Technical Feasibility of a Wheelchair Securement Concept for Airline Travel A Preliminary Assessment (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 87-114
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From page 87... ...
87 Airplane door openings and cabin spaces will need to be able to accommodate a range of wheelchair sizes and dimensions if reasonably large numbers of people are going to be able to fly while seated in their personal wheelchairs. Airplanes will need to have sufficient doorway and aisle clearances and clear spaces for wheelchair ingress and egress and maneuvering to and from the designated securement location.
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From page 88... ...
88 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL and operating capabilities of a wide range of personal wheelchairs.2 The total space required for an in-cabin securement area will depend on the dimensions of the wheelchair plus any additional room needed for the design and operation of the securement system, essential wheelchair seat functionality, and protection of the occupant and nearby passengers from objects and structure that can cause injury. To have sufficient clear space for injury protection, the dimensions of a cabin securement area were estimated in Chapter 3 to be 30 × 60 in.
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From page 89... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 89 or even optimal under some circumstances, depending on specific airplane interior layouts and other considerations, a front cabin location is assumed for this chapter's limited purpose of assessing space-related technical issues and implications related to system feasibility. To help illustrate and reach some conclusions about how a front cabin securement location could be accommodated space-wise, the chapter takes a closer look at the interior of a common airplane in the airline fleet.
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From page 90... ...
90 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL power wheelchair is shown because its size and operation would generally require more space than a manual wheelchair. Nevertheless, both types of wheelchairs are accounted for in the ADAAG-referenced specifications for clearance and clear space.
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From page 91... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 91 FIGURE 4-1 Wheelchair maneuvers required to access a securement location at the front of the cabin near the forward boarding door: (a) maneuvering through the left forward boarding doorway (gold area indicates the space required for the wheelchair to maneuver)
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From page 92... ...
92 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL layouts, dimensions, and features. However, cabin doorway dimensions, as well as overall cabin interior dimensions such as interior cabin width and height, tend to be consistent across all models in an airplane family.
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From page 93... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 93 As discussed above, a large majority of wheelchairs have a maximum overall width (Dimension A)
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From page 94... ...
94 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL in. above the sill and assumes the presence of a ramp over the sill for the wheelchair to traverse.
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From page 95... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 95 an impediment for the large majority of wheelchairs that have a wheelbase width of 26 in. or less.
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From page 96... ...
96 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL than 83 percent of wheelchairs (of 185 power wheelchair models tested) can execute a right-angle turn if provided this amount of space.
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From page 97... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 97 A wheelchair securement area located near the turn from the boarding door is likely to require fewer changes to the interior, including aisle widths. Partly for this reason, Figure 4-4 depicts a turn between the commonly used left forward boarding doorway and a securement location at the head of the main aisle in the passenger cabin.
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From page 98... ...
98 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL FIGURE 4-5 Space required to maneuver between the aisle and securement location (15-in. aisle width depicted at floor level)
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From page 99... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 99 the airplane moving forward and to execute a 180-degree turnaround to place the wheelchair in a front-facing position in the securement zone, as shown in Figure 4-7. As discussed in Chapter 2, only 1 percent of tested wheelchairs require a pivot width that exceeds 60 in.17 17 Note that Figures 4-1 through 4-7 show a person with knees flexed at 90 degrees; as noted in Chapter 2, further analyses would consider the extent to which the dimensions shown account for the clearance needs of all people, including those who may not be able to flex their knees when using their wheelchairs.
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From page 100... ...
100 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Importantly, it is reasonable to expect that for some people who use wheelchairs, the execution of some or all of the maneuvers depicted above may require direction and guidance from a traveling companion or customer service agent. SPACE REQUIREMENTS IN RELATION TO AN EXISTING AIRPLANE INTERIOR The following sections illustrate the types of changes to an existing airplane interior that may be needed to meet the clearance and clear space minimums estimated above using a commonly configured 737 interior.
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From page 101... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 101 These impacts would depend on the specific interior features requiring modification and/or relocation. If major monuments such as lavatories and galleys need to be relocated, some can only be moved to specific installment zones in the cabin due to constraints such as the airplane's structural capacity, electrical and plumbing system designs, weight and balance considerations, the location of flight and environmental control systems, and requirements for emergency exit.
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From page 102... ...
102 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL Clearing the Doorway Figure 4-9 shows the clearance widths of the forward left boarding door of a 737. As established above, all airplanes in the U.S.
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From page 103... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 103 Maneuvering Laterally Between the Aisle and Securement Area Figure 4-11 shows the space requirements for a wheelchair maneuvering between the securement area and aisle. Because the requisite 30- × 60-in.
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From page 104... ...
104 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL The vertical space by the window in this depicted wheelchair securement area, which is the space with the lowest headroom clearance on the 737, is 62.2 in. from the lower surface of the standard overhead bin to the floor.20 This vertical space should provide sufficient headroom for a person seated in a wheelchair considering that the sitting height for the 99th percentile male is 40.3 in.21 Likewise, the A320 family has 63.1 in.
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From page 105... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 105 would need to be removed or reduced in size, if even possible. Removal of the lavatory would also require relocating two flight attendant seats to a nearby structure other than the lavatory's outer wall.
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From page 106... ...
106 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL CHANGES REQUIRED TO AIRPLANE INTERIORS The illustrations above indicate that modifications to an airplane cabin interior would be needed to accommodate the space required for wheelchair securement systems. All of the interior changes that would be needed, however, are not depicted in the illustrations because even modest revisions to an interior will require changes to systems and equipment other than monuments and seats.
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From page 107... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 107 or manufacturer, movement of a galley or lavatory) can alter the balance and require the airline to obtain a Supplemental Type Certificate from FAA to show airworthiness.
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From page 108... ...
108 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL • Reconfigured overhead PSU for comfort and service functions to relocate PSU and drop-down oxygen location commensurate with wheelchair tiedown location (PSU filler panels as required) ;24 • PSU for wheelchair passenger to accommodate remote control of the panel functions and installation of remote control for reading light and attendant call functionality; • Seat row placarding kit; • Modified and reprogrammed cabin management system for seat reconfigurations (required due to changing the number of rows of seats in the airplane, as it affects the flight attendant call button)
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From page 109... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 109 TABLE 4-3 Approximations of Price Ranges for Products (Kit Materials) Needed to Make Referenced Modifications for Cabins with First Class and Economy Class Seating Economy Class Price Range Reduced-size closet $30,000 $36,000 Securement pallet $5,000 $10,000 Standard front row triple-seat assembly with in-seat IFE $20,000 $30,000 Escape path lighting modification kit $2,000 $3,000 Flooring modification kit $1,000 $2,000 PSU filler panels $800 $1,200 Seat row placard kit $50 $250 Remote control kit for wheelchair passenger PSU $1,200 $1,800 Cabin management system software reprogramming $500 $1,200 IFE modification kit $2,300 $3,500 Sidewall mounted lit pockets $1,600 $2,400 Sidewall mounted life vest for wheelchair passenger $1,200 $1,800 Total $65,650 $93,150 First/Business Class Price Range Reduced-size closet $30,000 $36,000 Securement pallet $5,000 $10,000 Business class seat with in-arm video $28,000 $40,000 Escape path lighting modification kit $2,000 $3,000 Flooring modification kit $1,000 $2,000 PSU filler panels $800 $1,200 Seat row placard kit $50 $250 Remote control kit for wheelchair passenger PSU $1,200 $1,800 Cabin management system software reprogramming $500 $1,200 IFE modification kit $2,300 $3,500 Sidewall mounted lit pockets $1,600 $2,400 Sidewall mounted life vest for wheelchair passenger $1,200 $1,800 Total $73,650 $103,150
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From page 110... ...
110 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS Airplane cabin interiors will need sufficient room for the clearances and clear spaces required for a majority of personal wheelchairs of common types and sizes to (1) enter and egress through the boarding doorway, (2)
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From page 111... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 111 wheelchair laterally between the aisle and securement position. A rectangular securement area of 30 × 60 in.
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From page 112... ...
112 WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT CONCEPT FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL ADDENDUM Doorway Dimensions and Typical Row Layouts for Airplane Models in the U.S. Commercial Transport Fleet Airplane Type Airplane Count Percent of U.S.
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From page 113... ...
AIRPLANE SPACE CONSIDERATIONS 113 767-300 131 2.03 42 36.7 28 2 × 3 × 2 X 767-400 37 0.57 42 36.7 28 2 × 3 × 2 X 777-200 141 2.19 35 32.3 28 3 × 3 × 3 X 777-300 40 0.62 35 32.3 28 3 × 3 × 3 X 787-10 11 0.17 35 32.3 28 3 × 3 × 3 X A330-200 50 0.78 42 40.3 34.1 2 × 4 × 2 X A330-300 40 0.62 42 40.3 34.1 2 × 4 × 2 X A330neo 4 0.06 42 40.3 34.1 2 × 4 × 2 X 787-8 32 0.50 35 32.3 28 3 × 3 × 3 X 787-9 47 0.73 35 32.3 28 3 × 3 × 3 X A350-900 13 0.20 42.3 37.9 29.8 3 × 3 × 3 X SOURCES: Committee analysis and data obtained from personal communications with Andre Cavalca, Embraer; Stephen Kalhok, MHIRJ Aviation Group; Andrew Keleher, Boeing; and Pierre-Antoine Senes, Airbus.
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