A MD80 flight attendant reported the cockpit/cabin interphone system was inoperative during flight. ...

Narrative:

On our first leg out I found that we were unable to communicate with the cockpit. They said that they could hear us but all I could hear was a clicking sound. I reported this to the cockpit. They responded that our destination did not have maintenance. After landing the #2 and I ran downstairs for a quick smoke while the plane was being cleaned. Upon returning for boarding I asked the captain about the communication problem. He once again stated that they don't have maintenance here. I then asked him 'what if we have a problem in the back of the aircraft.' he replied 'I can hear you so I can click once for yes and twice for no.' I realized later how foolish I was not to have walked off the plane at that time. After takeoff the #2 got out her manual and of course there it was under malfunctions. 'Airline can not dispatch a flight if all cockpit cabin interphones are inoperative.' while deplaning at our destination I was the #2 talking on the captain on the way off the plane. The only thing I said to him was 'it's a no-go item' as I left. I realize that everyone would like their trips to stay on schedule. What I do not understand is a cockpit crew willing to put both their flight crew and their passengers at risk. I thank god that there were not any problems on our return flight. I shudder to think what could have happened if we did.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A MD80 Flight Attendant reported the Cockpit/Cabin interphone system was inoperative during flight. After landing; the Captain did not request contract Maintenance and the flight departed with a non-MEL item inoperative.

Narrative: On our first leg out I found that we were unable to communicate with the cockpit. They said that they could hear us but all I could hear was a clicking sound. I reported this to the cockpit. They responded that our destination did not have Maintenance. After landing the #2 and I ran downstairs for a quick smoke while the plane was being cleaned. Upon returning for boarding I asked the Captain about the communication problem. He once again stated that they don't have Maintenance here. I then asked him 'What if we have a problem in the back of the aircraft.' He replied 'I can hear you so I can click once for yes and twice for no.' I realized later how foolish I was not to have walked off the plane at that time. After takeoff the #2 got out her manual and of course there it was under malfunctions. 'Airline can not dispatch a flight if all cockpit cabin interphones are inoperative.' While deplaning at our destination I was the #2 talking on the Captain on the way off the plane. The only thing I said to him was 'It's a no-go item' as I left. I realize that everyone would like their trips to stay on schedule. What I do not understand is a cockpit crew willing to put both their flight crew and their passengers at risk. I thank God that there were not any problems on our return flight. I shudder to think what could have happened if we did.

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	856199
Time
Date	200910
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit/Cabin Communication
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural MEL

A MD80 flight attendant reported the cockpit/cabin interphone system was inoperative during flight. After landing; the captain did not request contract maintenance and the flight departed with a non-MEL item inoperative.