Spirit worker who died was crushed by an airplane part | The Wichita Eagle

A Spirit AeroSystems employee injured in an accident Nov. 3 at the company’s Wichita plant has died, the company said Friday.

And a spokesman for the federal agency looking into the accident said the worker, Sammy Barnett, suffered a crushing injury.

“The initial report indicates that the employee received a crushing injury when the load shifted and fell during the lifting of an aircraft part while using an overhead crane,” said Scott Allen, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Chicago.

The Spirit statement said the company was saddened by news of Barnett’s death and added, “Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

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Spirit said there is an ongoing investigation into the accident, and that it is fully cooperating with government agencies.

“And we intend to utilize any findings to determine ways to reinforce and further strengthen our processes and procedures,” Spirit said in the statement. “The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority, and we remain committed to driving an ever-stronger safety culture at Spirit.”

Allen said OSHA has been conducting an “open inspection” at Spirit that began shortly after the accident occurred. That includes interviewing witnesses and company officials, as well as looking at equipment that was used when the accident occurred.

OSH has six months from the date of the incident to complete its inspection, though Allen said “we’ll try to complete it as soon as possible.”