B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Attendant Current
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
At cruise; I plugged my iPhone charger into one of the back galley charging outlets at the R2 door. I saw a small spark emit from the outlet; and I promptly removed the charger. I looked at the outlet more closely; and saw that there seemed to be a loose wire hanging out of it. I called the pilots to inform them of what happened. There had been no arcing; smoke; flame; or any alarming events aside from the spark and the wire. The captain wrote up the event; and made arrangements for a mechanic to come onboard. When I went back to the front of the AC and informed the A what had happened; she was extremely shocked that I had plugged anything into that outlet. She said that when she had been hired 35 years ago; FAs were made known of what a safety hazard it was to do so. Not only was I under the impression that cleaners use those outlets on a daily basis; but I have also seen numerous flight attendants use those outlets onboard to charge their IMDs. At my last base; this was common practice. I was not aware that use of those outlets was a safety hazard; and I absolutely would never knowingly compromise the safety of myself; the AC; passengers; or other FAs. FAs need to be made aware that the use of power outlets (apparently aside from the ones at passenger seats) is a safety hazard; and they by using them; they could be unknowingly compromising the safety of the AC and its passengers. It may seem natural to want to use them as most of our planes are power planes; and that we now have IMDs which may lose required power during a trip or even midflight; but that in fact we are not to use them at all for safety reasons.
B737NG Flight Attendant reported that a spark emitted from one of the back galley charging outlets when she plugged in her phone charger. The outlet appeared to have a loose wire. The A Flight Attendant she was flying with said that she was advised early in her career not to use those outlets.