Kicker: Nerves of steel

MARY REICHARD, HOST: “Nerves of steel” is how at least one passenger aboard Southwest Flight 1380 describes pilot Tammie Jo Shults.

Her friends describe her as a faithful Christian.

After an engine explosion that killed one passenger and injured seven others Tuesday— Shults landed the 737 at Philadelphia International Airport without further incident.

SHULTS: Southwest 1380 has an engine fire, descending. Yeah, we have a part of the aircraft missing. So we’re going to need to slow down a bit. Could you have the medical meet us there on the runway as well? We’ve got injured passengers.

Her calm demeanor amid chaos shouldn’t be a surprise.

Shults is a former Navy fighter pilot— one of the first women to enter those ranks.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(Thomas P. Milne/U.S. Navy via AP) In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Lt. Tammie Jo Shults, one of the first women to fly Navy tactical aircraft, poses in front of an F/A-18A with Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 34 in 1992.

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