An emergency exit slide was deployed at the gate by a caterer when a flight attendant incorrectly un...

Narrative:

The passengers had been boarded; and this was our last flight of a three day trip. After the lead flight attendant made his announcements; I thought I heard him say 'prepare doors.' I did so and began walking up the aisle checking on passengers. At this time; I realized that the front entry door and cockpit doors remained open. I proceeded to walk forward to inquire. When I arrived to the forward galley; a caterer came from the rear of the aircraft and informed us that he had popped the slide. We inquired if he was injured; and he said no. I followed him to the aft galley as he told me that he had seen the orange strap; but that his sunglasses had been giving off a glare and he had opened the door anyway. The slide had been fully deployed and was facing upward at an angle as the door was only partially opened. The gate agent; the caterer; and I placed the slide inside the aft galley so the plane could be taken to another gate and a new plane brought to our current gate. We immediately contacted the captain and began to secure another aircraft; deplane passengers; and continue our flight. The entire procedure was done effectively and efficiently and we departed less than 50 minutes late and all connections were good.I am eternally thankful that no one was injured due to my misunderstanding and know in the future I will be on high alert and double check myself. In this job; there are so many things going on at once in an attempt to board passengers; stow their bags; do our duties and depart on time. Sometimes; I get caught up in repetitive routines like simply shutting the doors and preparing for the demo that I have neglected a very important aspect. I should have immediately returned to the aft galley and 'unprepared' my doors as soon as I saw the forward entry door was open. As for the caterer; thankfully he was not injured; however; I would hope in the future he will never attempt to open a door with the strap across the window.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An emergency exit slide was deployed at the gate by a caterer when a Flight Attendant incorrectly understood the order to arm the doors had been given.

Narrative: The passengers had been boarded; and this was our last flight of a three day trip. After the Lead Flight Attendant made his announcements; I thought I heard him say 'prepare doors.' I did so and began walking up the aisle checking on passengers. At this time; I realized that the front entry door and cockpit doors remained open. I proceeded to walk forward to inquire. When I arrived to the forward galley; a caterer came from the rear of the aircraft and informed us that he had popped the slide. We inquired if he was injured; and he said no. I followed him to the aft galley as he told me that he had seen the orange strap; but that his sunglasses had been giving off a glare and he had opened the door anyway. The slide had been fully deployed and was facing upward at an angle as the door was only partially opened. The gate agent; the caterer; and I placed the slide inside the aft galley so the plane could be taken to another gate and a new plane brought to our current gate. We immediately contacted the Captain and began to secure another aircraft; deplane passengers; and continue our flight. The entire procedure was done effectively and efficiently and we departed less than 50 minutes late and all connections were good.I am eternally thankful that no one was injured due to my misunderstanding and know in the future I will be on high alert and double check myself. In this job; there are so many things going on at once in an attempt to board passengers; stow their bags; do our duties and depart on time. Sometimes; I get caught up in repetitive routines like simply shutting the doors and preparing for the demo that I have neglected a very important aspect. I should have immediately returned to the aft galley and 'unprepared' my doors as soon as I saw the forward entry door was open. As for the caterer; thankfully he was not injured; however; I would hope in the future he will never attempt to open a door with the strap across the window.

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	967088
Time
Date	201108
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Emergency Exit
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

An emergency exit slide was deployed at the gate by a caterer when a flight attendant incorrectly understood the order to arm the doors had been given.