Former Navy Pilot, Tammie Jo Shults, Named As Hero Who Landed Damaged Southwest Flight

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The Southwest Airlines pilot who made an emergency landing Tuesday after the jet blew an engine and lost a window at 32,000 feet was one of the first female pilots to fly with the U.S. Navy. Tammie Jo Shults, 56, was calm as she navigated the damaged Dallas-bound jet, Flight 1380, to an emergency landing in Philadelphia. The twin-engine Boeing 737 that left New York’s LaGuardia Airport had 143 customers and five crew on board. One passenger died and 7 others were injured. Jennifer Riordan, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was identified as the woman who died. Riordan was the mother of two and a Wells Fargo bank executive. Shults took the plane into a rapid descent as passengers employed oxygen masks and braced for impact. The veteran pilot managed to safely land the plane at Philadelphia International at 11:30 a.m.  

Tammie Jo Shults, who landed crippled Southwest plane, was one of first female fighter pilots in U.S. Navy

Via www.msn.com
 

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