Preventing Inadvertent Slide Deployments
Inadvertent Slide Deployments (ISDs) can occur, and may cause serious injury of operatives inside the cabin or outside the aircraft. ISDs also have economic impacts and cause operational disruptions.
Cabin Crew Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
The main causes of ISDs are non-compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and operatives being distracted whilst operating the doors (Source IATA 2017: Cabin Operations Safety Conference). Other contributing factors such as crew fatigue and time pressures during turn-around operations are a key element behind non-compliance to SOPs.
Within their SOPs, airlines are responsible to identify which staff take which actions, and when. Nevertheless, in all cases, the procedures to arm and disarm the slide include three stages; the command, the action (arm or disarm), and the confirmation (cross-check). When performing these three stages on Airbus aircraft, SOP can take into account the design of Airbus slides, which include a Safety Pin. When used in accordance with SOP, the Safety Pins prevent the arming lever from being inadvertently moved to the armed position.
The Airbus PIN-LEVER-PIN model
To assist crews in memorising the correct sequence of actions in arming or disarming a slide, Airbus’ recommends using the mental model ‘PIN-LEVER-PIN’.
To disarm a door slide, the first action is to remove the safety pin from its stowage in the door (PIN). The arming lever is then placed in the disarmed position (LEVER). Finally, the Safety Pin is inserted into the dedicated hole near the Arming Lever (PIN). The lever then cannot be accidentally being moved from the disarmed to the armed position.
To arm a slide, the procedure is applied in reverse; the Safety Pin is removed from its hole near the Arming Lever (PIN). The Arming Lever can then be pushed down into the armed position (LEVER). With the door armed, the pin is placed back in its stowage (PIN).
Once the arm or disarm action is complete, the principle means of confirmation of the door condition of the door is by use of the Visual Indicator.
The PIN-LEVER-PIN model is highlighted in our D10X poster available HERE.
For more information on how to prevent Inadvertent Slides Deployments see the Safety First article dedicated to this subject.
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