Ultrasonic (UT) inspection of aircraft engine parts has traditionally been conducted in an immersion water tank. However, experience has shown that the immersion tank is usually large, awkward, and tedious to work with. An alternative method which does not require immersion would increase the time efficiency of the UT inspection. One such method would be to use a captured water column coupling system, which closely approximates the immersion method and eliminates the need for a large immersion tank. The tank would be replaced by a trough or water collection tray to collect the water produced by the low water flow of the captured water column.