Narrative:

Arrived at aircraft to preflight. Reviewing the aircraft log book; I saw MEL for flight deck door auto lock/access control. This called for positioning the power cutoff switch to cutoff; to deactivate the automatic locking system. Flight deck door is locked with the deadbolt in the lock key inoperable position prior to departure. The procedure goes on to say the captain will brief both the first officer and first flight attendant that the deadbolt will be used to lock the flight deck door in flight and access keypad will not be operative for emergency access to the flight deck from the cabin. The problem is there is no longer a key to enter if a pilot is incapacitated in flight while the other pilot is flying or while both pilots are incapacitated either in flight or on the ground during an accident or incident. It seems the MEL has not addressed this after the keyed lock was removed. I contacted the chief pilot and was patched in with a 737 fleet captain who was advised of the situation. As a result; I turned down the aircraft and advised dispatch. Another aircraft was made available and we continued our sequence. There was no way to enter the flight deck if one pilot incapacitated in flight or both pilots incapacitated on the ground or in flight as a result of an accident or incident. Suggest alternate entry procedures need to be addressed or system listed as a no item until repair is made.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Captain reported refusing to accept an aircraft with an MEL for 'Flight Deck Door Auto Lock'.

Narrative: Arrived at aircraft to preflight. Reviewing the aircraft log book; I saw MEL for Flight Deck Door Auto Lock/Access Control. This called for positioning the power cutoff switch to cutoff; to deactivate the automatic locking system. Flight Deck door is locked with the deadbolt in the Lock Key Inoperable position prior to departure. The procedure goes on to say the Captain will brief both the First Officer and First Flight Attendant that the deadbolt will be used to lock the flight deck door in flight and access keypad will not be operative for emergency access to the flight deck from the cabin. The problem is there is no longer a key to enter if a pilot is incapacitated in flight while the other pilot is flying or while both pilots are incapacitated either in flight or on the ground during an accident or incident. It seems the MEL has not addressed this after the keyed lock was removed. I contacted the Chief Pilot and was patched in with a 737 Fleet Captain who was advised of the situation. As a result; I turned down the aircraft and advised dispatch. Another aircraft was made available and we continued our sequence. There was no way to enter the Flight Deck if one pilot incapacitated in flight or both pilots incapacitated on the ground or in flight as a result of an accident or incident. Suggest alternate entry procedures need to be addressed or system listed as a no item until repair is made.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.