US pilot lauded for heroic landing
Shults relayed details of crisis calmly to Air Traffic Controllers
Boerne, April 19: The Southwest Airlines pilot being lauded as a hero in a harrowing emergency landing after a passenger was partially blown out of the jet’s damaged fuselage is also being hailed for her pioneering role in a career where she has been one of the few women at the controls.
Tammie Jo Shults, one of the first female fighter pilots in the American Navy, was the captain and piloting the Dallas- bound Flight 1380 when it made an emergency landing on Tuesday in Philadelphia, according to her husband, Dean Shults. One of the engines on the Boeing 737 exploded while the plane was traveling 500 mph at 30,000 feet with 149 people on board.
Shrapnel hit the plane and passengers said they had to rescue a woman who was being blown out of a damaged window.
The woman later died of blunt force trauma to her head, neck and torso.
Shults calmly relayed details about the crisis to air traffic controllers, and passengers commended her handling of the situation.
In a statement late Wednesday, Shults and the other pilot on board, First Officer Darren Ellisor, said they felt like they were simply doing their jobs.
“On behalf of the entire Crew, we appreciate the outpouring of support from the public and our coworkers as we all reflect on one family’s profound loss,” the two pilots said in the statement, adding that their “hearts are heavy.”