Heavy lifting company Sarens South Africa performed the lift of a Boeing 737-300 across the R21 highway, in Kempton Park, Gauteng, last month. The operation was carried out for South African aviation company Comair, which is building a training centre where the Boeing 737-300 will be used as a real-life evacuation trainer.
The training centre is located in Rhodesfield, Gauteng.
Sarens was asked to lift the Boeing 737-300 from its location at OR Tambo International Airport to the Comair training centre, being built on the other side of the highway, in an overnight operation.
Several roads, including the main access route to the airport, were temporarily closed during the operation.
The Boeing, with the engines removed and portions of the wings and tail clipped, weighed an initial dead weight of 25 t. The length of the Boeing is 33.35 m, the width 18 m and the height 5 m.
Sarens hydraulic LTM1400, AC500 and AC200 cranes were used to transport the aircraft.
“The stakes were high and our specialised engineering and rigging teams defined the most time- and cost-effective solution, making sure the road closures were kept to a minimum and all safety and quality standards were met,” says Sarens country manager Morne Cilliers.
He adds that successfully lifting the Boeing and safely relocating it to its new home was the result of months of planning and collaboration with many stakeholders involved.
The ultimate objective for the aircraft is to become a realistic cabin crew and flight deck crew mock-up evacuation trainer, fully representative of a real aircraft.
“This operation is the first ever of its sort in South Africa, probably even in Africa. The project coordination between the various parties was paramount,” notes Comair commercial operations manager Glen Warden.