Crash Testing Wheelchairs for Commercial Flight Update

We want people who use wheelchairs to have the opportunity to fly in the safety of their wheelchair. All Wheels Up is the only organization crash testing wheelchairs and wheelchair tie down systems for commercial and private flight.

All Wheels Up was created in 2011 by Michele Erwin, after experiencing how difficult it is to travel by plane with a son who uses a wheelchair. She became determined to help her son with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and other individuals like him, to be able to board a plane and travel in the safety of their wheelchairs.

All Wheels Up has already conducted the first proof of concept study. From that success, we are looking to keep testing additional wheelchair tie downs currently on the market to gain a full understanding of all the research and development that will need to be done to get the right system in place for accessible air travel. The airlines and airplane manufacturers are looking for the research and data collecting, and we are here to provide that support in the effort to make accessible travel a reality. This will allow the airlines to reach a massive, untapped market of millions of customers who never fly, providing individuals who use wheelchairs and their families the freedom to travel anywhere in the world. In addition, it will save the airlines millions in wheelchair repairs and create billions for themselves, the travel industry, the tourism industry and the hotel Industry.

We are looking to fundraise $26,000 for one day of testing with Calspan, an FAA approved aerospace crash test facility. With the data collected in these crash tests, the government data we have secured from other crash tests done on wheelchairs for buses and automobiles and FAA regulations, we will create a wheelchair crash test model for aviation purposes. This will also cover the cost of travel for one member of our organization to the facility to document and witness the testing.

We have already received generous equipment donations for the crash test from such companies as Q’straint, which is the world leader in wheelchair restraints, and they will loan their rare and valuable surrogate wheelchair. We will provide data to the FAA, Congress, airlines, airplane manufacturers, Universities specializing in Aviation Testing and organizations specializing in wheelchair safety. We hope the FAA and Congress will release funding for more in-depth research with organizations such as the FAA and Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheelchair Transportation Safety (RERC WTS). We hope this campaign will get us to our goal and help us get one step closer to allowing people who use wheelchairs for mobility to fly in the safety of their wheelchair on airplanes.

We are a 501c3 Nonprofit so all donations are Tax Deductible.

https://www.gofundme.com/AllWheelsUp

www.AllWheelsup.org

All Wheels Up urges Congress to pass FAA Bill

Contact: Michele Erwin, President and Founder
Mobile: 917-414-0897
[email protected]

Alternate Contact: Alan Chaulet, Vice President
Mobile: 781-835-8569
[email protected]

For Immediate Release

All Wheels Up urges Congress to pass FAA Bill
Bill includes study on safety of wheelchair restraints in flight

Islip, NY, June 10th 2016… All Wheels Up is urging Congress to pass the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R.4441. FAA funding expires on July 15th and another short term extension will delay our work for Wheelchair Accessible Airplanes.

The Senate version of the bill specifically states in section 3116 they will have a “study on in cabin wheelchair restraint systems”. This section of the bill would give people who use wheelchairs the option to fly in the safety of their wheelchair, just as they currently do for buses, automobiles and trains.

This is not just about the rights of the disabled flyer, but more importantly, about their safety. The current standard for a person who uses a wheelchair, with limited or no mobility, is unsafe (as shown on our website https://www.allwheelsup.org/problem/). We know the best investment in the future of aviation is to fund the studies on in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems and make it easier to fly with a wheelchair for the 4 million Americans, and millions more around the world, who use one.

We need the House to pass the Senate FAA Re-Authorization Bill. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster has not yet said if he will pass his own bill or a short term extension.
We are asking everybody to please contact their Congressman and Chairman Congressman Bill Shuster and ask them to take up the Senate FAA Re-Authorization Bill http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.

All Wheels Up will work relentlessly to fund the crash testing of wheelchairs and will keep pushing this bill or work to create a new one. We are also working hard on our current feasibility study and, thanks to all of our supporters, fabrication of our crash test sled is already underway and a test date will be set very soon.

About All Wheels Up Inc: Formed in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, All Wheels Up is currently the only organization in the world advocating for Wheelchair Accessible Air Travel and crash testing Wheelchairs for Commercial Flight.

For more information, please vist https://www.allwheelsup.org/

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