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Southwest pilot from Boerne area praised as 'hero'

Tammie Jo Shults was one of the first female fighter pilots in the Navy, her friends say.

BOERNE — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a Southwest Airlines crash that killed one passenger and injured seven others. The pilot of that airline is being called a hero after she skillfully landed the plane when one of the engines failed.

Tammie Jo Shults lives in the Boerne area. Her friends say she is still in Philadelphia on Wednesday being interviewed by authorities conducting the investigation.

Forty minutes into the Dallas-bound Southwest flight that left from New York, the left engine exploded. It was the first accidental death on a US airline in almost ten years. Shults's friends say hearing how Tammie Jo dealt with the crisis is not surprising.

"Sounded just like her: calm, cool and collected. That's how she is at everything, things don't really ruffle her," said Staci Thompson, her friend of twenty years.

Her friends say her military training probably came in handy. They say Shults was one of the first female fighter pilots in the Navy.

"She just did what she has been trained to do and what she knew to do. I promise you, if she was sitting right here she would say that the Lord guided her hands and she was led by God," said Rachel Russo, another friend.

Passengers on the flight have taken to social media, thanking Shults for her bravery. Some have said she spoke to each one of them personally to make sure they were okay. Others are comparing her to the now-famous Captain Sully, who landed his plane on the Hudson River back in 2009.

"She's very much so got a gentle heart that wants people to feel loved and feel important. That's what we've heard from the accounts: that she was checking on other people when she just went through a traumatic situation. She wants to make sure that everyone else is ok and I think that's just who she is," Russo said.

Her friends say she is very active in the First Baptist Church of Boerne, teaching Sunday School. They say she's most proud of her family - her husband, who is also a Navy veteran and Southwest pilot, as well as her two children.

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