Mishandled wheelchair reporting to DOT, with every chair traced, remedied the same day and counted right
Every damaged chair traced to where it happened, remedied the same day, and counted right.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Mishandled Wheelchair Reporting is software for airlines that tracks every damaged, delayed, lost or pilfered wheelchair and scooter as a case and builds the monthly mishandled wheelchairs report to DOT under 14 CFR 234.6. Seven AI agents trace each chair through the hold, decide whether it counts, plan the loaner and repair the DOT wheelchair rule under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA, 14 CFR Part 382) requires, and draft the passenger's messages. The ramp manager approves each remedy, a compliance analyst approves each count, and the Director signs the filing.
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Mishandled wheelchair reporting is a monthly duty: every US reporting carrier tells DOT how many wheelchairs and scooters it carried in the cargo compartment and how many it mishandled — damaged, delayed, lost or pilfered — under 14 CFR 234.6, and DOT publishes the rate by airline in the Air Travel Consumer Report. Since the 2024 Wheelchair Rule took effect on January 16, 2025, a damaged device also triggers duties to the passenger under 14 CFR 382.130: written notice of her rights at once, a loaner that meets her needs, a repair by the vendor she chooses, delivery clocks for a delayed device, and hands-on training for everyone who handles one. DOT has paused some provisions, including the presumption of mishandling, to December 31, 2026, so the rules that apply depend on the day of the case.
The facts sit in five places: the gate tablet, the bag tag scans, the ramp's photos, the load plan and NOTOC, and the baggage claims file. Baggage service opens a property irregularity report as if the chair were a bag, the passenger is offered whatever manual chair is in the closet, a repair quote takes days, and nobody can say where on the ramp it happened. In the first two weeks of the next month, compliance rebuilds the 234.6 count in a spreadsheet, taking out duplicates, international flights and cabin-stowed devices by hand.
Estimated split for one damaged power chair, by hand and with the solution, in hours; the loaner row is the time until a chair that fits reaches the passenger.
Seven agents trace each chair through the hold, decide whether it counts, plan the loaner and repair, and build the DOT count; people approve every remedy and every count.
Thursday, October 15, 2026, Seattle. Ruth Calloway, flying home to Bellevue on CV 377 from Chicago, checked her mid-wheel-drive power chair with tilt: 310 lb, two sealed gel batteries, her own handling instructions. At the aircraft door it came back with the left footrest bent. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution at Corvane Airways.
Lena's home shows three numbers — 8 open cases across 4 stations, October so far at 0.33% (13 of 3,912 devices, one more proposed today), and the September DOT report due today. Waiting for her: Ms. Calloway's loaner and repair, a Seattle training gap with Norwick Ground Services, and Ms. Dunn's chair coming back tomorrow. Beside it, the agents have already written: the mishandling assessor says the chair was straight at check-in and bent at the door, in Corvane's custody throughout.
“It counts for October; the checker agrees.” — Mishandling assessor
Lena asks which rules DOT is enforcing today and where the damage happened. The mishandling assessor answers that it counts — domestic scheduled flight, cargo compartment, damaged in Corvane's custody — and that DOT is not enforcing the presumption until December 31, 2026, while Corvane applies it by policy. The custody agent answers the second question with the loading and unloading photos, each cited.
“Nothing was scanned between those two moments; the move happened in the hold, in our custody.” — Custody agent
The case opens to the chair's passport — photo, weight, the two 12 V sealed gel batteries left installed with circuits isolated, her instructions (“Fold the joystick in. Do not remove the footrests.”) and tag CV 448 211. Below it, N806CV's lower deck: loaded upright at 12L in Chicago at 6:36 am, found on its side by 13L when the forward hold opened in Seattle at 10:04 am, front strap off the frame. Eight records, from check-in at 5:58 am to the case opened at 10:22 am, each a step that opens its photo or scan.
The custody agent never edits a scan or photo; a gap stays a gap, never filled by inference.
The remedy planner compares three loaners against her chair: Talmore Medical Rentals, power drive, tilt, 18-inch seat, at her home in Bellevue by 5:30 pm for $145 a day; Firwood Home Medical, no tilt, tomorrow; and the station's own manual chair, turned down because she cannot self-propel. For the repair she chose her own shop, Cedarline Mobility Repair, whose quote Q-88214 of $1,840 is checked line by line against the maker's list — parts within 6%. Remedy total $2,710, 54% of the station limit.
Spend and who approves: Lena Marsh to $5,000; above $10,000 for a replacement, Alicia Moreno.
Back in the case, every proposal sits in the conversation with the agents, each with Approve, Edit and Reject. Lena approves the Talmore loaner and the Cedarline repair with the reason “Meets the passenger's needs”; each approval carries her name and time. The remedy planner books the delivery and the courier pickup from SEA at 1:00 pm, and the chair is due back October 21.
Agents never approve a count, spend money, send a message or submit a filing — people do, with a reason code.
Tom sent the written notice by text and email five minutes after he opened the case: her right to file a claim, to a loaner, to choose her repair shop and to reach a Complaints Resolution Official. Ms. Calloway replied that she cannot push a manual chair and asked for Cedarline Mobility in Kent. The passenger message agent drafted the update — loaner at 5:30 pm, courier at 1:00 pm, $1,840 paid by Corvane, back October 21 — at a grade 6 reading level, for a person to send.
“Thank you. I can't push a manual chair, I need a power chair tonight.” — the passenger's reply
The October count builds itself, and a case enters it only when a compliance analyst approves it. Jordan approves WC-1015-07 — the checker, which re-derived the determination from raw scans and photos alone, agrees. October now reads 14 mishandled of 3,912 devices, 0.36%; Seattle 3 of 326. The international case from London and the chair stowed in the cabin closet stay tracked, not counted, with their reasons.
Disagreement from the checker blocks bulk approval; that case goes to a person.
Seattle has 3 cases this month, 0.92%, 2.6 times the network. All three were unloaded by Norwick Ground Services on morning turns, and 9 of their 31 handlers at SEA have no hands-on wheelchair training on record; initial hands-on training under 14 CFR 382.141 was due June 17, 2026. The agent proposes a hands-on session at SEA on October 19–20, a trained lead on every power-chair unload until then, and a request for Norwick's training records within 5 business days. Lena approves the plan.
Handler names are shown only to the station manager. The agent proposes; it never disciplines.
September: 8,104 devices in the cargo compartment, 41 mishandled, 0.51% — Corvane Airways 34 of 6,880, and its branded codeshare Corvane Connection 7 of 1,224. Every figure opens the cases behind it. The checker agrees on all 41, every count was approved by a compliance analyst, one duplicate was merged by tag, and devices were reconciled to the tag scans. Alicia confirms the statement and submits to BTS; the receipt and evidence pack are kept with the filing.
“I have reviewed the counts and the cases behind them, and the figures are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge.”
The trend shows Corvane's mishandled rate falling from 0.71% in January to 0.51% in September, against the 2025 industry rate of 1.09%. A same-day loaner went to 34 of 41 September cases, and the written notice went within 30 minutes on 40 of 41. The summary says Seattle is October's exception, tied to one contractor's crews.
The same damaged power chair, seen by five of the people who answer for it — what the day looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents trace each chair through the hold, decide whether it counts, plan the loaner and repair, and build the DOT count; people approve every remedy and every count.
Links each device to its tag, check-in photos, ramp loading photos, hold position, NOTOC and arrival scan; draws the custody chain on the aircraft's lower deck and names any gap.
Decides whether a case is mishandled — damaged, delayed, lost or pilfered — and whether it counts for the 234.6 report, with the rule text and its enforcement status that day; proposes a rebuttal only with Corvane's own evidence.
Plans the loaner, repair or replacement and delivery around the passenger; asks vendors for quotes, checks them against the maker's parts list, and keeps the 24/30-hour delivery and 30-day reimbursement clocks.
Drafts the written notice and every update in plain words, in the passenger's chosen formats — text, email, large print, braille on request.
Keeps the month's count, reconciles devices enplaned to the tag scans, merges duplicates by tag and builds the 234.6 file in the BTS format.
Re-derives every determination, count and denominator from raw scans and cases, never from the other agents' work, and agrees or disagrees.
Connects case clusters to turns, crews and contractors' hands-on training records under 14 CFR 382.141, and proposes targeted training when a station reaches 2 cases and twice the network rate.
The ramp manager approves every remedy, the analyst every count and rebuttal, the Director signs the monthly filing. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask in plain words from the home screen or inside a case — or tell the agents what to do. Every answer cites the photo, scan or rule it rests on, and an instruction becomes a proposal for a person to approve.
Where did the damage happen?
Loaded upright at 12L in Chicago with four straps. When the hold opened in Seattle it was on its side by 13L with the front strap off the frame. Nothing was scanned between those two moments; the move happened in the hold, in our custody.
Which rules is DOT enforcing today?
Enforced today: written notice, loaners, vendor choice and delivery clocks. Paused: the presumption and pre-departure notice until Dec 31, 2026; refresher training until Apr 30, 2027.
Why not the station's loaner?
The station only has manual loaners, and she told us she cannot push one. Talmore can bring a power chair with tilt to Bellevue by 5:30 pm: $145 a day, 6 days.
Why does Seattle keep damaging chairs?
This is SEA's third case in October; all three were on Norwick morning turns, and 9 of their 31 handlers have no hands-on wheelchair training on record. Initial training was due June 17, 2026. There is a plan on the Training screen for Lena.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
Set by the administrator, read-only for everyone else, and every change logged.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Written notice after a case opens | 30 minutes | Any number of minutes |
| Station manager approves remedies up to | $5,000 | Any amount; above it, sent up |
| Director approves replacements above | $10,000 | Any amount |
| Delayed device delivery clock | 24 hours; 30 hours for flights over 12 hours | Hours, per flight length |
| Escalate when this much time is left | 4 hours | Any number of hours |
| Reimburse a better loaner within | 30 days | Any number of days |
| Flag a quote line above the maker's list by | 15% | Any percentage |
| Apply the 382.130(a) presumption to every case, even while DOT is not enforcing it | On | On · Off |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (DOT Air Travel Consumer Report via WheelchairTravel.org — 907,259 devices and 1.09% mishandled in 2025, about 9,900 chairs; DOT press release, October 2024 — $50 million penalty). Rules: 14 CFR 234.6 and 382.130; FR 2024-29731 (Wheelchair Rule, in force January 16, 2025); FR 2025-18980 and FR 2026-15835 (enforcement discretion). People, the airline, passengers, vendors and contractors named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Mishandled Wheelchair Reporting is software for airlines that tracks every damaged, delayed, lost or pilfered wheelchair and scooter as a case and builds the monthly mishandled wheelchairs report to DOT under 14 CFR 234.6. Seven AI agents trace each chair through the hold, decide whether it counts, plan the loaner and repair the DOT wheelchair rule under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA, 14 CFR Part 382) requires, and draft the passenger's messages. The ramp manager approves each remedy, a compliance analyst approves each count, and the Director signs the filing.
Each month a reporting carrier files the number of wheelchairs and scooters it carried in the cargo compartment and the number mishandled, including its branded codeshare partners, in the BTS format. Here the DOT report agent keeps that count case by case, reconciles devices to the tag scans and merges duplicates; only cases a compliance analyst approved enter it, and the Director signs and submits.
Devices on domestic scheduled flights carried in the cargo compartment. In the working solution, a chair on a flight from London and one stowed in the cabin closet are tracked and remedied but kept out of the count, each with its reason shown.
Under 14 CFR 382.130 the airline gives written notice of the passenger's rights at once, makes best efforts to provide a loaner that meets her needs, repairs or replaces the device or pays her chosen vendor, and delivers a delayed device within 24 hours, or 30 on flights over 12 hours. The remedy planner plans each of these and keeps the clocks; the passenger message agent drafts the notice for a person to send.
Every determination cites the rule and its enforcement status on the day of the case. The presumption of mishandling is not enforced until December 31, 2026 and refresher training until April 30, 2027; an airline can choose to apply the presumption by policy, as the sample airline does, with a setting the administrator controls.
Yes. The repair path switches between the passenger's vendor and one the airline arranges. The remedy planner asks her vendor for a quote, checks each line against the maker's parts list and flags any line more than 15% over it.
Yes. Agents never approve a count, spend money, send a message or submit a filing. The ramp manager approves remedies up to $5,000, the Director approves replacements over $10,000 and signs the DOT file, and every decision carries a reason code and is on the audit trail.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your reporting procedure, presumption policy, approval limits and the systems behind the tag scans, ramp photos, claims and training records — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed.
Every disability complaint answered within 30 days, with the facts rebuilt and cited.
1-min demoTarmac Delay ComplianceEvery return to the gate started in time, and every DOT report ready the same day.
1-min demoAirline Passenger Rights ComplianceEvery passenger's refund, care and compensation, planned before the gate improvises.
1-min demoWe'll run Mishandled Wheelchair Reporting on your own tag scans, ramp photos, cases and last month's 234.6 count.