Workers dismantled a 120-foot-tall beacon on Sunday morning.
The airport’s ‘non-directional beacon’ had stood at its Walkers Road site for more than 15 years, but it has not been operational since 2016 when it was replaced by satellite-based navigation aids for aircraft.
The beacon had been used as a flight navigational aid for aircraft landing at Owen Roberts International Airport. It had replaced the airport’s original beacon that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
The beacon mast was taken down by a local company BSTG.
Sean Bridle, the Cayman Islands Airports Authority’s communications, navigation and surveillance manager, said a full work safety plan was written and signed off by all relevant departments, and a CIAA crane permit was obtained.
“The prep work was carried out on Saturday with the isolation of all mains power to the tower and the obstruction lighting at the very top,” he said in an email. “BSTG then removed the inner composite fence so they could maneuver the crane into position on Sunday.”
On Sunday, the crane was positioned and raised to the required height, after which two aerial riggers climbed to the top of the tower and confirmed a bird’s nest located there was empty.
The crane was then attached to the top of the tower and workers removed the top steel guy lines and lower them to the ground on a rope and pulley system. The tower then was unbolted at a height of 80 feet height and lowered to the ground.
Bridle said this process was repeated at the 40-foot point.
The last section then was unbolted at ground level and lowered.
Bridle said BSTG completed the whole operation in five and a half hours. “I was expecting the project to take all day,” he admitted, adding that the entire process went “very smoothly”.
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