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(AP, ABC7) — The same engineers who captivated tourists by rappelling down the Washington Monument are conducting a similar operation at the National Cathedral.

Two members of the team began rappelling down a 234-foot tower at the front of the cathedral Monday afternoon. The engineers are looking for damage caused by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the nation's capital on Aug. 23.

Engineers say the cathedral is structurally sound but teams are looking to see if any pieces are unstable and need to be removed.

Engineers are using iPads to take notes while rappelling.

The cathedral also sustained damage during Hurricane Irene a few days later.

Last week, stone masons removed 2 tons of stonework from a pinnacle of the cathedral that had been damaged. Three of the four pinnacles on the central tower, which date to 1963, were severely damaged in the earthquake.