn on. I called the captain even though he had just said prepare for take-off. I explained to him that our safety checks for this particular door required three visual checks and that the light would not turn on. He asked me to remove the light at 2R and put it on 2L which I did and it worked at 2L. He instructed us to disarm the door; crack it open; close it and re-arm it which we did. The light came on and four seconds later turned off again. I called the pilot again and informed him that the light had turned off again. After a few minutes the pilot said he felt it was electrical and decided to go with it; as is. I explained that I was not comfortable with his decision since my checks did not match; but he was the captain and he had final authority on the matter.I'm not sure why he decided to defer the light since I don't know what the MEL says; but it made me uncomfortable; especially when less than 20 minutes later we get a call for a cabin advisory telling us about a hydraulic problem on the left side of the plane and had to divert. My concern is we have a book that is black and white when it comes to our doors and all checks are supposed to be in place. I don't have the option of deciding that I 'think' the door is armed but I'm not sure. I think it's irresponsible to give us a clear manual with instructions and then tell us that it's ok for some of the components not to be in place. If that's the case; then we should be given a clear explanation as to why the door is ok to go the way it is and why is the light not turning on when it's supposed to when it's not the light bulb that is out. How am I to be sure that my door is armed? It's my life in jeopardy and if it's the only way for me to get out I don't want to guess that my door is armed. Yes; it was not my door since I was at 2L; but I am still sitting back there and there is always the possibility of my door being blocked for whatever reason; if we had to evacuate. I would like an explanation as to why we left with this door clearly not meeting the standards of my flight attendant manual and why it was assumed that it was an electrical malfunction.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Flight Attendant reports their flight crew continued with the taxi and takeoff of a B757-200 aircraft after she reported that passenger Door-2R overhead ARMED light would not illuminate with the door closed; locked and the slide handle in the 'Armed' position. Flight diverted twenty minutes later.

Narrative: After safety demonstration while taxiing; I noticed the light indicator at Door-2R (Right) was not 'On'. I recalled seeing it on before the All Call after doors were armed. I immediately contacted the Purser who contacted the pilot. Flight Attendant sitting at Door-2R pressed the light button several times to see if it would turn on and nothing happened. I took the light out of Door-2L (Left) and put it on 2R to see if it was the light bulb that was burnt and it still did not turn on. I called the Captain even though he had just said prepare for take-off. I explained to him that our Safety Checks for this particular door required three visual checks and that the light would not turn on. He asked me to remove the light at 2R and put it on 2L which I did and it worked at 2L. He instructed us to disarm the door; crack it open; close it and re-arm it which we did. The light came on and four seconds later turned off again. I called the pilot again and informed him that the light had turned off again. After a few minutes the pilot said he felt it was electrical and decided to go with it; as is. I explained that I was not comfortable with his decision since my Checks did not match; but he was the Captain and he had final authority on the matter.I'm not sure why he decided to defer the light since I don't know what the MEL says; but it made me uncomfortable; especially when less than 20 minutes later we get a call for a cabin advisory telling us about a hydraulic problem on the left side of the plane and had to divert. My concern is we have a book that is black and white when it comes to our doors and all Checks are supposed to be in place. I don't have the option of deciding that I 'think' the door is armed but I'm not sure. I think it's irresponsible to give us a clear manual with instructions and then tell us that it's OK for some of the components not to be in place. If that's the case; then we should be given a clear explanation as to why the door is OK to go the way it is and why is the light not turning on when it's supposed to when it's not the light bulb that is out. How am I to be sure that my door is armed? It's my life in jeopardy and if it's the only way for me to get out I don't want to guess that my door is armed. Yes; it was not my door since I was at 2L; but I am still sitting back there and there is always the possibility of my door being blocked for whatever reason; if we had to evacuate. I would like an explanation as to why we left with this door clearly not meeting the standards of my Flight Attendant Manual and why it was assumed that it was an electrical malfunction.

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.