Tammie Jo Shults, Pilot of Southwest Flight 1380: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know about this Hero!
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Tammie Jo Shults is the pilot who bravely flew Southwest Flight 1380 to safety after part of its left engine ripped off, damaging a window and nearly sucking a woman out of the plane. The flight was en route to Dallas Love airport from New York City, and had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Shults kept her cool during an incredibly intense situation, while many passengers posted on social media that they were scared these were their last moments. She, with the help of the co-pilot and the rest of the crew, landed the plane safely. The NTSB reported that there was one fatality out of 143 passengers on board. Some passengers said that someone had a heart attack during the flight, but it’s not yet known if this was the fatality reported by the NTSB. Tammie Jo Shults’ name has not been officially released by Southwest Airlines, but passengers who were on the flight said that she was the pilot. Here is everything you need to know about Tammie Jo (Bonnell) Shults.
1. After the Safe Landing a Passenger Wrote: ‘The Pilot, Tammy Jo, Was So Amazing!’
Thankful passengers immediately began posting on social media after their plane landed safely, declaring that she, the co-pilot, and the rest of the crew were heroes. On Instagram, @abourman wrote the post above. “Our engine that blew out at 38000 ft. A window blew out, a man saved us all as he jumped to cover the window. … The pilot, Tammy Jo was so amazing! She landed us safely in Philly.”
Southwest passenger tells @CNN: "All of a sudden we just heard this loud bang... It was pretty scary, but the pilots did a great job." Live updates: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/southwest-flight-emergency/index.html …
11:55 AM - Apr 17, 2018
Kristopher Johnson, a passenger on the flight, told CNN: “We were leaving LaGuardia heading to Dallas. We were west of Philadelphia probably about 30,000 feet, and all of a sudden we just heard this loud bang, rattling and then it felt like one of the engines went out. The oxygen masks dropped and flight attendants did a good job. The pilot came on and said we’re diverting to Philadelphia and, you know, there was a serious medical injury. I don’t know much about that, but I was sitting in the front. With a couple passengers. We just got the mask on and as soon as we landed, we were thankful. The pilots did a great job, the crew did a great job. They got us down to Philly, and that’s when I took the photo of the engine, and it appeared that it just shredded the left side engine completely. So we were coming down — we dropped probably from 30,000 feet to 25,000 feet, and then the pilot kind of regained control and brought it down safely to Philadelphia. So we got off the plane and onto buses and we’re trying to head over to the tarmac in Philly… It was pretty scary, but the pilots did a great job.”
Cassie Adams@cassface321
Thank you to the incredible pilot at @SouthwestAir who got a plane without an engine to the ground as quickly and safely as possible.
2. Shults Was One of the First Female Fighter Pilots for the U.S. Navy
Shults, a native of New Mexico, graduated in 1983 from MidAmerica Nazarene University. In March 2017, she spoke at a luncheon on campus, where she was honoredfor her many accomplishments, including being one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy.
An older article about her from 2006 is no longer online, but was shared in a forum about fighter pilots here. The story said that when Shults tried to attend aviation career day at her high school, she wasn’t allowed to go because they didn’t accept girls. So she enrolled at MNU because she was also interested in veterinary medicine, but her passion for flying didn’t go away. “In my junior year I went to an Air Force winging with a friend whose brother was getting his wings,” she said. “And, lo, there was a girl in his class.”
Shults applied for the Air Force after she graduated. She wasn’t allowed to test to become a pilot, but the Navy welcomed her. She was one of the first female fighter pilots in the Navy’s history, and the first woman to fly F-18s. She later became an instructor.
3. She Wasn’t Able to Fly in Combat with the Navy, But She Was Also an Instructor
She wasn’t allowed to fly in combat while she was in the Navy, according to a 2006 article that is no longer online but can be accessed in a forum about fighter pilots here. But did become an “aggressor pilot.” She resigned her commission in 1993 and joined Southwest Airlines.
According to a Navy magazine story published in 1993, Shults was a member of the Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 34. The story says that she had flown A-7 and F/A-18 aircraft. She said, “In AOCS (Aviation Officer Candidate School), if you’re a woman (or different in any way), you’re a high profile; you’re under more scrutiny.” She said that chances for women to gain knowledge in the aviation community were limited. “It would be nice if they would take away the ceilings (women) have over our heads,” she said. “In VAQ-34, gender doesn’t matter, there’s no advantage or disadvantage. Which proves my point – if there’s a good mix of gender, it ceases to be an issue.”
4. She and Her Husband, Dean, Are Both Pilots for Southwest
Shults lives in Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, with her husband, Dean, according to MidAmerica Nazarene University. According to City-Data, Dean is also a licensed pilot, Medical Class 1. He’s licensed to fly multi engine and single engine airplanes, just like Tammie Jo. An article from 2006 said that both she and Dean were pilots for Southwest Airlines. She’s a Christian, and once said that sitting in the captain’s chair as a pilot gave her the opportunity “to witness for Christ on almost every flight.”
Dean and Tammie Jo have two children, Sydney and Marshall.
Tammie Jo also ran a company in Texas with her husband Dean called Girl Pilot Stuff, incorporated in 2004.
5. A Female Passenger Was Partially Sucked Out of the Airplane Window, According to Passengers, But Shults Remained Calm & Collected the Entire Time
In the video above, you can hear Shults remaining calm and professional, even during the emergency. According to NBC 10, “the jet violently depressurized when a piece of an engine flew into and broke a window” and “a female passenger was partially sucked out of the plane when the window imploded.” Other passengers said that a passenger suffered a heart attack during the flight, and someone was hit by shrapnel.
During a press conference, a member of the media asked if the plane “free fell” during part of the descent after the engine exploded, as had been reported by some passengers. An official with Southwest Airlines said: “Certainly when you’re at altitude and bring an aircraft down during this, it happens in a fairly rapid manner.”
Timothy Bourman, a passenger on the flight, told WFAA 8 that he was in the back of the plane when he heard a boom, and it felt like the plane dropped 100 feet. He said it felt like the pilot had struggled to control the plane for a moment and passengers were told to brace for impact, but the pilot regained control and landed safely. “Thankful to God, thankful to that pilot,” he said.
https://heavy.com/news/2018/04/tammie-jo-shults-pilot-southwest-flight-1380-engine-hero/
