§ Mr. DayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will obtain confirmation from the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority that where smoke hood manufacturers can demonstrate that their smoke hoods meet the requirement of the internationally agreed EUROCAE standard for passenger protective breathing equipment they will be deemed to have satisfied the Civil Aviation Authority's requirement that their smoke hoods do not hinder escape.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI am advised by the Civil Aviation Authority that the best strategies to protect passengers in an aircraft fire are rapid evacuation and prevention of the spread of fire. The CAA believes that smokehoods, whether to the EUROCAE standard or otherwise, are likely to give rise to an unacceptable delay in evacuation.