Graduation date: 2008Air travel presents several problems for passengers with disabilities. One in particular is how they get from their wheelchair and to an aircraft seat. The commonly used manual transfer method is hazardous to the assistants and the passenger. There are other alternatives, but they have plenty of room for improvement. In designing a mechanical device to emulate the manual transfer method, passenger comfort is of utmost concern. This study was conducted to evaluate how various lateral forces applied to a participant’s chest affected their comfort during a mechanically assisted transfer. A prototype device was outfitted with a pneumatic cylinder to adjust the lateral force applied to a participant. They were then asked to indicate their comfort. The study revealed that a lateral force of 30% of a person’s body weight is required to hold them without slipping and a lateral force of 46% of a person’s body weight is considered the most comfortable. Using these values further iterations of the prototype device can be designed to optimize passenger comfort.