Southwest plane makes emergency landing in Philadelphia with engine, window damage

(Reuters) - The pilot who safely landed a stricken Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday got her first flying experience in the U.S. Navy, touching down F-18 fighter jets at 150 miles per hour on aircraft carriers.

Tammie Jo Shults, 56, may have drawn on her Navy skills when one of the two engines on her Boeing 737-700 blew and broke apart at 32,000 feet on Tuesday, forcing her to implement a rapid descent towards Philadelphia International Airport.

The explosion killed one passenger and nearly sucked another out of a shattered window.

One of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, Shults 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.

Many of the 144 passengers sang her praise on social media after Shults thanked them for their bravery as they left the plane.

"The pilot Tammy Jo was so amazing! She landed us safely in Philly," said Amanda Bourman on Instagram.

Passenger Alfred Tumlinson said of Shults, according to CBS, "She has nerves of steel. That lady, I applaud her. I'm going to send her a Christmas card — I'm going to tell you that — with a gift certificate for getting me on the ground. She was awesome." He added, "The lady, the crew, everything, everybody was immaculate. They were so professional in what they did to get us on the ground."

Diana McBride Self took to Facebook to thank Shults. "Her grace and knowledge under pressure were remarkable," she wrote. "She came through the plane personally to check on us after she landed our crippled airplane. ... We were truly all in amazing hands."