MD-83
Flight Attendant Current
Troubleshooting; Workload; Situational Awareness; Physiological - Other; Communication Breakdown; Training / Qualification
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Procedure
Our crew was already 45 minutes delayed awaiting the arrival of a/c. While boarding our crew was met by the inbound crew. They stated preflight was complete but your crew will need to check the front lav and a/c left lav during flight. Besides that preflight complete no discrepancies. We began dual boarding [a short time later]. I was making boarding announcements and saying hey; welcome aboard to customers. Several of the customers were on one of my prior flights. [Redacted] called forward to inform me a female pax slipped carrying a child boarding up the aft stairs had slipped on the top step. And passengers on the stairs stated they were slick and missing some nuts and bolts. I immediately informed ground crew to stop boarding from the tail cone due to some liquid coming from tail cone that is very slick. I also gave the same statement to the PIC.  The unhappy response I got from the departure station ground crew was not very welcoming and a disregard to safety when now I've had a pax slip boarding the a/c. I immediately told [Redacted] to stand in for me while I go toward the tail cone to assess the liquid coming from the tail cone. I could see the glistening of the substance on the stairs and could feel the slick liquid on my shoes from the tail cone door all the way to around the L2 door. During this time I was wearing my work heels. I went back forward and [Redacted] asked [Redacted] if he was ok with switching positions with her because she was not feeling safe in that environment with her shoes. During this time [Redacted] kept saying we had a situation like this come up in recurrent and this is not ok for passengers or crew members. [Redacted] then asked [Redacted] to take my cell phone and called [Redacted] to inform her about the situation about this liquid on the aisle in the a/c.  [Redacted] had said 'don't wet the substance; you may have to close off the back 2 lavs or wait for it to evaporate into the air.' The captain then informed the passengers Some of you may be wondering what that slippery substance is on the floor and that is deicing fluid which made its way into the a/c. I walked back and tested the floor with my shoes and it was still slick after the first grounds guy came on and attempted to clean the floor with some sort of liquid in a spray bottle. It was still not ok by me. I then had [Redacted] walk back and test it with her shoes. The other crew members then also tested the floor and said its still slick. Another guy came on board this time with a wet mop and attempted to remove the deicing fluid. [Redacted] then came up and told the Captain we should of never boarded through those back stairs. Then another individual came on board with dry cloths to try to remove it. We also asked if the aft stairs could be cleaned of the liquid also. He couldn't remove it completely either. Our objective by having these individuals board the plane was to minimize the potential risk while in the air. By this time we were an hour and half delayed and the passengers were ready to arrive at their final destination. Our base supervisor had advised us of our options when we called her. We decided to proceed with normal operations and to keep in mind the aft section floor may have spots where slick. We then proceeded with 'normal' procedures for a departing flight. We decided as crew LFA would make an announcement about being careful walking in the aft section of the a/c. When FA 4 came fwd he stated that when arming his door a really greasy substance was around the stowage hooks near the L2 door. While inflight I told the other FA I needed to get a Passenger Injury Report filled out from the lady who slipped. Also; was brought to my attention by [Redacted] another guy while boarding had tweaked his calf muscle. I went ahead and got a statement from him as well. Asked both passengers how they were feeling during flight.One possible preventative measure would be if the crew preflighting the a/c after they checked the tail cone down the cat walk when the stairs are down to also check the stairs. The flight attendants would also check the steps going up the tail cone for any substance. Ground crew prior to pushing to begin boarding would check the stairs or entrance prior to beginning the boarding process. If no one would have boarded from the tail cone then the deicing fluid would not have came into the cabin unless leaking in somewhere else as well.
MD-83 Flight Attendant reported boarding passengers up the aft airstair in hazardous conditions because de-ice fluid from the previous flight leaked down on the stairs making them slippery. A woman carrying a child slipped on the top step entering the cabin.