B737-700
Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure; Human Factors
During preflight safety checks; my forward entry slide gauge was in the red. I notified the Captain; who verified with my flashlight that it was in the red. A call was made to Dispatch to arrange for a swap in a down line station. During the 20 minutes it took the Captain to speak with Dispatch; the outside temperature did cause the pressure gauge to move up slightly on the red/green line. The Captain decided it would be fixed later and we departed. We were told that we would be having a swap of aircraft or the slide would be replaced. Upon arrival; I noticed the gauge was back in the red. Maintenance was called to look at it and signed off the gauge was reading on the red/green line. I was told by the Captain that if I felt uncomfortable; I was free to leave and that he would find a different crew to work the trip. The aircraft was dispatched with a potentially inoperative slide for the sake of not taking a delay. Flight attendants must pay more attention to slide gauges during their preflight safety checks. If there is a window of temperature differentials; that needs to be shared with the Flight Attendant work group. Our procedures for handling slides in the RED or RED/GREEN line need to be clearly defined and shared with the respective work groups.
A B737 Flight Attendant discovered an entry slide gauge in the red during preflight and informed the Captain. During the time it took to discuss the situation with Maintenance ambient temperatures and the gauge pressure rose to be on the red/green line allowing the flight to depart.