Date: 201807
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: B737-700
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Parked
Aircraft component: Exterior Pax/Crew Door
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Reporter qualification: Flight Attendant Current
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
Detector: Person Flight Attendant
When detected: Aircraft In Service At Gate
Result: General Maintenance Action
Contributing factors: Aircraft
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: Upon arrival I cracked L2 and noticed the ramp agent having difficulty opening the door. After she left I opened it myself (fully) and it would stop at the halfway point (it was getting hung up).You could open the door; but at the point where we switch our hands; the door would suddenly stop. If you put your hand back on the control handle and pulled the outer edge of the door back towards you; you could push the door past its sticking point.I asked the other two FAs (flight attendants) to try the door (without telling them what was wrong) and they both said it was unsafe. I told our inbound CA (Captain) who said 'Well I don't know anything about doors and how they work so... I can write it up but then maintenance will have to come out and they're contract.' I told him to please do that.Contract Maintenance came out and he noted my concerns but said the aircraft would have to be pulled from service to have it fixed and seemed to think I should just work harder to open it. I explained that the door not opening properly could result in a slide malfunction. I finally had to tell him I was an Instructor...and he started to listen. I shared the same concerns with the CA. With pressure mounting; and knowing the aircraft needed attention from [Company Maintenance]; I agreed to work the flight given that I knew how to get the door to function and felt confident that in an emergency (given my having felt the door myself) I could get it to function...but what if a passenger had to do it? I told the CA that we HAD to have it addressed in [the next station]. Contract Maintenance said 'It opens eventually...it closes; and the annunciator light functions...I can't ground the plane.'Upon arrival in [the next station; Maintenance] sent an apprentice who also noted the issue but said 'If you just pull here and push here you can get it open...' Again I had to explain than FAs are trained and held accountable to opening fully functioning doors. If a FA opens the door and stops halfway; they do not pass...so we can't put them in situations that are counter to their training. Everyone kept saying 'it's up to you; what do you think?' I finally said 'I think it's unsafe and needs to be pulled from service and fixed.' Thankfully they did just that.I made the best decision I could in the moment considering the peer pressure and safety culture encountered. What concerns me is that there was so much ambiguity.. back and forth; asking what I 'thought' and how I 'felt'. While I am comfortable making those decisions; not only are they not mine to make; most FAs wouldn't have the capacity to do that. It's ambiguous social pressure. Add-to-that; I shouldn't have had to explain I was an Instructor. FAs may not be able to articulate as much about the doors; but they know what's right and what's not. I think pilots need to learn how to use the doors and what constitutes 'functioning'.. Pilots do not have to operate exits every year. Also [Maintenance] should do the same. Everyone needs to know equipment use to the standards we are tasked with performing... otherwise what's the point in having a standard? There shouldn't be ambiguity in situations like this: If the door doesn't operate as it should; the door gets fixed... IMMEDIATELY; PERIOD. There's so much ignorance of each department's interaction with equipment which leads to a lot of peer pressure to stay on time.




Synopsis: B737-700 Flight Attendant reported requesting maintenance action for a malfunctioning main cabin door.