The Israeli air force has resumed normal operations with all but seven of its Lockheed Martin F-16I fighters, after completing tests aimed at tracing high concentrations of formaldehyde found in the type's cockpit.
Israel's F-16I fleet was grounded on 21 March, after pilots reported the presence of a substance which caused irritation to the throat and nose. Immediate tests traced relatively high concentrations of cancer-causing formaldehyde in some aircraft. Since the grounding order was imposed, all of Israel's F-16Is have been tested by a team of air force and Lockheed specialists.
On 27 April the air force announced that all but seven of its aircraft had been returned to normal operational status, with checks to continue in a bid to determine the exact cause of the formaldehyde contamination found in the cockpits of the others.
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Israel has so far received 63 of its 102 two-seat F-16I strike aircraft, according to Flight's MiliCAS database, one of which was destroyed during a take-off accident in 2006.
Source: Flight International
