Israel - Mysterious Substance in Aviation Fuel Grounds Flights

Originally posted by BenReclused
reply to post by Seagle

 

This is rather typical isn't it? Anytime there is a perceived problem, just go ahead and blame the United States before you even get your facts straight. We are often the first to blame, often the first to be asked for assistance, and damn near always the last to be thanked (As if THAT even happens!).

The truth is:
If it wasn't for the United States, there would be lot of countries that would now be dominated by Germany, Japan, and possibly Russia.

Enjoy your freedom! It may not last! If we fail to get our problems corrected, I'm sure our possible demise will eventually be regretted by the rest of the world.

See ya, Milt

edit on 28-5-2011 by BenReclused because: Punctuation

edit on 28-5-2011 by BenReclused because: Wording

I think someone had been watching too much American Dad.

reply to post by saiconoclast


Cool! I'm glad to see you finally had a thought. Thanks for sharing it. Let us know when you have another one.

See ya, Milt

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by Seagle

 

Look at the language used by the Israelis in this incident

"serious and abnormal incident of international proportions of which no incident that I recall can equal."

An Israeli said that, not the Israelis. An Israeli who was stranded. An attorney too. I wonder if he might be working on a law suit.

You're just being facetious. A highly qualified Israeli gave his experienced assesment of this situation and it is reported as such in just about every Israeli news service therefore this is now what the Israelis are saying. Nobody is publicly refuting these claims regarding the seriousness nature of the contamination and that includes the companies which people are pointing the finger at.

'The fungi and bacteria that contaminate fuel are common so given that Israeli laboritories were unable to identify the molecular structure of the substance in the fuel suggests there is not a normal event.'

Please provide a source indicating that Israeli labs tested the material and were unable to identify it.

I already have and there are countless sources available. This one from The Jerusalem Post-

"Israeli authorities turned to the lab in Germany after tests carried out by the Israel Institute of Energy and Environment were unable to recognize the molecular structure of the contaminant."

"Furthermore, the fact that the US military laboratory did not want to test the substance is very bizzarre given that it is the US Dept of Defence that regulates, controls and profits from aviation fuel."
Once again, the fuel came from Paz. An Iraeli company. Please provide evidence that the US DoD had anything to do with it. As pointed out the proposed sale which you talk about was for military fuel, not civilian.

Where in that sentence did I say the US DoD are to blame? I have pointed out the fact that the US DoD refused to test the substance which is a very strange stance to take given their position in this industry. They are actively researching, developing, commercialising and selling new biofuels and fuel additives that are being used in the commercial aviation industry. PAZ is the sole distributor for BP in Israel so to say PAZ made the fuel is not entirely true now is it. They are refusing to accept any responsibility for the incident and are adamant that there is no evidence of contamination in their storage tanks.

I provided evidence that the material was identified.

IAA officials said on Monday that the mysterious substance discovered in the fuel was a combination of mold and bacteria, though they admitted that they did not know what led to its formation in the storage tanks or fuel lines.

Contaminated fuel
They know what it is. The question is, who is responsible for it getting into the fuel supply. Is it Paz (who made the fuel) or the IAA (who is responsible for fuel storage).

Sorry but that is not evidence. If you read the rest of the article you will see that as at the 10th of May the only test that had been conducted was by the Israel Institue of Energy testing lab who describe the substance as a 'greasy liquid' but they were unable to identify its mollecular structure. This is from the same article you claim as evidence -

"The foreign matter, which the Israel Institute of Energy and Environment testing lab described as a "greasy liquid," affected hundreds of inbound and outbound flights at the Ben-Gurion, the Eilat Airport, and at several other airfields across the country.

Samples of the contaminated fuel were first sent to a testing agency in Germany used by the American Air Force. However, the lab refused to perform the tests, saying they only dealt with military fuels and would not perform the lab test work for Israel, according to Israel Army radio.

Paz Oil is still seeking foreign companies to test the fuel"

To this date there has still not been any actual data released as to what the substance actually is.

reply to post by Seagle

Ok. They have absolutely no idea what the substance is.

Now how about some evidence that the fuel came from the US. If Paz didn't make it, why don't they say so? Their business is in big trouble over this.

reply to post by Seagle


You may want to re-read some of the sources listed in this thread.

The US DoD did NOT refuse to test the fuel. The US DoD was NOT asked to test the fuel. It was a GERMAN lab that refused the testing, that same German lab is USED by the US, not OWNED AND OPERATED by the US. Huge difference there. Saying the US refused to test it is like saying Israel refused to test it. The US and Israel have the same connection to the lab, that only connection being the fact they are a customer of it (or attempted customer in Israel's case) There is no proof whatsoever that the US had anything at all to do with the lab refusing to test the sample.

Why the US was linked to the lab at all is my question, someone trying to imply a US connection where there is none? I'm not sure how you didn't catch that.

reply to post by James1982


I can only go on what has been widely reported and given the seriousness of the incident you would think the US would release a statement denying the reports if they were false. There is no grey area in these reports as to who refused to to do the testing.

The US military has not specified the reason for the refusal and no Israeli lab has been able to determine the contaminant's molecular structure.

The fuel containing the greasy liquid was sent to an American Air Force lab in Germany for further testing, however, the lab refused to conduct the test, saying that they only deal with military matters and does not conduct experiments for Israel.

The story gets even more interesting now because they commenced flights before any conclusive results on the substance itself or its origin were obtained. Instead, the Isreali Air Force apparently tested the fuel for a few days before declaring it safe. I'm sure that this would not be considered an acceptable risk analysis under any other circumstance in the commercial aviation industry.

The use of the fuel on international flights will be resumed pending the results of ongoing tests. A special kit provided by the Israel Air Force was used for the tests, using the same filters that initially showed the irregularity in the fuel. The same test was set to be conducted on another 10 to 15 scheduled El Al flights throughout Sunday.

A refinery in Haifa and a laboratory in Ashdod have found that the fuel - which contains what have been described as "greasy liquid parts" - is fit for use. The Israeli Institute for Energy and the Environment has also conducted tests, and its results are pending

So apparently a serious contamination that had only been identified as a 'greasy liquid' by this stage was not going to warrant further delays on intertnational flights despite evidence that it was discovered only after causing engine problems in an earlier flight..