EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Aircraft
Upon cleaning the galley post flight; I went to open the galley service door to do catering. When I went to reach for the Assist Handle to aid me in opening the door I could not get even a single finger to wrap around the handle because it was fixed so close to the wall of the galley. I called my First Officer over to the galley to ask him to do the same thing. He couldn't get a grip on it either and then said 'well that is an issue.' My First Officer called for Maintenance to come out to the aircraft and look at it. Once arriving to the aircraft; Maintenance took a quick look at it and let me know there is nothing that they could do to fix the proximity of the assist handle with the wall.I told my First Officer I was uncomfortable with taking the aircraft since this could lead to an on the job injury or impede either myself or a passenger from safely opening the exit in the event of an emergency. He called around and then ended up with the operations supervisor who soon after asked to speak with me. I told him the situation and why I was uncomfortable with taking the plane for the next two flights. He then asked; 'but you took it in from ZZZ?' I told him yes; however while doing my preflight I just need to make sure that it's there. He then informed me that it would be very difficult and almost impossible to find another aircraft in a timely manner so it wouldn't affect the next outbound departure as they did not have extra aircraft available in ZZZ1. It sounded like he wanted me to fly the aircraft out of ZZZ1. He then told me that I would need to speak with my Chief Flight Attendant or the on call Chief Flight Attendant to cover the correct bases. I then called scheduling to let them know what was happening; they patched me through to the Chief Flight Attendant.I explained to them the reasoning and what was happening; she then told me that Crew Scheduling was looking for a replacement Flight Attendant for the duration of the trip. I waited for the next flight attendant to arrive to let them know what had happened. He looked at it; tried to grab the handle and he wasn't bothered by it. The crew then took the plane from ZZZ1 to ZZZ2 and off to ZZZ3.While I was glad that I was removed from the aircraft I am disappointed that it was still being flown 3 additional flights. It proved to be a potential safety hazard for myself and passengers due to the poor location of the handle. Thus it could impede the evacuation process or cause injury to someone trying to use it. What is also concerning is that another flight attendant was put on the trip; thus no action concerning safety had been rectified. Instead other flight attendants and 3 more flights; possibly 150 passengers; were put at risk.
EMB-145 Flight Attendant reported that a cabin exit door handle was improperly installed; making the door inoperative.