B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Aircraft
On several occasions in the past few weeks ZZZ ramp has been put in a circumstance where we loaded electric wheelchair on their side. In two of the issues the passengers were flying to ZZZ1 on 737s the electric wheelchair height is too tall to be stored in the upright position. There was no follow on aircraft with a taller aircraft i.e. A320; 757... to this destination. To accommodate the passenger the wheelchairs were loaded on their sides and the passenger was sent to on their scheduled flights. On one of the circumstances the batteries were removed from the wheelchair. The batteries were Dry/Gel. Things that brought to question for the ramp are: Dry/Gel are considered non-spillable but can they be stored on their side? Is there a screening for electric wheelchair height to fit aircraft limitations? Not only for RJ aircraft with less than 60 passengers. Some training cannot be completely taught on a computer it needs hands on training and group interaction.
Ramp personnel reported electric wheelchairs loaded sideways creating a potentially hazardous situation with wheelchair battery. The situation highlights the need for more comprehensive training.