Tammie Jo Shults’ story is something for gatekeepers to consider
Apr 19, 2018, 6:38 AM | Updated: 8:45 am
Lt. Tammie Jo Shults, one of the first women to fly Navy tactical aircraft, poses in front of an F/A-18A with Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 34 in 1992. (Thomas P. Milne/U.S. Navy via AP)
(Thomas P. Milne/U.S. Navy via AP)
The job of an airline pilot is one of those jobs which is the same every day, until the one day it’s not.
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Passengers on Southwest flight 1380 called pilot Tammie Jo Shults a hero, with nerves of steel, when she landed the plane after the left engine broke in midair.
But it’s worth noting that there were gatekeepers 30 years ago who didn’t think Tammie Jo Shults belonged in that plane — or any plane.
There’s a story about the time she attended an aviation lecture in high school and was asked if she was lost – being the only female there.
When she got her college degree in 1983, she applied to the Air Force, but, sorry, wrong sex.
Two years later, the Navy accepted her – and she became one of its first female fighter pilots. But she served as a trainer – because, of course, she could not be allowed to go into combat.
Well, here’s a test video showing what happens when a jet engine throws a fan blade.
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It isn’t quite combat, but it’s still a situation where a lot of lives depend on what the pilot does in the next few minutes.
And this is what Tammie Jo Shults calmly said when asked if her plane was on fire:
“No. It’s not on fire but part of it’s missing.”
And she landed that plane, and no one expressed surprise that she was up to the job because that’s what good pilots do.
Just something for today’s gatekeepers to consider.
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