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.
