A key Boeing Co. jet supplier has halted operations through Tuesday at its Wichita, Kan., site due to tornado damage.
Its unclear how the disruption at supplier Spirit AeroSystems will affect aircraft production at Boeing in the Puget Sound region. The jet builder was still assessing the situation Sunday evening.
Tornadoes ripped through the Midwest on Saturday. The Boeing defense site in Wichita took a direct hit, a spokesman told the Wichita Eagle.
No injuries were reported at Boeing or at Spirit, which is a supplier on most Boeing jets.
In a http://www.boeing.com/empinfo/emergency.html message to employees Sunday, Boeing said it had suspended operations in Wichita through Monday. The storms caused widespread utility and power outages, including to Boeings facility, the company said on its website.
Boeing http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120104/BIZ/701059914/1005 plans to shut down the Wichita site next year.
Spirits Wichita location plays a key role in the manufacturing of Boeings 787 Dreamliner and 737 aircraft. Boeing is working to boost production on both programs as well as on other aircraft assembled in the Everett.
Spirit said its Wichita site sustained significant damage, in a https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B61Ybf-p1ci-UU5zS19fQkdsc0k/edit?pli=1 message the company wrote to employees on Twitter. The company is assessing the structural integrity, environmental conditions and operations of the site. Key utilities, including gas, power and water, still needed to be restored.
Spirit CEO Jeff Turner told http://www.kansas.com/2012/04/15/2298117/spirit-aerosystems-boeing-close.html#storylink=cpy the Wichita Eagle that the company is working on a plan to resume operations.
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