WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) UPDATE Sunday 10:00 p.m.
Eyewitness News has learned the name of the Spirit employee who was injured on the job Saturday.
To maintain the family's privacy, we will not be releasing that information at this time, but the family tells us that the man is still in critical condition and fighting for his life.
Eyewitness News will continue to follow this story. The family just asks for thoughts and prayers at this time.
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Spirit AeroSystems confirms an employee was injured in a workplace accident Friday evening.
Spirit said the employee was seriously injured but did not say who the employee is. However, the company did say it was a man.
The company said in a statement Saturday that the accident happened at the company's Wichita site and required response from Spirit's medical teams as well as Sedgwick County responders.
Spirit said those responders attended to the injured employee and later took him to an area hospital for further treatment.
"The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority," the company wrote in a news release.
Spirit said there is an investigation underway but wouldn't say anything else about the accident.
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Spirit AeroSystems employee injured in workplace accident
By Stan Finger
November 04, 2017
A Spirit AeroSystems employee was critically injured in a workplace accident Friday night, officials said.
Sedgwick County 911 was notified shortly after 7 p.m. that a man suffered a chest injury in the incident, a dispatch supervisor said Saturday. The ambulance was sent to Gate 13 at 4400 E. MacArthur and transported the victim to the hospital.
Emergency medical teams from Spirit and Sedgwick County attended to the victim before he was transported to the hospital. A statement issued by Spirit Aerosystems Saturday confirmed the work-related accident, calling the injuries “serious.”
Spirit AeroSystems is a young company built on almost 90 years of aviation experience.
Our Heritage
Many of the world’s greatest aviation pioneers — Stearman, Boeing, Rockwell, North American and British Aerospace Corporation — have contributed to the Spirit legacy.Our history in the U.S. dates back to 1927, when aviation pioneer Lloyd Stearman moved his factory, Stearman Aircraft Company, from California to Wichita, Kansas. Two years later, Boeing — known at that time as the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation — purchased Stearman Aircraft Company. The Wichita Boeing site produced some of the most important aircraft in Boeing’s history, including the B-29 Superfortress bomber, the B-47 Stratojet and the B-52 Stratofortress. In 1996 Boeing purchased Rockwell International’s operations in Oklahoma, which produced components for the 737, the International Space Station, the Joint Strike Fighter and the Nimrod MRA4.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Spirit’s history begins in the 1930s. In 1935, aviation pioneer David McIntyre established Scottish Aviation Ltd in Scotland’s Ayrshire countryside. The facility was an essential producer of aircraft during WWII. In the 1970s, the Scottish Aviation Ltd facility at Prestwick later became BAE Systems Aerostructures.
Our Founding
In 2005, Boeing sold its Wichita Division and Oklahoma operations. The new company, Spirit AeroSystems, began the transformation from a single-source supplier into an independent global supplier with multiple customers and platforms.The following year, Spirit AeroSystems acquired the Aerostructures business unit from BAE Systems, including its facilities in Prestwick, U.K. This operation is now known as Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited. Spirit Europe is one of the largest airframe suppliers to Airbus and is a key supplier of major wing structures. Spirit Europe also produces wing structures for Boeing programs.