The raft may be inflated:

• A. Manually or Automatically
• B. Only Manually
• C. Only Automatically
• D. By Pumping System Only

Answer: (A)

Inflatable life rafts are designed to be usable in two ways: automatic inflation and manual inflation. Automatic inflation uses a CO2 cylinder paired with a hydrostatic release mechanism that triggers when the raft enters the water, causing rapid deployment and inflation without user action. Manual inflation serves as a backup option, letting occupants or crew inflate the raft with a hand or foot pump or by pulling an inflation cord if automatic inflation doesn’t occur or isn’t necessary yet. Because both methods are part of the design, the raft may be inflated manually or automatically. The other options are too restrictive, since they exclude one of the valid methods or rely on a single pumping system only.