Logo

The heroic pilot who guided her Southwest Airlines jet to safety said Wednesday that “our hearts are heavy” that a passenger died after an engine exploded in midair.

Tammie Jo Shults, 56, said she and her crew “were simply doing our jobs” when their LaGuardia-to-Dallas airliner had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

A passenger was killed when she was hit by shrapnel from the engine explosion.

“As Captain and First Officer of the crew of five who worked to serve our Customers aboard Flight 1380 yesterday, we all feel we were simply doing our jobs,” the pilot said in a statement released by Southwest Airlines.

“Our hearts are heavy. On behalf of the entire Crew, we appreciate the outpouring of support from the public and our coworkers as we all reflect on one family’s profound loss.”

The victim was 41-year-old Albuquerque resident Jennifer Riordan, a vice president for Wells Fargo bank.

Related Video

Passenger's Facebook live video as a Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy