Narrative:

An A321 aircraft had just been docked without incident. The docking and safety jobcard and associated paperwork were being worked. I am the lead technician on said dock. I observed while mechanic X performed the safety task. The door in question; door 3-right (R-3); was disarmed and the pin engaged and remained closed. From my position; I observed mechanic X attempt to pin the [slide] reservoir valve. When the pin failed to engage the valve; it was withdrawn. At that instant; the secondary cable fell from the [regulator] valve without being touched. The valve actuated and the slide deployed. The R-3 door remained closed the entire time. Myself; the lead mechanic observing and mechanic X; strictly followed the maintenance guidelines at all times for each and every door on the aircraft. In my opinion; this is a result of a design flaw and a mechanical failure of this series aircraft. In the future I would look forward to working with our air carrier and airbus to remedy this situation.all the proper paperwork was filled out; all required company actions were taken in accordance with company policies and procedures. The slide and inflation bottle were removed and replaced with serviceable units in accordance with proper aircraft maintenance manual (amm) procedures. No revenue delays were incurred with this action.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Lead Mechanic; observing another Mechanic performing aircraft docking safety checks; reports an inadvertent escape slide deployment on an A321 at cabin emergency exit door 3 right (R-3) position; with the door 'Disarmed' and closed. Concerns raised about a design flaw and mechanical failure of the slide inflation bottle regulator valve.

Narrative: An A321 aircraft had just been docked without incident. The Docking and Safety jobcard and associated paperwork were being worked. I am the Lead Technician on said dock. I observed while Mechanic X performed the safety task. The door in question; door 3-right (R-3); was disarmed and the pin engaged and remained closed. From my position; I observed Mechanic X attempt to pin the [slide] reservoir valve. When the pin failed to engage the valve; it was withdrawn. At that instant; the secondary cable fell from the [regulator] valve without being touched. The valve actuated and the slide deployed. The R-3 door remained closed the entire time. Myself; the Lead Mechanic observing and Mechanic X; strictly followed the maintenance guidelines at all times for each and every door on the aircraft. In my opinion; this is a result of a design flaw and a mechanical failure of this series aircraft. In the future I would look forward to working with our air carrier and Airbus to remedy this situation.All the proper paperwork was filled out; all required company actions were taken in accordance with company policies and procedures. The slide and inflation bottle were removed and replaced with serviceable units in accordance with proper Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) procedures. No revenue delays were incurred with this action.

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.