# 2026-16672: FAA Mandates Bathtub Fixes for Cracked Air Tractor Stabilizers

2026-16672, Airworthiness Directives; Air Tractor, Inc. Airplanes, is a Federal Register rule from Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration published 2026-08-14, effective 2026-08-31; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16672
- As of: 2026-08-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16672
- Title: Airworthiness Directives; Air Tractor, Inc. Airplanes
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Transportation Department; Federal Aviation Administration
- Citation: 91 FR 52490
- Published: 2026-08-14
- Effective: 2026-08-31
- Comments close: 2026-09-28
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: 2120-AA64
- Last updated: 2026-08-21

## In one line

FAA Mandates Bathtub Fixes for Cracked Air Tractor Stabilizers

## Summary

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2024-16- 06, which applied to all Air Tractor, Inc. (Air Tractor) Model AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes with Wipaire, Inc. Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) No. SA01795CH installed. AD 2024-16-06 required repetitively inspecting the left and right, forward and rear, horizontal stabilizer spars for cracks, replacing any horizontal stabilizer spar found cracked or damaged, installing bathtub fittings, and reporting inspection results to the FAA. Since the FAA issued AD 2024-16-06, additional cracks in the horizontal stabilizer spars were reported where the vertical fin structural support brace mounts to the horizontal stabilizer spar. This AD retains all the actions of AD 2024- 16-06 and adds inspections to another area. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

## Effects PRIA read

- Immediate and Frequent Mandatory Inspections: cost, high. If you operate an Air Tractor AT-802 or AT-802A with Wipaire STC No. SA01795CH installed, you must do initial inspections within 7 days or before 110 hours time-in-service (TIS) after STC installation, and then inspect at intervals not to exceed 110 hours TIS until modified. The AD also requires a…
- Required Installation of Bathtub Fittings: cost, high. You must install bathtub fittings (Service Kit 1012347-01 or 1012347-02) within 300 hours TIS or 12 months after the effective date of September 4, 2024, whichever occurs first, unless already done. The FAA estimates installing the bathtub fittings costs $6,500 per airplane (40 work-hours at $85/ho…
- Mandatory 5-Day Inspection Reporting and Paperwork: cost, low. After each inspection required by the AD you must report the inspection information to the FAA within 5 days to the specified email address, including model, serial number, hours, crack details, and photos if available. The Paperwork Reduction Act burden estimate for these reports is about 1 hour p…
- FAA Cost Estimates and Replacement Costs: cost, medium. The FAA estimates this AD affects 35 U.S. airplanes and provides per-action cost estimates: initial inspection without bathtub fittings is estimated at 20 work-hours (20 x $85) = $1,700 per airplane per inspection cycle; installing bathtub fittings is estimated at $6,500 per airplane; inspections w…

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## Sources
- [2026-16672 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/14/2026-16672/airworthiness-directives-air-tractor-inc-airplanes)
- [2026-16672 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-14/pdf/2026-16672.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16672 (as of 2026-08-21).