By Cory Emberson

It’s never a good time for an inflight fire. Stoked by fuel or an electrical short, this nasty brand of emergency is near the top of most pilots’ list of nightmares. But a cabin fire’s consequences can be mitigated by using a smoke hood, which filters breathable air out of the poisonous plume of a fire, increasing the likelihood that the pilot can see and breathe long enough to put the airplane on the ground.

To be useful at all, a smoke hood must meet certain criteria: It needs to form an airtight seal around your head and neck, protecting your eyes, nose and mouth; it must be constructed of heat-resistant…