Page 13 - THEi Student Applied Research Presentations 2025

ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENT FOR
AIR TRAVEL

Poster
PANG Hei Tung
BEng (Hons) in Aircraft Engineering
Department of Construction, Environment and Engineering

RESEARCH BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES

This project aims to improve the flying experience for people with disabilities. It • To come up with helpful and new
addresses the challenges that disabled people have when traveling, which often approaches to make air travel
arises from prejudice, inefficient boarding processes, and a lack of adequate more accessible for people with
facilities. The goal is to provide answers to these issues by offering innovative disabilities.
means and updates to help all people have access to air travel. • Design a wheelchair specially for
use inside the flight cabin to solve
METHODOLOGY issues concerning structure and
safety.
Industry procedures and relevant literature about the difficulties that passengers with • To enhance the travel experience
disabilities face when flying was studied. According to the research, an aluminum and while promoting inclusion for all
titanium wheelchair was specially designed to solve issues concerning ineffective passengers, particularly those
boarding routines and restricted access in aircraft cabins. The improved wheelchair with disabilities.
was made using aluminum and titanium alloys for better strength and safety. To review
the wheelchair’s performance in several conditions to confirm its usefulness in actual
use, simulations were run using SolidWorks. The simulations could see how the chair
would respond to various loads, the limit on force, and what accidents it could withstand.

FINDINGS

Solidworks simulations of the wheelchair model built with aluminum and titanium
alloys proved that it will work properly and protect passengers if an emergency ABOUT THE INVESTIGATOR
landing occurs. The wheelchair was made with secure anchor points, restraints,
and guidelines for crash safety to ensure the safe travel of wheelchair users. I am an experienced senior aircraft
The results confirmed that the design helps make traveling safer and more maintenance mechanic working at the
comfortable for disabled passengers. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company
Limited. My responsibilities include
ensuring the good condition and safety
of aircraft by implementing routines and
monitoring performance to reduce the
amount of wear and tear, risk of damage,
and verifying that the execution of
maintenance tasks adheres to both safety
protocols and approved maintenance
data. My interests are snowboarding and
scuba diving. My career goal is to become
a lead engineer and contribute to the field
of aviation engineering. My FYP supervisor
is Dr YUEN Frank Tat Cheong.

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