Technical Feasibility of a Wheelchair Securement Concept for Airline Travel A Preliminary Assessment (2021) / Chapter Skim
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25 This chapter provides terminology, context, and other background information that are essential for identifying and examining technical issues associated with the use of wheelchairs as seats on passenger airplanes. The first half of the chapter focuses on the types, features, and performance characteristics of wheelchairs commonly used in the United States as well as the kinds of systems currently available to secure wheelchairs and safely restrain their occupants when traveling by car, van, transit bus, and other surface modes.
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26 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL and medical needs. At the same time, wheelchairs share certain design and operational characteristics, partly as a result of standards to ensure their use in a range of facilities, general durability and safety, and safe performance when used specifically as a seat in transportation.
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BACKGROUND 27 tasks such as reaching for objects, and (3) a control system for the user to operate the power and seating positioning.
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BACKGROUND 29 Manual Wheelchairs Many users of manual wheelchairs are nonambulatory and cannot walk any distance, while others are ambulatory at least for short distances. As shown in Figure 2-3, manual wheelchairs may have either a folding frame or a rigid frame.
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30 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Overview of Wheelchair Design Guidelines and Standards Most personal wheelchairs are paid for by private insurers and the federal government through programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
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BACKGROUND 31 assumptions about common wheelchair width and length dimensions. Two key assumptions are that the overall width of a wheelchair will not exceed 30 in.
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32 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL the addendum to this chapter, reveal the following about power wheelchair weights and sizes: • The maximum weight of a power wheelchair model is 470 lb and the median6 is 300 lb. The maximum weight of an occupied power wheelchair is 895 lb, based on rated occupant weight.
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BACKGROUND 33 Transportation Safety Standards for Wheelchairs and Securement Systems Wheelchairs function as assistive devices to meet the everyday needs of people who are nonambulatory. In addition to providing mobility, the wheelchair benefits the user's physical health and quality of life by helping to reduce common problems such as pressure sores and improving respiration and digestion.
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34 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL modifying personal vehicles, typically vans and minivans, for the transport of nonambulatory passengers and for people to drive while seated in their wheelchairs. Now common today, the modified vehicles are often equipped with docking securement systems that are installed and tuned to secure to a particular wheelchair, a floor that has been lowered by at least 10 in.
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BACKGROUND 35 a safety assurance challenge.11 As a result, work began in the mid-1990s to develop the first standards to address safety issues and features to make wheelchairs more securable and crashworthy when used as seats in motor vehicles. RESNA had already established a Standards Committee on Wheelchairs, and therefore it created a Subcommittee on Wheelchairs and Transportation.
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36 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL that can be secured by the wheelchair user. However, the four-point securement brackets that WC19 requires are highly relevant for the purposes of this study because they are required for all wheelchairs to be compliant with WC19.
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BACKGROUND 37 with WC-1 Section 8 (WC8) , the wheelchair model must demonstrate the strength to withstand static loads applied to various components such as foot supports, caster wheels, backrest, seat, armrest, and hand rims.
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38 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL United, Delta, Southwest, American) provide service primarily using airplanes with 90 or more seats, while regional carriers (e.g., Mesa, Republic, Skywest, and others often affiliated with mainline carriers)
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BACKGROUND 39 Table 2-1 shows the major airplane models that accounted for passenger enplanements and departures by U.S. airlines during the second half of 2019.
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40 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL For instance, some airlines only configure their airplanes for economy class seating, while others reserve areas for first class and business class seating, usually at the front of the cabin. Wide-body airplanes operating in overseas markets have the greatest variability in seating types and configurations in order to provide space, comfort, and privacy, especially for passengers paying premium fares.
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BACKGROUND 41 FIGURE 2-8 Cross-section of narrow-body cabin interior with six-abreast seating. NOTES: Dimension ranges for numbered areas in the figure are illustrative and apply only to common economy cabin configurations for a narrow body: 1: Typical seat assembly width: 56.5 to 60 in.
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42 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL FIGURE 2-9 Aluminum pallet for distributing load across airplane floor structure. SOURCE: European Patent Application.17 Airplane Operations in Airline Service One reason that narrow-body jets are predominant in the airline fleet -- and indeed dominant in markets having the most passenger traffic -- is that most airlines operate their fleets in hub-and-spoke networks suited to the capacity and range of this airline class.
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BACKGROUND 43 passenger trips made during the second half of 2019 involved connections; however, for passengers originating from some states (that are mostly rural) without a major hub airport, connecting service was the norm, required for more than two-thirds of trips.
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44 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL movable enclosure that is secure and environmentally controlled. Bridges usually interface with the airplane at the left-side door, usually forward of the wings.19 Yet, even in some of the country's largest airports, bridge boarding systems may not be available at all gates, particularly for smaller RJs.
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BACKGROUND 45 ADDENDUM Weight, Size, and Performance Measurements of Power Wheelchair Models Tested Since 2009 for Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding (PDAC) for Medicare Eligibility Following Procedures of Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)
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46 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 47 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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48 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 49 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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50 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 51 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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52 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 53 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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54 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 55 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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56 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 57 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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58 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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BACKGROUND 59 Model PDAC K-Code Max User Weight (lb) Product Weight (lb)
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