It was a delicate operation. The wing was to be suspended in the air by a floating crane which would then move through the water from the base to where the ship was berthed - several hundred metres away.
The wing was lifted well by the crane and the transport phase started. But the weather was far from ideal with heavy rain showers and occasional gusts of wind. During one of these gusts, the load on the wing increased and one of the four straps attaching it to the crane failed. Given this, the shore crew elected to abandon the operation and return the wing, still suspended by three straps on the crane, to the base.
"We had a hard time of it today," said Julien Di Biase (SUI), who is overseeing the operation. "The safest thing was to bring the main wing element back to the base and wait for the weather to improve."
The wing is now back inside the big tent at the base in San Diego. Loading will resume on Monday, weather permitting.
