2024-02 · NASA ASRS report 2086869
Air carrier flight crew reported conflicting company guidance regarding battery configuration of battery powered wheelchair transport. Ultimately the flight crew elected to transport the batteries in the passenger cabin as stated in the FOM.
During the boarding process; I noticed a passenger wheelchair in the jet bridge with the battery powered wheelchair or mobility device tag form attached. After reviewing the tag; it was check marked as a lithium ion battery with a check on key turned off; key removed" statement. After reviewing the Dangerous Goods section in the FOM it appeared the language may be conflicting or at best a bit unclear on the question of whether the passenger could bring the two batteries removed from the wheelchair in the passenger cabin. The batteries were two separate 7 watt batteries kept by the passenger in separate bags. I asked the station for their guidance and they provided me a copy of their manual where such batteries would be allowed in the passenger cabin. However; that language seems contradictory with the FOM Mobility Aids: "Battery powered wheelchairs or other similar mobility devices with spill-able batteries or with Lithium Ion batteries." Where it states it is not permitted in or as carry-on baggage. I reached out to Dispatch for additional guidance and he too was a bit confused by the language and the question on whether the batteries could be permitted as carry-on wasn't answered. He tried to reach out to the Chief Pilot for additional guidance but was unsuccessful. Ultimately; given the manuals language guidance in addition to the lithium batteries; spare/loose language in the FOM; I decided to accept the batteries in the passenger cabin as carry-on and notified the Dispatcher of the decision for his awareness."
Before departure; the Flight Attendants brought to our attention a battery situation in the back of the cabin. A Customer had a mobility chair or wheelchair that was powered by two lithium ion batteries. The batteries were removed from the chair and placed in separate compartments of the individuals bag. Confusion with the situation came about when the Flight Attendants showed us their manual about where the batteries needed to be located. We checked our manuals independently and came up with two different answers. The Gate Agent then showed up with her manual and showed us another perspective on the exact same situation. The confusion was not about whether we could take the batteries; but where the batteries needed to be located. It seemed as the one paragraph stated they needed to be in the cargo compartment; the other paragraph stated that they could be placed in the Passengers; bag in separate compartments. We contacted Dispatch; who also contacted the Chief Pilot; and we never got complete clarification on the situation. We decided to allow the Passenger to keep the batteries on their person in their bag. We asked the Dispatcher to look further into it and notify us when a resolution was concluded. When we arrived in ZZZ1; we received a message from the Dispatcher that it was still not 100%; and multiple parties agreed our FOM was a little confusing.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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