
CMG Speaks presents Tammie Jo Shults
Tammie Jo Shults
Former Naval Aviator, Pilot, and Author
"Never let an offense get in the way of a great opportunity." - Tammie Jo Shults
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About Tammie Jo Shults
Tammie Jo Shults is a retired commercial airline captain, author, and former naval aviator. Known for being one of the first female fighter pilots to serve in the United States Navy, following active duty she became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. On April 17, 2018, as captain of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, Shults safely landed a Boeing 737-700, saving 148 passengers, after the aircraft suffered an uncontained engine failure with debris causing rapid decompression of the aircraft. She retired from Southwest Airlines in 2020.
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Speaking Topics
- Leadership
- Overcoming Adversity
- Leadership
- Overcoming Adversity
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Works by Tammie Jo Shults

NERVES OF STEEL
Nerves of Steel is the captivating true story of Tammie Jo Shults’s remarkable life—from growing up the daughter of a humble rancher, to breaking through gender barriers as one of the Navy’s first female F/A-18 Hornet pilots, to safely landing the severely crippled Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 and helping save the lives of 148 people.
Tammie Jo Shults has spent her entire life loving the skies. Though the odds were against her, she became one of the few female fighter pilots in the Navy. In 1994, after serving her country honorably for eight years, Tammie Jo left the Navy and joined Southwest Airlines in the early 1990’s.
On April 17, 2018, Tammie Jo was called to service once again. Twenty minutes into a routine domestic flight, Captain Shults was faced with the unthinkable—a catastrophic engine failure in the Boeing 737 caused an explosion that punctured hydraulic lines and severed fuel lines, tearing away sections of the plane, puncturing a window, and taking a woman’s life. Captain Shults and her first officer, Darren Ellisor, struggled to stabilize the aircraft.
Drawing deeply from her well of experience, Tammie Jo was able to wrestle the severely damaged 737 safely to the ground. Not originally scheduled for that flight, there is no doubt God had prepared her and placed her right where she needed to be that day.