TITLE: Recognizing Tammie Jo Shults for her heroic actions.

SUMMARY: Recognizing Tammie Jo Shults for her heroic actions.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Tammie Jo Shults for her heroic actions on April 17, 2018, while piloting Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, which departed from New York's LaGuardia Airport and was bound for Dallas; and WHEREAS, En route, the plane suffered catastrophic engine failure that jolted the plane and sent metal debris into the air and cabin, causing rapid decompression and a window to rip open; Mrs. Shults and her copilot were forced to use hand signals to communicate with one another because the cockpit was loud and shaking, yet amazingly, Mrs. Shults managed to remain calm and used her prior training as a fighter pilot in the United States Navy to safely land the plane in Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, After the remarkable emergency landing in Philadelphia, Mrs. Shults walked back to the cabin to personally comfort each of the passengers, one of whom had unfortunately sustained life-threatening injuries; and WHEREAS, Tammie Jo Shults has had an exceptional aviation career; she was one of the first females to fly the F/A-18 Hornet, and she assisted her squadron by serving as an aggressor pilot in training missions during Operation Desert Storm; and WHEREAS, She was awarded the rank of lieutenant commander in December of 1995, and she continued to serve in the navy reserve until August of 2001; she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in January of 2019; and WHEREAS, In addition, Mrs. Shults is an active member in her community; she teaches Sunday school at her church, among other humanitarian endeavors, and she has generously allowed victims of Hurricane Rita to stay in a cottage on her property; she is known as a woman who has nerves of steel and who treats others with the greatest of kindness and empathy; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th Legislature, hereby commend Tammie Jo Shults for her outstanding career in aviation and for courageously saving the lives of the passengers and the crew by piloting Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 to a safe emergency landing; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared in honor of Tammie Jo Shults and as an expression of highest regard from the Texas Senate. Campbell President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 19, 2019.