[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 17, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7833-7834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3760]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

14 CFR Part 382

[Docket OST-99-5099; Notice No: 99-2]
RIN 2105-AC77


Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel; 
Compensation for Damage to Wheelchairs and Other Assistive Devices

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Department is proposing to amend its rules implementing 
the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 to lift an existing cap on the 
amount of compensation airlines would have to pay to passengers for 
loss or damage of their wheelchair users and other assistive devices. 
The proposal is intended to provide additional relief to passengers 
using expensive assistive devices when they are destroyed or seriously 
damaged in the course of airline travel.

DATES: Comments are requested by May 18, 1999. Late-filed comments will 
be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent, preferably in triplicate, to Docket 
Clerk, Docket No. OST-99-5099, Department of Transportation, 400 7th 
Street, S.W., Room PL-401, Washington, D.C., 20590. Comments will be 
available for inspection at this address from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, and are also viewable through the dockets link 
on the Department's web site (www.dot.gov). Commenters who wish the 
receipt of their comments to be acknowledged should include a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard with their comments. The Docket Clerk will 
date-stamp the postcard and mail it back to the commenter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, Department of 
Transportation, 400 7th Street, S.W., Room 10424, Washington, D.C., 
20590. (202) 366-9306 (voice); (202) 755-7687 (TDD); 202-366-9313 
(fax); [email protected] (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This NPRM concerns the issue of compensation 
for loss of or damage to wheelchairs or other assistive devices. The 
current regulation provides that

    With respect to domestic flights, carriers shall not limit 
liability for loss, damage or delay concerning wheelchairs or other 
mobility aids to any amount less than twice the liability limits 
established for passengers' luggage under 14 CFR Part 254. (14 CFR 
Sec. 382.43(b)).

This means that carriers can refuse to pay compensation exceeding 
$2,500 for loss of or damage to wheelchairs or other assistive devices, 
given the present $1,250 liability limit for luggage that Part 254 
permits carriers to impose in domestic transportation. People with 
disabilities have complained that this does not provide adequate 
compensation for the loss of or serious damage to expensive equipment, 
such as power wheelchairs that may cost $15,000 or more. Given that a 
passenger whose wheelchair is lost or seriously damaged will lose his 
or her mobility at the destination, people with disabilities believe 
that the Department should require airlines to do more, such as pay 
full compensation for the loss and make repair or loaner service 
available.
    The Department considered this issue in the original Air Carrier 
Access Act (ACAA) rulemaking (see 55 FR 8038; March 6, 1990). In 
response to similar disability group comments at that time, the 
Department responded that requiring carriers to pay full replacement 
value did not sufficiently recognize the ability of passengers to 
purchase insurance for such expensive items. Consequently, the final 
rule permitted airlines to cap their liability at twice the liability 
limit for general baggage.
    Nevertheless, the Department believes it may be useful to reopen 
the issue at this time. The Department believes, based on anecdotal 
information, that the majority of wheelchairs used in air travel are 
manual wheelchairs, many of which cost less than $2500. However, other 
travelers use power wheelchairs, which typically are stowed in checked 
baggage and many of which, if lost, damaged, or destroyed, could cost 
substantially more than $2500 to repair or replace (e.g., over $13,000 
in one recent case brought to our attention). Consequently, there may 
be relatively few instances of wheelchair loss or damage that would be 
affected by the proposed rule change, limiting cost exposure to 
airlines. However, the proposed rule would mitigate the potentially 
severe financial hardship to individuals whose expensive wheelchairs 
are lost or damaged. We seek comment on need for raising or eliminating 
the current cap on carrier liability for damage to wheelchairs.
    We also seek comment on whether additional regulatory guidance is 
necessary on how compensation should be calculated (e.g., depreciated 
value vs. replacement cost). In addition, the Department seeks comment 
on whether it is desirable and practical to include other requirements, 
such as a requirement that airlines provide a ``loaner'' device or 
ensure the repair of wheelchairs or other assistive devices that have 
been damaged in transit. This NPRM is intended to be a vehicle for 
comment on all these issues. The Department has not determined what, if 
any, changes to make in its rules.
    In connection with this NPRM, we request that interested parties, 
including disability groups and airlines, provide information on the 
following points, which will help us to evaluate the necessity for 
rulemaking and the potential costs of a rule:
    (1) The number of domestic passenger complaints (including letters 
of phone calls, ``Mishandled Baggage Reports,''

[[Page 7834]]

and claims for compensation) about lost, damaged, or destroyed 
wheelchairs or other assistive devices;
    (2) The number of such complaints in which passengers assert that 
their monetary loss (e.g., the cost of repair or replacement) would 
exceed $2500;
    (3) The average amount by which assertions of passengers' monetary 
losses exceeded $2500; and
    (4) The availability and cost of insurance for expensive 
wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
    We also seek information about the need, design, costs, and 
logistics of a ``loaner'' system.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

    This NPRM does not propose a significant rule under Executive Order 
12866 or a significant rule under the Department's Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures. The Department does not currently have data allowing it 
to estimate the probable cost of the rule. The preamble asks for data 
that, if provided, should allow the Department to make a reasonable 
estimate of the costs of any final rule based on this proposal.
    The Department certifies that this rule, if adopted, would not have 
a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small 
entities. The basis for this statement is the probability that the 
overall national annual costs would not be great. Nevertheless, the 
Department seeks comment on whether there are impacts on small entities 
the Department should consider, and what those impacts are. If comments 
provide information that there are significant small entity impacts, 
the Department will provide a regulatory flexibility analysis at the 
final rule stage. The Department does not believe that there would be 
sufficient Federalism impacts to warrant the preparation of a 
Federalism Assessment.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 382

    Aviation, Individuals with disabilities.

    Issued this 8th day of February, 1999, at Washington, D.C.
Rodney E. Slater,
Secretary of Transportation.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department proposes 
to amend 14 CFR part 382 as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 382 is proposed to 
continue to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 41702, 41705, and 41712.

    2. In Sec. 382.43, paragraph (b) is proposed to be revised to read 
as follows:


Sec. 382.43  Treatment of mobility aids and assistive devices.

* * * * *
    (b) With respect to domestic transportation, the baggage liability 
limits of 14 CFR part 254 do not apply to liability for loss, damage, 
or delay concerning wheelchairs or other asssistive devices.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-3760 Filed 2-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P