Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Training / Qualification; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Fatigue; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
General Maintenance Action
Company Policy; Staffing; Procedure; Human Factors
Long night; complications with transportation to the airport; fuel spill; late departure from origin; late arrival at destination; continual late stairs to the airplane at destination; habitual late ACARS not closing because of main cabin door not being 'cracked' enough.  Upon block-in; stairs had been late getting to the airplane during the week (as late as 13 minutes); ACARS was not closing out unless doors were 'cracked' open more than normal; etc.  Shutdown was normal and checklists accomplished.  While waiting for stairs; Captain cracked the door to initiate ACARS closing process; but door was not disarmed.  Door starting initiating process of opening and inflating slide.  Slide never deployed completely nor door opened all the way.  Slide and door remained partially deployed and open.  No injuries; no damage except for need of slide replacement.  Log book entry made.  Normal checklist flow and normal procedures dictate that after block-in; the First Officer or crew insure that the slides are disarmed.  Because of aforementioned distractions with late stairs; etc.; the doors were not double checked via normal procedures.  Thus; any crewmember must insure that the door is disarmed completely before opening the door for any reason.
An A310 Captain opened the main cabin door before disarming the slide because he was impatient about ground crew delays and ACARS close-out message sending; and so partially inflated the slide.