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Thursday, April 19, 2018

Hero who landed Southwest flight broke barriers as Navy pilot

The hero commercial pilot who safely landed a Boeing 737 full of passengers after shrapnel from an engine explosion breached the cabin was a former Navy pilot and one of the first women to take the stick of an F/A-18 fighter jet, according to reports.

Southwest Airlines pilot Tammie Jo Shults, 56, kept cool Tuesday as she brought Flight 1380 down for an emergency landing in Philadelphia when an engine exploded mid-air, according to passengers’ social media.

“A huge thank you to the Southwest Crew & Pilot Tammie Jo Shults for their knowledge and bravery under these circumstances. God bless each one of them,” passenger Diana McBride Self wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

“The pilot, Tammy Jo was so amazing! She landed us safely in Philly,” wrote Instagram user Amanda Bourman.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is she actually a hero? She did her job just as she was trained, with a level head and a professional demeanor. Even she feels that her actions weren't heroic, but by the book.

Oscar said...

The two men that risked their lives to help pull that poor woman out of the window are hero’s. The pilot was doing her job. Look up the definition of hero

Anonymous said...

It was her JOB to land the plane after the engine failed. She did exactly what she was trained to do when a engine fails. And by simply doing her job and what had to be done to save HER life, she brought the rest of the passengers with her. Somehow, I don't see self preservation and doing the job you are paid to do, as a claim of heroism, by anyone. Sorry, there are people that put their lives in jeopardy to save the lives of others (true definition of being a hero), and those who save lives in the course of saving their own skin. I have high standards for who I classify as a hero. The term is greatly diminished every time we lower the threshold for what it takes to be called a "hero."

Anonymous said...

I'm sure that the passengers are all grateful to still be alive, but that doesn't make the pilot a hero.

Anonymous said...


So if a firefighter saves someone or a paramedic they are not hero's either? A military service-man is jut doing his job also, not a hero, right?

Anytime you save a life you are a hero, whether you get paid or not !

Anonymous said...

There are big heroes, little heroes and heroes in between. Some of us have saved more lives than we can count while just doing our jobs, working to support ourselves and families, even at the risk of life and limb. Call us something in appreciation of that, but save "hero" for those who go above and beyond the job description, or risk it all for nothing but helping others.