A B737-700 flight attendant reported that the flap covering the after galley door girth bar and emer...

Narrative:

I have noticed several slides with no flap over the pull handle when slides are armed. Many of my fellow crew members and I agree that this is a very dangerous situation. Many passengers come back to the aft galley to stand; stretch; or bring their kids back to use the lavatory. We are afraid a little kid will reach down while the parents aren't looking and pull the exposed handle. Or someone will lay a bag on the floor near the door and catch something on the handle and engage the slide. Many times during the flight; we are out in the cabin and can't always watch the doors.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-700 Flight Attendant reported that the flap covering the after galley door girth bar and emergency escape manual slide handle was missing and created the potential for an accidental slide activation.

Narrative: I have noticed several slides with no flap over the pull handle when slides are armed. Many of my fellow crew members and I agree that this is a very dangerous situation. Many passengers come back to the aft galley to stand; stretch; or bring their kids back to use the lavatory. We are afraid a little kid will reach down while the parents aren't looking and pull the exposed handle. Or someone will lay a bag on the floor near the door and catch something on the handle and engage the slide. Many times during the flight; we are out in the cabin and can't always watch the doors.

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	976294
Time
Date	201110
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Component
Aircraft Component	Escape Slide
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A B737-700 flight attendant reported that the flap covering the after galley door girth bar and emergency escape manual slide handle was missing and created the potential for an accidental slide activation.