Southwest Airlines's Pilot Hailed as a Hero After Scary In-Flight Mishap
All eyes are on the pilot who miraculously landed the Dallas-bound Southwest Airlines plane with a busted jet engine last Tuesday. Reports identify her as Tammie Jo Shults, a former fighter pilot in U.S. Navy.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was en route from New York's LaGuardia Airport to the Dallas Love Field Tuesday morning when the incident happened.
Reports reveal that it was heading west over Pennsylvania and traveling 500 mph when the pilot abruptly changed course towards Philadelphia. One of the jet engines of the plane reportedly blew up at 30,000 feet, smashing a window with shrapnel and causing a sudden depressurization in the aircraft cabin. The decompression led one of the passengers to get partially sucked out of the plane. The victim, who died from her wounds, was identified as Jennifer Riordan of Albuquerque, N.M. Seven others received minor injuries.
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Shults was recorded calmly reporting the plane's engine failure to the air traffic controllers. The audio transmissions revealed her asking for immediate medical help upon landing at the Philadelphia International Airport, stating that they have injured passengers. The investigation indicated that an engine caught fire and there was fuel leakage. One window and the fuselage were also damaged.
The aircraft had 144 passengers and a crew of five onboard. Riordan was reportedly given CPR while on the plane and rushed to a hospital, but her injuries were too severe. Riordan was the first ever passenger death in Southwest Airlines' history.
The company's chief executive officer, Gary Kelly, said that they are currently investigating what happened. He declined to say more, opting to extend his sympathies to the family of the deceased. Kelly also assured the public that their client's safety would always be their first priority. He explained that the plane was proven to be reliable and had great success for a long period of time.
Southwest Airlines has a fleet of 700 planes.
"This is a sad day and on behalf of the entire Southwest family, I want to extend my deepest sympathies for the family and loved ones of our deceased customer. Truly, this is a tragic loss. ... Let me assure you the safety of our customers and crew is our uncompromising priority. ... It is a very, very reliable engine. The airplane in my opinion is proven. It's very reliable. It has the greatest success of any aircraft type over a long, long period of time. It doesn't create any doubt in my mind, at least at this point," Kelly said.
Meanwhile, Shults is currently being hailed as a hero for her quick thinking and composed demeanor during the emergency. Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in a press conference that the pilot could not have handled the situation better. If not for her, more passengers could have been hurt.
Some of the passengers also could not help but praise Shults and the crew. It was revealed that after the plane landed, the pilot personally walked down the aisle to on the passengers, where she was greeted with hugs and applause.
