American Heroine: What is Known About Pilot Tammy Schultz, Who Landed a Plane with an Exploded Engine (7 photos + 1 video)
On Tuesday, April 17, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 caught fire and exploded in mid-air. The explosion sent shrapnel from the engine shattering a window, and a passenger seated nearby, 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan, was sucked into the resulting hole. She was rescued but, sadly, later died. The death toll would have been much higher if not for Captain Tammie Jo Shults. 
Shults was able to perform an emergency landing with one engine running, saving 149 people. Initially, Southwest Airlines did not officially identify who heroically landed the plane, but passengers later reported that Captain Shultz, who served in the US Navy for 10 years and was a pioneer among women piloting a fighter jet, was at the controls.
We've compiled a few facts about Captain Tammy Jo Shultz.
One of the passengers filmed a video on the plane.
Lieutenants Tammy Shultz, Sue Hart, and Linda Maloney in 1991
According to Tammy Shultz's alma mater, MidAmerica Nazarene University, she was one of the first women in the U.S. Navy. Shultz graduated in 1983 with degrees in biology and agricultural business.
One of the pilot's classmates said Shultz was the first woman in the Air Force to pilot an F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bomber and attack aircraft.
Shultz also became one of the few female pilots in commercial aviation. According to Time, women make up 6.33% of commercial pilots.
The future pilot grew up near an air force base and watched the planes take off every day, fascinated. In Linda Maloney's book, Military Fly Moms, Tammy recalls:
"Some people grew up surrounded by aviation. I grew up literally under it. Our ranch in New Mexico was located directly beneath the airspace where they practiced air combat maneuvers. I was destined to fly."
During her senior year of high school in 1979, Schultz attended an aviation lecture. The lecturer, a retired colonel, asked her if she was lost. She was the only woman in the room. Tammy replied no. The lecturer allowed her to stay, but assured her that professional female pilots didn't exist.
The Air Force wasn't interested in Shultz as a pilot, but the Navy allowed her to apply to the Aviation Officer Candidate School. Tammy ultimately attended the officer candidate school in Pensacola, Florida.
"In just two months, they shaved my head and I was doing push-ups."
She was assigned to a training squadron at the Naval Air Station in Beeville, Texas. There, she became a pilot instructor and taught the Navy T-2 trainer.
Her husband, Dean Schultz, is also a pilot for Southwest Airlines. They met while serving in the Navy. Her husband says Tammy is "the best pilot he knows." After finishing their Navy careers, the Schultzes decided to pursue a career in commercial aviation.
"We wanted to try our hand at commercial aviation and start a family. So I retired in 1993, and Dean the following year. We joined Southwest Airlines together—Dean works full-time, and I typically fly 8-10 days a month. We try to schedule our flights so we're both home at the same time."
While in the Navy, Shultz worked under Rosemary Mariner, the first female tactical electronic warfare squadron commander. "She opened my eyes to the incredible power of leadership. She was a shining example of what it takes to be a leader."
Passengers on Flight 1380 from New York to Dallas, rescued by Tammy Shultz, call her a heroine.
