# AD 48-34-02: Sulphur Dusting

- Type: Airworthiness directive
- Status: Current
- Products: Aircraft Dusting & Spraying Sulphur Dusting
- Superseded by: Nothing supersedes this AD
- Product type: Appliance
- FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/25ABDE32B20B2D9F86256A3200488857.0001
- DRS record last changed: May 30, 2024
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ad/48-34-02

## The airworthiness directive

48-34-02 Applies to All Aircraft Engaged In Sulphur Dusting. Replaces Airworthiness Maintenance Bulletin No. 63.

Compliance at time of original certification or if previously certificated and Airworthiness Maintenance Bulletin No. 63 has not been complied with compliance required by October 1, 1948.

To decrease the hazards from fire during dusting operations involving the use of sulphur dust the following fire preventive measures, formerly in Airworthiness Maintenance Bulletin No. 63 must be complied with:

  (1) The engine exhaust system must be so arranged that it will not discharge exhaust gases under or along the bottom of the airplane.

  (2) The fuselage aft of and in the vicinity of the hopper must be completely bonded. All fittings and struts adjacent to the hopper should be bonded to each other and the hopper to the fuselage.

  (3) The agitator should be provided with sealed bearings or the bearings should be readily accessible for lubrication.

  (4) The hopper gate should be of nonferrous material, well fitted to irs guide channels to prevent friction and accumulation of dust in the channels and should be bonded to the hopper.

  (5) The lower surface of the fuselage, in the immediate vicinity and 3 feet aft of the spreader discharge opening must be covered with thin-gage metal, plywood or equivalent fire resistant material. Where fabric on the bottom of the fuselage is not eliminated in this installation, the protective covering, to be installed on the outside of the fabric, must be secured in such a manner that will prevent accumulation of dust between the protective covering and the fabric. This may be accomplished by using sealants such as acetate doped fabric tape or other adhesives to bond the protective covering to the fabric.

Aircraft which do not comply with these measures shall be restricted, against the use of sulphur for dusting, on the operation limitations.

## Registered aircraft it may apply to (OpenAirDocs)

No registered aircraft matched the models it names.

Its text cites no advisory circulars or STCs.

## NTSB investigations that cite this AD (2)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR12LA233](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12LA233), May 27, 2012: Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164A (N8380), Wilton, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the hopper gate mechanism and subsequent sulfur fire during a low-level maneuver.
- [NTSB MIA95LA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA95LA227), Sep 21, 1995: Air Tractor AT-301A (N7304C), Vero Beach, FL, destroyed. Probable cause: FAILURE OF COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL TO COMPLY WITH A REQUIRED AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE, RESULTING IN AN IN-FLIGHT FIRE AND EMERGENCY LANDING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF SUITABLE…

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