Technical Feasibility of a Wheelchair Securement Concept for Airline Travel A Preliminary Assessment (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 115-134
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From page 115... ...
115 This chapter draws on the findings from the analyses in the previous chapters to offer a summary assessment, albeit preliminary, of the technical feasibility of an in-cabin wheelchair securement system concept. After reviewing the available information, the preceding chapters did not identify any technical issues that seem likely to present design and engineering challenges so formidable that they call into question the technical feasibility of an in-cabin wheelchair securement system and the value of exploring the concept further.
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From page 116... ...
116 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL of Task for this study calls on the committee to make recommendations on the additional research, information gathering, and technical analyses needed to inform public policy choices about in-cabin wheelchair securement systems. Before summarizing the study's key findings and presenting the committee's conclusions and recommendations, the next section provides a recap of the objectives, reasoning, and analyses undertaken in each of the previous four chapters in accordance with the task items in the study committee's charge.
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From page 117... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 117 committee presumes that the interest, as noted above and for reasons explained more fully in Chapter 1, is for people who are nonambulatory and have significant disabilities to have access to ample flight offerings that will enable them to fly to and from places they want to go while seated in their personal wheelchairs. An emphasis on being seated in a personal wheelchair during flight is fundamental to the study's charge because it stems from a concern that people who have significant disabilities and use wheelchairs are not always able to board an airplane, transfer to and from a conventional passenger seat, and remain in that seat for the duration of a flight without significant discomfort, pain, and risk of injury.
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From page 118... ...
118 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL crash performance criteria are complicated because each was established for different operating and crash environments. An important point, however, is that the RESNA standards establish a baseline minimum level of crash and safety performance that many commonly used wheelchairs comply with today and that more wheelchairs could be designed to comply with in the future, potentially facilitating future conformance to FAA safety criteria.
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From page 119... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 119 feasibility on an airplane without displaced seats) would have set a very high bar for a preliminary assessment of technical feasibility.
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From page 120... ...
120 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL consisting of different models. While specific interior layouts can differ widely among these models and even among individual airplanes of a given model, certain dimensions such as doorway and cabin interior widths are uniform for all airplanes in a given family.
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ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 121 perpendicular 36- × 60-in. clear spaces.
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From page 122... ...
122 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Airbus A320 family, where a closet in the same location is the norm, would add further to the share of the fleet that would not appear to have a major physical constraint to the placement of a wheelchair securement location at the very front of the passenger cabin. Findings on FAA Crashworthiness Requirements FAA has not established safety standards that apply to wheelchair securement systems or wheelchairs being used as seats in airplanes.
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From page 123... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 123 installation. Specifically, the findings suggest that systems could be designed to do the following: • Accommodate wheelchairs equipped with standardized four-point brackets for connecting tiedown straps and that otherwise comply with motor vehicle crashworthiness criteria (including many wheelchairs in use today and wheelchairs that can be designed to this standard in the future)
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From page 124... ...
124 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL assessing the feasibility and informing the design of wheelchair securement systems for in-cabin applications. The committee finds that the most uncertain technical issue pertaining to cabin crashworthiness criteria, and one that warrants further information gathering and evaluation, is whether the population of personal wheelchairs themselves, including those designed to meet motor vehicle crash performance standards, would satisfy the FAA requirements for airplane crashworthiness.
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From page 125... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 125 Given these identified information gaps and knowing the variability in wheelchair designs, the committee has no current basis for gauging whether wheelchairs could satisfy FAA criteria with respect to these crashworthiness criteria. The committee is optimistic, however, that future efforts to fill the gaps in technical information will benefit from RESNA's crashworthiness standards for wheelchairs.
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From page 126... ...
126 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL criteria. The purpose of further testing and evaluation of wheelchairs and wheelchair securement systems would inform such safety determinations.
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ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 127 the premise that personal wheelchairs will be used and that common types of airplanes would be equipped. The report's assessments of the interior modifications required to implement the systems assume that the secured passengers will have access to the same in-cabin amenities and safety features as other passengers, including access to entertainment systems, call buttons, and oxygen masks.
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From page 128... ...
128 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL A passenger flying in a wheelchair may or may not require assistance from a flight attendant or customer service agent during boarding and deplaning, but is likely to require assistance with securing and releasing the wheelchair. It is already the case that the International Air Transport Association's (IATA's)
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From page 129... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 129 to be eligible for in-cabin securement. If WC19 compliance is considered to be at least one eligibility condition, one might expect airlines to design their securement mechanisms to take advantage of the four-point securement brackets and anchors for a lap belt specified by the standard.
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From page 130... ...
130 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL At the pre-travel phase, when searching for fare and service offerings, the traveler would need information about the availability of a system on each flight and to be assured that boarding bridges and trained customer support agents are available at all airports on the itinerary. Likewise, the airline would want this assurance before a booking takes place to minimize the potential for problems during check-in.
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From page 131... ...
ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 131 wheelchair service is therefore a complicated but potentially critical step for making decisions about equipping airplanes with wheelchair securements. With regard to the handling of wheelchair batteries, FAA regulations state that batteries may remain on a wheelchair stowed in the cargo hold but must be disconnected or otherwise disengaged to avoid unintentional activation.4 The exception is lithium ion batteries, which may need to be removed from the wheelchair and stored in the cabin.
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From page 132... ...
132 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS After reviewing the available information, as summarized in the findings above, the committee did not identify any issues in this preliminary assessment of technical feasibility that seem likely to present design and engineering challenges so formidable that they call into question the technical feasibility of an in-cabin wheelchair securement system and the value of exploring the concept further. While the report's analyses and findings suggest that equipping enough airplanes with securement systems to provide meaningful levels of airline service would require substantial effort, the types of cabin modifications required to provide the needed space and structural support would likely be of moderate technical complexity for many individual airplanes.
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ASSESSMENT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS 133 to be made by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.
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From page 134... ...
134 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL where information from the results of testing and analyses can be assessed for confidence and on the basis of risk analysis to define and prioritize next steps for information gathering and for furthering engineering and design activities, standards and regulation development, and practical requirements for implementation (e.g., personnel training requirements)
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