Abstract: An ultrasonic inspection apparatus for use in inspecting drill pipe or like tubular members being tripped into and out of a well borehole comprises one or more planarly arranged set of ultrasonic search units, such as wheel search units, arranged on a frame suspendible within the well derrick and defining a vertical passage for the tubular member. Access is provided to the passage by the tubular member from a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tubular member, for example, by providing an openable hinged frame. When in the passage, the pipe is stabilized by wheels exerting a force on the pipe in excess of that exerted by the search units which are biased into sonically coupled contact with the pipe. A linkage on each search unit preserves the angular relation between an electro-acoustical transducer within the search unit and the pipe surface. A method of inspecting tubular goods on the floor of a drilling rig during a tripping operation is also provided.