US FAA officials are working to define the criteria necessary to allow someone to remain in their personal wheelchair during flight using a tie-down “similar to what’s used in the automotive industry,” the agency confirmed today — after disability rights advocate Chris Wood of Flying Disabled revealed the news via his social media channels.
“We recognize the tie-down option could provide both safety and convenience benefits,” FAA said in a statement provided to RGN.
“The FAA plans to define the safety criteria by the end of 2025.”
The FAA’s vision is in sync with a previous commitment made by US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg who assured that the Department of Transportation, for its part, is working towards a future rule that would allow passengers to remain in their own wheelchairs during flight.
Chris Wood’s Flying Disabled business is part of the Air4All consortium that includes PriestmanGoode and EASA-approved design organization SWS Certification; they have designed a revolutionary wheelchair seating system for aircraft that will allow wheelchair users to travel in their own chairs. Delta Flight Products is bringing the system through development, and lately showcased a honed recliner model and an economy class version at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.
The economy class version of Air4All would see two seats retract to enable a wheelchair tie-down. Image: John Walton
Collins Aerospace also revealed a wheelchair tie-down solution at the exhibition.
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Featured image credited to John Walton
