ADAPTS LLC launches a crowdfunding campaign for its portable emergency evacuation sling designed specifically for airplane passengers who use wheelchairs.
“When I was a flight attendant, I knew we needed a better way to save people, an actual device to move passengers with disabilities away from an airplane crash fast,” says Robin Wearley, founder of ADAPTS LLC, in a media release.
“As wheelchair travelers increase in number and take to the skies, it is only a matter of time until one of us is caught in a life-and-death situation on an airplane,” adds John Morris, disability advocate at WheelchairTravel.org.
The compact and portable sling, named A Disabled Passenger Transfer Sling (ADAPTS), is made from sturdy life jacket fabric and folds into a tote that can be carried easily, and is built to enable people to carry disabled persons to safety.
The grab and run method is a common way airline crews get wheelchair passengers off of planes. However, ADAPTS enables anyone to carry disabled passengers to emergency exits during an evacuation. Once at the bottom of the slide, the passengers could then be carried to first responders, per the release.
The sling can also be used anywhere a potential disaster strikes—not only on airplanes but also on cruise ships and in public venues, hotels, and homes; and during such events as floods, hurricanes, fires, or earthquakes—to rescue people from anywhere a stretcher cannot go.
From October 27 through December 18, ADAPTS will be available through Kickstarter for a pre-order price of $129. After the Kickstarter campaign, ADAPTS will be available next year, per the release.
ADAPTS makes its official debut at the Abilities Expo in San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit ADAPTS.
[Source(s): ADAPTS LLC, PR Newswire]
