“We can have feminist icons, but the real heroines are just quietly doing what is needed.” Osyth
I live in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metropolitan area and was horrified and relieved to see the successful emergency landing of a Southwest plane last week at our airport. As I listened to the pilot being interviewed, I heard a female voice. Two things struck me, one – no one seemed to make a big deal out of the fact that this was a woman pilot. Hooray for that I thought. And second, who was this remarkable woman that fate chose to be at the helm of that plane. So, here is Tammie’s story and it is all the more remarkable because, as usual, she had to overcome great obstacles because of her gender to become and pilot and save 149 lives.
Tammie Jo Shults, Who Safely Landed the Deadly Southwest Flight, Has Been Breaking Glass Ceilings for Years
When an engine exploded on Southwest flight 1380 Wednesday, pilot Tammie Jo Shults calmly alerted air traffic control and prepared for an emergency landing in Philadelphia.
“We are single engine,” Shults, a former U.S. Navy pilot, said, according to a recording of the correspondence. “Part of it’s missing,” she added. “They said there’s a hole and someone went out.”
Shults later landed the Boeing 737-700 jet with one engine and a shattered passenger window, with 144 passengers and five crew members on board. A horrific scene unfolded inside the cabin when the engine explosion blew open a passenger window, partially sucking out the passenger sitting next to it. That passenger later died in a hospital, according to a Philadelphia-based NBC affiliate, and seven others were injured during the ordeal.
As the crisis unfolded in her aircraft’s cabin, Shults alerted air traffic control about the “injured passengers” and requested medical professionals to be ready when the plane touched the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, is currently investigating the event. Shaken passengers later praised Shults as a “hero” for her poise under pressure and her ability to prevent more deaths or injuries.
“This is a true American hero,” passenger Diana McBride Self wrote in a post on Facebook. “A huge thank you for her knowledge, guidance and bravery in a traumatic situation. God bless her and all the crew.” Self said Shults “personally” spoke to passengers after they landed.
“She has nerves of steel. That lady, I applaud her,” passenger Alfred Tumlinson told the Associated Press. “I’m going to send her a Christmas card — I’m going to tell you that — with a gift certificate for getting me on the ground. She was awesome.”
In a statement late Tuesday, Shults and Southwest Airlines First Officer Darren Ellisor, one of the other crew members on board flight 1380, said they were “simply doing our 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 said in a statement.
When reached by phone Wednesday morning, Shults’ husband, Dean Shults, said they were both unable to comment.
Shults is one of a small percentage of female pilots in the commercial airline industry. Just 6.33% of commercial pilots are women, according to 2016 data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). And starting at a young age, Shults faced adversity throughout her career as she navigated the male-dominated field.
Here’s what to know about the barrier-breaking pilot.
She was one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots
Courtesy of Linda Maloney
Before she became a Southwest pilot, Shults was one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy. Shults initially had limited options in the Navy due to combat exclusion laws that prevented women from flying combat aircraft. But when the law was repealed in 1993, she became one of the first women to fly the Navy’s combat jets.
She then learned to fly the F/A-18 Hornet — a newer Navy fighter jet at the time, she wrote in a passage for the book Military Fly Moms, which features insights from female pilots. But she still had to do so in a support role. “Women were new to the Hornet community, and already there were signs of growing pains,” she wrote. She struggled with her training unit, she said, due to their lack of “open-mindedness about flying with women.” But that mentality was hardly anything new for female pilots at the time.
“Not only is Tammie Jo a great pilot but she is a person of character and integrity,” said Linda Maloney, who flew with her in the 1990s in the Navy and who wrote Military Fly Moms, told MONEY.
“She is one of the best … personable, warm, caring and just an amazing person,” Maloney added.
She faced adversity as a female pilot from the get-go
By even expressing interest in aviation, Shults was met with adversity. As a senior in high school in New Mexico in 1979, she attended a lecture from a retired colonel on aviation as part of a vocational day program, she wrote in Military Fly Moms.
“He started the class by asking me, the only girl in attendance, if I was lost,” she wrote. “I mustered up the courage to assure him I was not and that I was interested in flying. He allowed me to stay but assured me there were no professional women pilots.”
From there, she struggled to understand her desire to fly, as the field wasn’t very accepting of women. She had limited opportunities for most of her career in the Navy before the combat exclusion law was repealed, and she still lands in the minority as part of a small percentage of female pilots for commercial airlines.
“Tammie Jo’s professionalism and skill doesn’t surprise me at all,” Kathryn McCullough, a retired Northwest Airlines captain and member of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, told MONEY in an e-mail. “That is what baffles me … Why don’t more airlines want women pilots? We are calm, capable and more than qualified.”
The Air Force didn’t want her
Indeed, when starting her career, the Air Force “wasn’t interested in talking to” her, she wrote in Military Fly Moms. “But they wanted to know if my brother wanted to fly,” she noted.
The Navy “was a little more charitable,” she said, and allowed her to fill out an application for aviation officer candidate school. It wasn’t until a year after she took her Navy aviation exam did she find a recruiter to process her application. “Within two months, I was getting my hair buzzed off and doing pushups in aviation officer candidate school in Pensacola, Florida,” she wrote.
Other women inspired her to pursue her goals
While attending MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas, Shults found new inspiration to become a pilot. She met a woman who received her Air Force wings, therefore having the ability to operate an Air Force aircraft. “I set to work trying to break into the club,” Shults wrote.
In the Navy, Shults worked for Commander Rosemary Mariner, the first female commander of the Point Magu, California-based VAQ-34, a tactical electronic warfare squadron of the U.S. Navy that is no longer active.
“Commander Mariner opened my eyes to the incredible influence of leadership,” Shults wrote. “She was a shining example of how to lead.”
TAMMIE JO SHULTS YOU ROCK!
The information in this post came from a n article written by Marty Martinez for Money Magazine.
If you have a story about an inspiring woman, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments section.
Wonderful post, Bernadette. And a poignant reminder of the continuing prejudice women face when entering professions dominated by men. I’m so proud of Tammie Jo!
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It is pretty astounding that she faced so many obstacles in becoming a pilot. Thank goodness she persevered. 🌼
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I am sure the 148 people who were saved all were thankful but unfortunately it isn’t too astounding that she faced so many obstacles.
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Great woman – great story. Thanks, Bernadette!
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So good to hear from you my friend. Thanks.
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Bernadette, so glad you sent this info. I have been reading about her and think she deserves the many accolades being piled on her.
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I wonder what the chances are of a movie being made?
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Great post!
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Thanks for featuring Tammie Jo. I wondered about her after reading about the air disaster. Women who succeed in predominantly male professions have to overcome great odds. Her success in safely landing her crippled airliner is testament of her skills and vindication for all the slights she endured to receive her Air Force wings.
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One of the reasons that is used to hold women back is “they are too emotional”. I think Tammie Jo landing that plane put that reason in the dust bin for good.
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Amazing woman!! Thanks for sharing her story.
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Thank you Bernadette, your article about Tammy Shultz is fascinating and touching.
How wonderful the way she handled this very dangerous situation and safely landed the plane. It is true that all pilots are trained for such emergencies but reality is always different than training.
I didn’t realise that it was so hard for a woman to become a pilot within the Air Forces in U.S. It is amazing that the equality hasn’t reached further.
So I join you in the praise of Shultz.
Miriam
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Miriam, thanks for reading and commenting. I honestly didn’t realize that the Air Force had that recently practiced discrimination against women.
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She safely flew my daughter and grandchildren the day before. Just an uneventful flight. Way to go!
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Elizabeth, so many things reminded me of fate about that flight. I couldn’t get past that you pick your own seat on Southwest….. A pilot flew the aircraft who had to fight to become a pilot and now thinking about your daughter and grandchildren….
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We certainly can’t predict much in our lives, that’s for sure.
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An amazing woman!!
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This is a wonderful and very important post. I really enjoyed it and it made me aware of a world of women I’ve never known about. Thank you.
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Keeping women from doing any kind of career reminds of the following quote by Ben Franklin. Just substitute woman for nail…
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
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Love this!!!!!!!!!!
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Bernadette, Osyth’s quote at the start is perfect … there are so many unsung heroines in everyday life! I too was taken by the voices between the pilot and air traffic controller, Tammie’s was so calm and in control whilst the air traffic controller almost lost it his shock of hearing someone had gone out of the hole! I loved learning more about her life, her fight to get here – her perseverance ensures that more and more female pilots will be taking to the air… thank you so much for sharing this! Wishing you a lovely weekend! 🌺🌻
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Thank you Annika for your thoughtful comment. It promises to finally be a spring weekend here in New Jersey. Enjoy your weekend also.
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She definitely is inspiring. Her perseverance to become a pilot when all is said and done caused many lives to be saved…. Diane
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She is amazing. Thank you for sharing more details her and her perseverance.
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Once again an inspiring woman Bernadette, thank youfor sharing that… praise God, she was at the right place at the right time to prevent huge fatalities.
Very sad for the family of the lady lost though, they now have a lifetime without her.
Jennifer
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What a woman!
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