Sponsor: National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)
Dates: October 2022 to August 2025
Researchers: Kathleen D. Klinich, Miriam Manary, Nichole Orton, Kyle Boyle, Brian Eby, Jennifer Bishop
Abstract:
Approximately 3.6 million people in the US use wheelchairs, but they cannot currently use them on aircraft, preventing many from flying. Among those that transfer to airline seating, many report instances of their wheelchairs being damaged during transport, as well as discomfort, injury, and social stigma experienced while transferring to an aircraft seat.
A recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) consensus document determined that it should be feasible on most commercial aircraft to allow passengers to use their wheelchairs. However, wheelchairs would need to meet the FAA crashworthiness requirements for current aircraft seats. These consist of dynamic tests simulating frontal and vertical loading, plus static pull tests.
While voluntary, RESNA WC19 currently has standards for assessing frontal crashworthiness of wheelchairs used as seating in motor-vehicles. We hypothesized that wheelchairs meeting current RESNA standards for vehicles can meet the FAA crashworthiness requirements for airline seats. To test this hypothesis, we constructed adapted versions of the FAA test fixtures. Fourteen different commercial wheelchairs representing a range of designs were tested using adapted versions of FAA procedures for dynamic horizontal and vertical conditions, as well as static loading in five directions. In all tests, wheelchairs were secured using surrogate 4-point strap tiedowns in the geometry specified by WC19. Modeling demonstrated the suitability of using the UMTRI sled’s trapezoidal pulse rather than the typical triangular shaped FAA pulse, as well as the benefits of using WC19 tiedown geometry. Occupant restraint conditions included both a wheelchair-attached lap belt and a floor-mounted lap belt. Overall, eight wheelchair models met dynamic horizontal requirements and ten met static requirements, despite multiple tests conducted on the same wheelchair. For vertical testing, four of eight tests resulted in minor component breakage, and the power wheelchairs did not meet lumbar spine load requirements. Based on these results, it may be feasible for people to use their own wheelchairs on aircraft if they use WC19 wheelchairs secured to the aircraft with 4-point strap tiedown systems, restrained by a wheelchair-mounted belt supplemented by an occupant lap belt anchored to the aircraft.
(click image to play simulation)
Preliminary simulations to understand how crash-tested wheelchairs might perform under FAA test conditions for aircraft seats. Upper left: standard WC19 test procedure with lap and shoulder belt. Upper right: WC19 test procedure with lap belt only. Lower right: horizontal aircraft test conditions with lap belt only. Lower left: “vertical” aircraft test conditions with lap belt only.
Related Publications
NAS Report: Technical Feasibility of a Wheelchair Securement Concept for Airline Travel
Design Guidelines for Wheechair Stations on Aircraft (new 8-15-23)
Klinich KD, Orton NR, Boyle KJ, Vallier T, Eby B, Bishop J, Weissel G, Manary MA (2024) Evaluating Wheelchairs for Potential Use as Aircraft Seating: Static and Dynamic Frontal Test Conditions (Interim Project Report). UMTRI 2024-01. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Klinich KD, Orton NR, Boyle KJ, Vallier T, Eby B, Bishop J, Weissel G, Manary MA (2025) Evaluating Wheelchairs for Potential Use as Aircraft Seating: Dynamic Vertical and Static Test Conditions (Second Interim Project Report). UMTRI 2025-01. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Klinich KD, Orton NR, Boyle KJ, Vallier T, Manary MA (2025) Performance of WC19 Wheelchairs Under FAA Vertical Dynamic Testing Conditions. Transportation Research Board.
Klinich KD, Orton NR, Boyle KJ, Vallier T, Eby B, Bishop J, Weissel G, Manary MA (2025) Evaluating Wheelchairs for Potential Use as Aircraft Seating. UMTRI 2025-08. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Orton NR, Manary MA, Vallier T, Boyle KJ, Klinich KD (2027) Performance of WC19 Wheelchairs in Static Aircraft Seating Tests, SAE International Journal of Transportation Safety 15(1), 2027.
Klinich KD, Manary MA, Boyle KJ, Vallier T, Orton NR (2026) Crashworthiness of WC19 Wheelchairs in Horizontal Dynamic Aircraft Seating Tests, SAE International Journal of Transportation Safety 14(2):683-691, 2026.
Manary MA, Orton NR, Vallier T, Boyle KJ, Klinich KD (2026) Crashworthiness of WC19 Wheelchairs in Vertical Dynamic Aircraft Seating Tests, SAE International Journal of Transportation Safety 14(2):731-741, 2026.