Narrative:

During initial boarding I was advised by first flight attendant that a passenger had brought aboard the battery off of his motorized wheel chair. I advised him to contact the boarding agent and have them handle the battery issue. I finished the preflight and then looked up the battery carriage issue in the ops manual; as there was confusion by agents on what needed to take place concerning the battery. The battery was labeled; from the manufacturer; as non-spillable. I informed agent it could be left attached to his chair but that the terminals must be disconnected. The passenger asked me when had this procedure changed as he had traveled for three years with us and carried the battery with him on board each time. His concern was that the battery is easy to remove by simply picking up on the handle. And he was concerned it would be bumped and fall off and be damaged. I informed him I was not sure but I stopped reading the ops spec and showed him that the revision date was a couple years old. As he was inserting the battery back into the chair I noticed that there were no terminals to disconnect. The battery engaged as a laptop computer battery would engage; automatically by contact with terminals. Obviously; it could not remain with the chair. As a certified non-spillable battery; not classified as hazmat and not requiring hazmat paperwork I allowed him to place it back into the cloth tote bag he had it in; after removal from the chair; and take on board. Those involved were myself; first flight attendant and boarding agent. The chief pilot called me to ask about the delay contributed to flight crew for the departure concerning a wheelchair. I decided to look at the ops spec again and discovered I had not read the entire section on battery carriage. Looking at it now I can see how the passenger was able to take the battery off his chair and on board in the cabin without detection. The passenger is not aware of the danger; and I do not feel he was trying to 'put one over on us.' he simply was concerned about the safety of his battery. As everyone is busy loading his travel companion he just lifts the quick disconnect handle and places the battery in a cloth draw string bag and puts in over head with his carry on. I think there needs to be emphasis placed on check in procedures (to check all motorized chairs etc that are to come on board) to determine what type battery is involved; spillable or non-spillable; and determination if a DOT box is needed to carry it in cargo and if so one called for prior to boarding.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767 Captain was informed by Cabin Attendant that a passenger was carrying on a small non-spillable wheelchair battery. After looking at the OPS SPEC and the wheelchair; the Captain decided this was acceptable.

Narrative: During initial boarding I was advised by First Flight Attendant that a passenger had brought aboard the battery off of his motorized wheel chair. I advised him to contact the boarding agent and have them handle the battery issue. I finished the preflight and then looked up the battery carriage issue in the ops manual; as there was confusion by agents on what needed to take place concerning the battery. The battery was labeled; from the manufacturer; as non-spillable. I informed agent it could be left attached to his chair but that the terminals must be disconnected. The passenger asked me when had this procedure changed as he had traveled for three years with us and carried the battery with him on board each time. His concern was that the battery is easy to remove by simply picking up on the handle. And he was concerned it would be bumped and fall off and be damaged. I informed him I was not sure but I stopped reading the ops spec and showed him that the revision date was a couple years old. As he was inserting the battery back into the chair I noticed that there were no terminals to disconnect. The battery engaged as a laptop computer battery would engage; Automatically by contact with terminals. Obviously; it could not remain with the chair. As a certified non-spillable battery; not classified as HAZMAT and not requiring HAZMAT paperwork I allowed him to place it back into the cloth tote bag he had it in; after removal from the chair; and take on board. Those involved were myself; First Flight Attendant and boarding agent. The Chief Pilot called me to ask about the delay contributed to flight crew for the departure concerning a wheelchair. I decided to look at the ops spec again and discovered I had not read the entire section on battery carriage. Looking at it now I can see how the passenger was able to take the battery off his chair and on board in the cabin without detection. The passenger is not aware of the danger; and I do not feel he was trying to 'put one over on us.' He simply was concerned about the safety of his battery. As everyone is busy loading his travel companion he just lifts the quick disconnect handle and places the battery in a cloth draw string bag and puts in over head with his carry on. I think there needs to be emphasis placed on check in procedures (to check all motorized chairs etc that are to come on board) to determine what type battery is involved; spillable or non-spillable; and determination if a DOT box is needed to carry it in cargo and if so one called for prior to boarding.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.