LO
ConstraintPhysical automation1987-06-03
US airline rules require each smoke hood away from the flight deck to be checked by a designated crewmember before that crewmember's first flight of the day
Cabin crewoccupation page →
Event date / reported
1987-06-03 · reported 2026-01-01
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
Checking the cabin and the emergency equipment
Before each flight, checking that exits, slides, oxygen, extinguishers and first-aid kits are present and serviceable, and securing the cabin for take-off.
Being augmented✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
A US federal aviation rule binding airlines under Part 121. Each item of protective breathing equipment located other than at a flight crewmember duty station must be checked by a designated crewmember to ensure it is properly stowed and serviceable, and each certificate holder must designate in its operations manual at least one crewmember to perform those checks before he or she takes off in that aeroplane for the first flight of the day. It covers smoke hoods only, not slides, extinguishers or first-aid kits; the designated crewmember need not be a flight attendant; and the text as cited reflects later amendments to the 1987 rule.
What this means
At least one pre-flight check is written into law as a crewmember's job: a named person must confirm the smoke hoods are there and usable before the day's first flight. Tools may record the check; the rule puts a person's eyes on the equipment.
What it does not yet show
One US rule about one item of equipment; it does not show how other checks are done or whether digital checklists change them.
What you can check
Open 14 CFR 121.337 and find "must be checked by a designated crewmember to ensure that each is properly stowed and serviceable".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
Code of Federal Regulations, 14 CFR 121.337(c)(2), Protective breathing equipment (2026 annual edition, govinfo; Docket 24792, 52 FR 20957, June 3, 1987, as amended) · verified 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.