There must be enough life rafts on board the airplane to seat and provide flotation to the maximum number of passengers the plane will hold. In addition, in the event that the largest-capacity life raft becomes unusable, the remaining rafts must have buoyancy and capacity beyond what they are rated for to accommodate the passengers from the largest raft.
The life raft must be accessible to the crew. In the event of an emergency, the crew must be able to readily access the life rafts carried on the airplane.
Life rafts must be stored near an exit that is large enough to allow them to be deployed outside. The location of the storage must be obvious to the passengers but must protect the life rafts from damage in the event of a crash. The life rafts must be easily detached from their storage area to allow them to be moved from one exit to another.
When a life raft is either automatically or remotely deployed outside the airplane, it must attach to the airplane with a static line. A static line holds the raft near the airplane so that passengers can easily board the raft, but must release should the airplane sink below the surface of the water.
The life raft must be equipped with survival equipment. One life raft must also be equipped with a survival emergency locator transmitter.