According to Globes, the Israeli business daily, a
system designed by an Israeli company was responsible for
revealing faults in the wings of the British Airways Concorde
airliner. Air France, whose Concorde airplane crashed a week
ago, refused the Israeli company's sale offer for the system.
113 persons, including passengers, crew members, and people
on the ground, were killed in the tragic crash.
The system, called I-Sonic, is manufactured by Rechovot-based
Sonotron and is registered as a patent in the US and Europe.
The system is designed to examine damage in an airplane
fuselage, and employs advanced ultrasound for the purpose.
British Airways purchased the system at the end of 1999. The
system has a $50,000 price tag. Two weeks ago, a routine
check by the system revealed a five cm. crack in one of the
seven Concorde aircraft operated by British Airways. A few
days later, the size of the crack grew to 7.5 cm., and the
airline decided to ground the airplane.
A Sonotron executive today confirmed in a conversation with
Globes that Air France had decided not to purchase the
system. "We offered the system to El Al, but they are
reluctant to purchase the system. Arkia is examining the
system, which is undergoing trials with the its
airplanes."
