During the initial arrival descent a MD80's pressurization flow light illuminated as it leveled at F...

Narrative:

Descending out of FL250 the captain noticed a flow light with cabin climbing approximately l000 ft/min. Since we were single pack operation we assumed pulling the power back was the cause. As we leveled at FL210 the power came up; but the cabin kept climbing. The captain asked for and received 10;000 ft; then 8000 ft. We performed an expedited descent; but not what I would call an emergency descent. The cabin rose to 11;000 ft with the associated light and aural clues. In the descent the #4 flight attendant called saying the rear cabin service door seal had failed. No emergency was declared as far as I know we didn't get any priority handling just a nonstandard descent profile. I really feel a two pack operation would have prevented the cabin from climbing. So I file this in the 'stuff happens' category. If this becomes a trend an inspection of the door seals might be in order. Had we been at 35;000 ft it probably would have been an emergency since we probably couldn't have beat the cabin to below 14;000 ft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: During the initial arrival descent a MD80's pressurization FLOW light illuminated as it leveled at FL210 with a single pack operating. The flight attendants then reported the aft galley door seal failed and during the subsequent rapid descent to 8000' the cabin reached 11;000'.

Narrative: Descending out of FL250 the Captain noticed a flow light with cabin climbing approximately l000 FT/min. Since we were single pack operation we assumed pulling the power back was the cause. As we leveled at FL210 the power came up; but the cabin kept climbing. The Captain asked for and received 10;000 FT; then 8000 FT. We performed an expedited descent; but not what I would call an emergency descent. The cabin rose to 11;000 FT with the associated light and aural clues. In the descent the #4 Flight Attendant called saying the rear cabin service door seal had failed. No emergency was declared as far as I know we didn't get any priority handling just a nonstandard descent profile. I really feel a two pack operation would have prevented the cabin from climbing. So I file this in the 'STUFF HAPPENS' category. If this becomes a trend an inspection of the door seals might be in order. Had we been at 35;000 FT it probably would have been an emergency since we probably couldn't have beat the cabin to below 14;000 FT.

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	908369
Time
Date	201009
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
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	Descent
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Exterior Pax/Crew Door
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

During the initial arrival descent a MD80's pressurization flow light illuminated as it leveled at FL210 with a single pack operating. The flight attendants then reported the aft galley door seal failed and during the subsequent rapid descent to 8000' the cabin reached 11;000'.