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Southwest's Tammie Jo Shults Joins The Legacy of Badass Female Pilots

The pilot who calmly landed a stricken airliner this week is one of many women who have owned the skies.
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

and

Photo Editor, HuffPost

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Tammie Jo Shults, the pilot who safely landed a stricken Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday, is getting justifiably praised for the coolheaded way she handled herself during the emergency.

The 56-year-old Shults, one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, calmly told air traffic control that part of her plane was missing and she would need ambulances on the runway.

“So we have a part of the aircraft missing, so we’re going to need to slow down a bit,” Shults told a controller.

One passenger died of blunt impact trauma to her head, neck and torso after an engine explosion caused a window to break. The aircraft, en route from New York City to Dallas, landed safely in Philadephia, though, and many of the passengers who’d been aboard later sang Shults’ praises on social media.

But while Shults did an outstanding job of landing a depressurized plane, it’s not like she’s the only incredible female pilot.

As the gallery below shows, she is one of many female aviators who’ve made important strides in both the air and on land.

1
1992
Thomas P Milne/U.S. Navy via Reuters
Navy Lt. Tammie Jo Shults, who is now a Southwest Airlines pilot, in front of a Navy F/A-18A in this 1992 photo. She is credited with calmly landing a disabled passenger plane in Philadelphia on April 17, 2018.
2
2017
Courtesy Delta Air Lines
Capt. Stephanie Johnson, left, and 1st Officer Dawn Cook end Black History Month and usher in Women’s History Month as they become the first African-American women to make up the flight crew on a "mainline" Delta flight.
3
2016
Staff Sgt. Joe W. McFadden/U.S. Air Force
1st Lt. Kayla Bowers, a 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, looks out of the cockpit of her aircraft during the squadron's deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, March 18, 2016. Operation Atlantic Resolve is a demonstration of the United States' continued commitment to the collective security of NATO.
4
2014
Lt. Col. Robert Couse-Baker/U.S. Air Force
1st Lt. Meaghan Cosand, C-5B Galaxy pilot with the 312th Airlift Squadron, starts engines in preparation for takeoff from Kadena Air Base, Japan. She was flying a mobility channel mission, moving high-priority cargo and passengers among air bases in the U.S. Pacific Command.
5
2010
Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski/U.S. Air Force
Betty Wall Strohfus, a former pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), sings the national anthem during the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the Capitol on March 10, 2010. The WASP program, established during World War II, trained women to fly noncombat missions.
6
2007
AFP via Getty Images
Phetogo Molawa, a 21-year-old air force lieutenant stands next to the big Oryx Air Force transport helicopter at the third Women's Conference in Defence in Canturion, South Africa. Molawa is South Africa's first black female pilot.
7
2006
Xavier Rossi via Getty Images
Emilie Denis, the first woman fighter pilot of the French navy in Toulon, France, in front of her Rafale.
8
2000
Xavier ROSSI via Getty Images
Brigitte Joubert, one of the only women qualified to pilot rescue helicopters over land and sea in Biarritz, France.
9
2000
Reza via Getty Images
Aysh Gammo, the first Libyan woman airline pilot, gets ready for a flight in Tripoli, Libya.
10
1999
Getty Images
Flight Lt. Joanne Mein, flanked by colleagues of the Royal Australian Air Force's elite aerobatics display team, the Roulettes, rolls her plane during a formation flight over Gippsland, Australia.
11
1999
Daniel SIMON via Getty Images
Lt. Caroline Aigle, France's first woman fighter pilot, in Tours, France.
12
1999
ISSOUF SANOGO via Getty Images
Adine Ossebi, 30, the first and only female pilot for Air Afrique, in the cockpit of a plane at the Abidjan airport in Ivory Coast.
13
1995
GERALD PENNY via Getty Images
The Royal Air Force's first woman strike-attack combat pilot, Jo Salter, waves from the cockpit of a Tornado GR1B after landing at Lossiemouth, Scotland.
14
1993
Patrick Durand via Getty Images
Barbara Harmer, the first female Concorde pilot.
15
1977
Bettmann via Getty Images
Lt. (J.G.) Mary Louise Jorgensen was the first woman tactical jet pilot to be assigned to Miramar Naval Air Station at San Diego.
16
1976
Central Press via Getty Images
Ann Bostock, 26, the first woman to pilot scheduled services for a British airline, sits in the cockpit of a BAC 111 on July 7, 1976.
17
1974
Bettmann via Getty Images
Sally D. Murphy, 25, at the controls of the UH-1 'Huey' helicopter, is recognized in the U.S. Army as its first woman aviator and also its first military helicopter pilot.
18
1973
Bettmann via Getty Images
In a Pentagon ceremony, Lt. Judith Ann Neuffer of Wooster, Ohio, was presented with flight training orders by Navy Secretary John Warner, making her the first military pilot in U.S. history on Jan. 10, 1973.
19
1963
Keystone-France via Getty Images
Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have flown in space, on June 1, 1963.
20
1962
Getty Images
American Jacqueline Cochran, shown here about 1962, learned to fly at age 22, and it became a lifetime passion.
21
1944
Leonard McCombe via Getty Images
1st Officer Maureen Dunlop of the ATA (British Air Transport Auxiliary) in the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber.
22
1942
Bettmann via Getty Images
Alice Rhonie, one of the first WAF (Women in the Air Force) pilots to arrive at their East Coast air base on Sep. 23, 1942.
23
1942
Bettmann via Getty Images
The new WAFs, dressed in flying suits and helmets, at flight training on Sept. 23, 1942.
24
1941
Planet News Archive via Getty Images
Valentina Grizodubova was among the first of thousands of Russian women who volunteered when Moscow was threatened on Oct. 26, 1941.
25
1940
Topical Press Agency via Getty Images
Pauline Gower, one of the pool of British women pilots who ferrried new aircraft from the factory to the aerodrome on Jan. 10, 1940. She established the women's branch of the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II.
26
1939
Roger Viollet via Getty Images
Pilots on the Russian front during World War II, circa 1939.
27
1938
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Elisabeth Lion, French aviator, in May 1938.
28
1936
Bettmann via Getty Images
British pilot Beryl Markham, at Abingdon Aerodrome, Berkshire, prior to takeoff for a solo flight across the Atlantic on Sep. 11, 1936.
29
1935
George Rinhart via Getty Images
Helen Richey, who became the first woman to be employed as a pilot of a U.S. airline, on Nov. 7, 1935.
30
Circa 1935
FPG via Getty Images
American actress and amateur pilot Madge Evans, circa 1935.
31
Circa 1935
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Maryse Hilsz, French aviator, circa 1935.
32
1934
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Jean Gardner Batten, New Zealand aviator in India, in 1934.
33
1933
Lipnitzki via Getty Images
Miss Le Manoir, French aviator, 1933.
34
1932
Bettmann via Getty Images
Hermelinda Urvina Briones, 26, of Ambato, Ecuador, who claimed to be the first woman in South America to become a pilot, prepares for a practice flight at Curtiss Airport, Long Island, on Dec. 3, 1932.
35
1930
Bettmann via Getty Images
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes tests a new monoplane in which she hopes to establish a new speed record for women on July 2, 1930.
36
1930
Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Romanian Irina Burnaia caresses her "good luck" dog before a flight circa 1930.
37
1930
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Helene Boucher, French aviator, circa 1930.
38
Circa 1930
Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images
Pioneering English aviator Amy Johnson with an airplane engine. In 1930, Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, winning a Daily Mail newspaper contest, circa 1930.
39
1929
Planet News Archive via Getty Images
Beatrix Thomson, the actress who scored a great success in "The Matriarch" in London, is the first British actress to be granted a pilot's certificate, on Dec. 29, 1929.
40
1929
Central Press via Getty Images
Irish aviator Lady Mary Bailey at Heston before the 540-mile King's Cup Air Race, July 6, 1929. Bailey was the first woman to compete in the race.
41
1929
Planet News Archive via Getty Images
The American-born aviator Vicomtesse Jacques de Sibour on March 1, 1929.
42
Circa 1929
Bettmann via Getty Images
American pilot Marjorie Crawford with her monoplane, circa 1929.
43
1928
Keystone-France via Getty Images
Aviators Baroness Von Schoenberg Kranefeldt and Christel Schultes before a race from Europe to New York in 1928 in Bavaria, Germany.
44
Circa 1928
George Rinhart via Getty Images
Elinor Smith, 17, waves to a crowd of thousands just after she established a new women's flight endurance record of 26 hours, 21 minutes, 32 seconds.
45
Circa 1928
Planet News Archive via Getty Images
Marga von Etzdorf was awarded the title of Germany's Premier Airwoman circa 1928.
46
1928
Getty Images
Amelia Earhart in front of her bi-plane "Friendship" in Newfoundland. Earhart (1898-1937) disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in her attempt to fly around the world in 1937.
47
1928
Keystone-France via Getty Images
Irish aviator Lady Heath (Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans) holds a flask of whisky before her attempt to fly at the altitude of 20,000 feet to break a record in 1928 in Croydon, England.
48
1927
E. Bacon via Getty Images
Australian aviator Jessie "Chubbie" Miller, sorting out her kit at Croydon Aerodrome in London before attempting an England-Australia long-distance flying record with pilot Bill Lancaster on Oct. 14, 1927.
49
1922
George Rinhart via Getty Images
Pilot Bessie Coleman, 24, of Chicago, the first female African-American aviator in the world, receives a bouquet from Capt. Edison C. McVey at Curtiss Field, Garden City, Long Island, on Sep. 4, 1922.
50
1922
Bettmann via Getty Images
Laura Bromwell waves from her cockpit after breaking an air record by looping the loop 77 times at Curtiss Field on Long Island on Aug. 4, 1922.
51
Circa 1915
PhotoQuest via Getty Images
American aviation pioneer Ruth Law Oliver next to an airplane while dressed in the government aviation uniform. She flew over the Western Front during World War I and was the only woman permitted to wear the uniform for non-military purposes in France circa 1915.
52
1912
Library of Congress via Getty Images
Blanche S. Scott is believed to be the first woman to pilot and solo in an airplane in the United States.
53
1919
Bettmann via Getty Images
French pilot Baroness de la Roche, who was killed when the plane she was flying at Crotoy, France, collapsed. She's photographed here after she broke the world's record for altitude reached by a woman, formerly held by Ruth Law Oliver, on July 22, 1919.
54
1916
Bettmann via Getty Images
Ruth Law Oliver as she returned to earth after a spectacular flight at Sheepshead Bay. From 1914 to 1916, she was tops in the world of aviation, making notable flights in the United States and Japan. She used a Curtiss bi-plane equipped with a Wright control system.
55
Circa 1914-1918
Historical via Getty Images
Marjorie Stinson, the only woman to whom a pilot's license had been granted by Army and Navy Committee of Aeronautics before 1920.
56
1912
Bettmann via Getty Images
Harriet Quimby in the Bleriot XI she flew across the English Channel on April 16, 1912. Not only was she the first woman to accomplish this task, but in 1911 she had also become the first woman to receive a pilot's license.
57
1910
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Elise Deroche, French aviator, in 1910.
58
Circa 1905
adoc-photos via Getty Images
Helene Dutrieu, Belgian aviator, circa 1905.
59
Circa 1920s
Bettmann via Getty Images
A woman flier of the barnstorm era. Miss Todd in a double-decker crate ready to take off.

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