The old air traffic control tower at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is history.

It was demolished in dramatic fashion on Saturday morning after Ben DeCosta, the airport general manager, pushed a ceremonial plunger.

"It was more than I thought it would be," DeCosta said. "I didn't know what to expect. It was super."

The old FAA tower stood in the shadow of a new one, which was commissioned for use in May before the opening of the new fifth runway.

The new tower stands 398 feet tall, making it the tallest in North America.

The old one was 231 feet tall. It was built in the 1970s.

Saturday's demolition required months of expert planning.

"It's going to fall diagonal this way," said Henrietta Kissieh, owner of the company in charge of the demolition, Kissberg Construction. "We are very careful. The physics and the math have been done."

Lisa Page, who works for the Atlanta Department of Aviation, arrived early to find a seat in a special area reserved for employees and guests near the demolition site.

"This is exciting, especially because it's a live airport with a live tower next to it," she said. "The precision of everything is really great."

Just after 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Page and other employees began the countdown.

The implosion lasted 10 seconds

"Oh, my gosh," Page exclaimed as she watched the tower topple. "I'll have this smile on my face all day because that was cool."

The old tower had to come down to make room for the new Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal, which will take years and about $1 billion to build.

Construction has been delayed because of litigation over the initial design.

A new design is expected soon, and the terminal is scheduled to open in 2010.