Doors and Windows

Doors

The B737-800 has:

• 4 cabin doors(L doors are ENTRY, R doors are SERVICE)
  • Two forward
  • Two aft
• 4 over wing exit doors (2 doors on the -700 series)
• 2 cargo equipment doors (FWD and AFT)
• 2 electrical equipment doors (just aft and fwd of the nose gear)
• 1 flight deck door

Cabin doors

There are 4 cabin doors, designated:

• FWD Entry
• AFT Entry
• FWD Service
• AFT Service

Each of the 4 doors has its own escape slide. They are all plug-type doors with pressure seals. They are all equipped with:

• Window
• Control handle
• Assist handdle
• Slide pressure gauge
• Girt bar and escape slide
• Instruction placard

When the door is closed and the girt bar is attached to the floor the door is considered armed. When so, rotating the handle opens the door and deploys the slide. Should the slide not deploy, it can be manually activated by pulling the inflation handle.

Pulling the detachment handle detaches the slide from the aircraft.

Over wing exits

The over wing exits are used for emergency evacuation. All of them are hatch type and swing upward.

They are equipped with exit locks that automatically engage when:

• 3 of 4 entry/service doors are closed
• Either engine is running,
• Air/ground logic indicates the plane is in the air,
• Or both thrust levers are set for take-off

They disengage if any of those conditions are not met or DC power is lost.

The MASTER CAUTION - DOORS annunciator illuminate when an over wing exit is not fully close or if a flight lock fails to lock during take-off or in flight.

If a flight lock fails to unlock on landing, the MASTER CAUTION, OVERHEAD annunciator, and PSEU light will illuminate 30 seconds after landing.

Cargo doors

The forward and aft cargo doors are located on the right side of the aircraft. These two are opened, closed, and latched using an inset handle.

If the doors are not closed, the FWD CARGO or AFT CARGO lights illuminate, along with the DOORS annunciator, and the MASTER CAUTION lights.

Electrical equipment doors

Located on the lower fuselage forward and aft of the nose gear. These doors allow access to the electrical equipment compartments.

If either of the doors is not closed, the EQUIP light illuminates, the DOORS annunciator illuminates, as well as the MASTER CAUTION light.

Flight Deck door

The flight deck door provides a barrier to resist ballistic penetration and intruder entrance. It’s components include:

• Electrically operated lock controlled by flight deck door access system,
• A deadbolt,
• Viewing lens,
• Two decompression panels.

During normal operations the electronic lock is used to secure the flight deck door. It automatically engages when electrical power is available and disengages when power is lost or removed.

Cabin entry is controlled using the FLT DK DOOR rotary switch on the aft electronics panel. The switch is spring loaded into AUTO.

To allow access into the flight deck, the switch can be held in the UNLK position. When released the door lock re-engages.

If an emergency access door is entered on the keypad, an AUTO UNLK light flashes and a continuous buzzer is heard in the flight deck. After that the door can be opened normally; if no action is taken within 45 seconds the buzzer stops and the door unlocks for 5 seconds.

To deny emergency access, the switch can be placed on DENY. This will lock the door for 15 minutes, unless unlocked from the flight deck.

If the LOCK FAIL light is no, the deadbolt can be manually set:

• If both bars vertical, deadbolt is unlocked and red dots are in view
• Horizontal bars extends the deadbolt, indicated by green dots
  • This mode prevents emergency access and should be avoided.

Windows

There are 6 windows on the flight deck, number ONE through THREE L & R starting from the centre front.

Each cabin door has a window.

The 2L and 2R windows can be opened from the inside. However, the 2R is the only window that can be opened from the outside.

The 1LR and 2LR windows are heated for anti-ice protection. Additionally, the front windows have fog protection.

All windows in the cabin have 3-panes: the inner pane is non-structural. The middle and outer panes are structural and can each withstand the full cabin pressurisation load.

When do the over wing exit locks engage?::When 3 of 4 entry/service doors are closed, either engine is running, air/ground logic indicates airborne, or both thrust levers are set for take-off. How many emergency exits does the 737NG-800 have?::10 exits. Includes all entry/service doors, 4 over wings, and 2 flight deck emergency exit windows.

What are the flight deck indications that an emergency access code has been entered?::AUTO UNLK flashes and a continuous chime sound. If the emergency access code has been entered, hos is emergency access normally prevented?::By selecting the flight deck door switch to DENY.