Who is popular today?

Tammie Jo Shults, the pilot who safely landed a stricken Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday, is getting justifiably praised for the coolheaded way she handled herself during the emergency.
The 56-year-old Shults, one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, 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.
One passenger died of blunt impact trauma to her head, neck and torso after an engine explosion caused a window to break. The aircraft, en route from New York City to Dallas, landed safely in Philadephia, though, and many of the passengers who’d been aboard later sang Shults’ praises on social media.

But while Shults did an outstanding job of landing a depressurized plane, it’s not like she’s the only incredible female pilot.
As the gallery below shows, she is one of many female aviators who’ve made important strides in both the air and on land. 

1. 1992

Navy Lt. Tammie Jo Shults, who is now a Southwest Airlines pilot, in front of a Navy F/A-18A in this 1992 photo. She is credited with calmly landing a disabled passenger plane in Philadelphia on April 17, 2018.

Thomas P Milne/U.S. Navy via Reuters2. 2017

Capt. Stephanie Johnson, left, and 1st Officer Dawn Cook end Black History Month and usher in Women’s History Month as they become the first African-American women to make up the flight crew on a "mainline" Delta flight.

Courtesy Delta Air Lines3. 2016

1st Lt. Kayla Bowers, a 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, looks out of the cockpit of her aircraft during the squadron'€™s deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, March 18, 2016. Operation Atlantic Resolve is a demonstration of the United States'€™ continued commitment to the collective security of NATO.

Staff Sgt. Joe W. McFadden/U.S. Air Force4. 2014

1st Lt. Meaghan Cosand, C-5B Galaxy pilot with the 312th Airlift Squadron, starts engines in preparation for takeoff from Kadena Air Base, Japan. She was flying a mobility channel mission, moving high-priority cargo and passengers among air bases in the U.S. Pacific Command.

Lt. Col. Robert Couse-Baker/U.S. Air Force5. 2010

Betty Wall Strohfus, a former pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), sings the national anthem during the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the Capitol on March 10, 2010. The WASP program, established during World War II, trained women to fly noncombat missions.

Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski/U.S. Air Force6. 2007

Phetogo Molawa, a 21-year-old air force lieutenant stands next to the big Oryx Air Force transport helicopter at the third Women's Conference in Defence in Canturion, South Africa. Molawa is South Africa's first black female pilot.

AFP via Getty Images7. 2006

Emilie Denis, the first woman fighter pilot of the French navy in Toulon, France, in front of her Rafale.

Xavier Rossi via Getty Images8. 2000

Brigitte Joubert, one of the only women qualified to pilot rescue helicopters over land and sea in Biarritz, France.

Xavier ROSSI via Getty Images9. 2000

Aysh Gammo, the first Libyan woman airline pilot, gets ready for a flight in Tripoli, Libya.

Reza via Getty Images10. 1999

Flight Lt. Joanne Mein, flanked by colleagues of the Royal Australian Air Force's elite aerobatics display team, the Roulettes, rolls her plane during a formation flight over Gippsland, Australia.

Getty Images11. 1999

Lt. Caroline Aigle, France's first woman fighter pilot, in Tours, France.

Daniel SIMON via Getty Images12. 1999

Adine Ossebi, 30, the first and only female pilot for Air Afrique, in the cockpit of a plane at the Abidjan airport in Ivory Coast.

ISSOUF SANOGO via Getty Images13. 1995

The Royal Air Force's first woman strike-attack combat pilot, Jo Salter, waves from the cockpit of a Tornado GR1B after landing at Lossiemouth, Scotland.

GERALD PENNY via Getty Images14. 1993

Barbara Harmer, the first female Concorde pilot.

Patrick Durand via Getty Images15. 1977

Lt. (J.G.) Mary Louise Jorgensen was the first woman tactical jet pilot to be assigned to Miramar Naval Air Station at San Diego.

Bettmann via Getty Images16. 1976

Ann Bostock, 26, the first woman to pilot scheduled services for a British airline, sits in the cockpit of a BAC 111 on July 7, 1976.

Central Press via Getty Images17. 1974

Sally D. Murphy, 25, at the controls of the UH-1 'Huey' helicopter, is recognized in the U.S. Army as its first woman aviator and also its first military helicopter pilot.

Bettmann via Getty Images18. 1973

In a Pentagon ceremony, Lt. Judith Ann Neuffer of Wooster, Ohio, was presented with flight training orders by Navy Secretary John Warner, making her the first military pilot in U.S. history on Jan. 10, 1973.

Bettmann via Getty Images19. 1963

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have flown in space, on June 1, 1963.

Keystone-France via Getty Images20. 1962

American Jacqueline Cochran, shown here about 1962, learned to fly at age 22, and it became a lifetime passion.

Getty Images21. 1944

1st Officer Maureen Dunlop of the ATA (British Air Transport Auxiliary) in the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber.

Leonard McCombe via Getty Images22. 1942

Alice Rhonie, one of the first WAF (Women in the Air Force) pilots to arrive at their East Coast air base on Sep. 23, 1942.

Bettmann via Getty Images23. 1942

The new WAFs, dressed in flying suits and helmets, at flight training on Sept. 23, 1942.

Bettmann via Getty Images24. 1941

Valentina Grizodubova was among the first of thousands of Russian women who volunteered when Moscow was threatened on Oct. 26, 1941.

Planet News Archive via Getty Images25. 1940

Pauline Gower, one of the pool of British women pilots who ferrried new aircraft from the factory to the aerodrome on Jan. 10, 1940. She established the women's branch of the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II.

Topical Press Agency via Getty Images26. 1939

Pilots on the Russian front during World War II, circa 1939.

Roger Viollet via Getty Images27. 1938

Elisabeth Lion, French aviator, in May 1938. 

adoc-photos via Getty Images28. 1936

British pilot Beryl Markham, at Abingdon Aerodrome, Berkshire, prior to takeoff for a solo flight across the Atlantic on Sep. 11, 1936.

Bettmann via Getty Images29. 1935

Helen Richey, who became the first woman to be employed as a pilot of a U.S. airline, on Nov. 7, 1935.

George Rinhart via Getty Images30. Circa 1935

American actress and amateur pilot Madge Evans, circa 1935.

FPG via Getty Images31. Circa 1935

Maryse Hilsz, French aviator, circa 1935.

adoc-photos via Getty Images32. 1934

Jean Gardner Batten, New Zealand aviator in India, in 1934.

adoc-photos via Getty Images33. 1933

Miss Le Manoir, French aviator, 1933.

Lipnitzki via Getty Images34. 1932

Hermelinda Urvina Briones, 26, of Ambato, Ecuador, who claimed to be the first woman in South America to become a pilot, prepares for a practice flight at Curtiss Airport, Long Island, on Dec. 3, 1932.

Bettmann via Getty Images35. 1930

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes tests a new monoplane in which she hopes to establish a new speed record for women on July 2, 1930.

Bettmann via Getty Images36. 1930

Romanian Irina Burnaia caresses her "good luck" dog before a flight circa 1930.

Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images37. 1930

Helene Boucher, French aviator, circa 1930. 

adoc-photos via Getty Images38. Circa 1930

Pioneering English aviator Amy Johnson with an airplane engine. In 1930, Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, winning a Daily Mail newspaper contest, circa 1930.

Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images39. 1929

Beatrix Thomson, the actress who scored a great success in "The Matriarch" in London, is the first British actress to be granted a pilot's certificate, on Dec. 29, 1929.

Planet News Archive via Getty Images40. 1929

Irish aviator Lady Mary Bailey at Heston before the 540-mile King's Cup Air Race, July 6, 1929. Bailey was the first woman to compete in the race.

Central Press via Getty Images41. 1929

The American-born aviator Vicomtesse Jacques de Sibour on March 1, 1929.

Planet News Archive via Getty Images42. Circa 1929

American pilot Marjorie Crawford with her monoplane, circa 1929.

Bettmann via Getty Images43. 1928

Aviators Baroness Von Schoenberg Kranefeldt and Christel Schultes before a race from Europe to New York in 1928 in Bavaria, Germany.

Keystone-France via Getty Images44. Circa 1928

Elinor Smith, 17, waves to a crowd of thousands just after she established a new women's flight endurance record of 26 hours, 21 minutes, 32 seconds.

George Rinhart via Getty Images45. Circa 1928

Marga von Etzdorf was awarded the title of Germany's Premier Airwoman circa 1928.

Planet News Archive via Getty Images46. 1928

Amelia Earhart in front of her bi-plane "Friendship" in Newfoundland. Earhart (1898-1937) disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in her attempt to fly around the world in 1937. 

Getty Images47. 1928

Irish aviator Lady Heath (Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans) holds a flask of whisky before her attempt to fly at the altitude of 20,000 feet to break a record in 1928 in Croydon, England.

Keystone-France via Getty Images48. 1927

Australian aviator Jessie "Chubbie" Miller, sorting out her kit at Croydon Aerodrome in London before attempting an England-Australia long-distance flying record with pilot Bill Lancaster on Oct. 14, 1927.

E. Bacon via Getty Images49. 1922

Pilot Bessie Coleman, 24, of Chicago, the first female African-American aviator in the world, receives a bouquet from Capt. Edison C. McVey at Curtiss Field, Garden City, Long Island, on Sep. 4, 1922.

George Rinhart via Getty Images50. 1922

Laura Bromwell waves from her cockpit after breaking an air record by looping the loop 77 times at Curtiss Field on Long Island on Aug. 4, 1922.

Bettmann via Getty Images51. Circa 1915

American aviation pioneer Ruth Law Oliver next to an airplane while dressed in the government aviation uniform. She flew over the Western Front during World War I and was the only woman permitted to wear the uniform for non-military purposes in France circa 1915.

PhotoQuest via Getty Images52. 1912

Blanche S. Scott is believed to be the first woman to pilot and solo in an airplane in the United States.

Library of Congress via Getty Images53. 1919

French pilot Baroness de la Roche, who was killed when the plane she was flying at Crotoy, France, collapsed. She's photographed here after she broke the world's record for altitude reached by a woman, formerly held by Ruth Law Oliver, on July 22, 1919.

Bettmann via Getty Images54. 1916

Ruth Law Oliver as she returned to earth after a spectacular flight at Sheepshead Bay. From 1914 to 1916, she was tops in the world of aviation, making notable flights in the United States and Japan. She used a Curtiss bi-plane equipped with a Wright control system. 

Bettmann via Getty Images55. Circa 1914-1918

Marjorie Stinson, the only woman to whom a pilot's license had been granted by Army and Navy Committee of Aeronautics before 1920.

Historical via Getty Images56. 1912

Harriet Quimby in the Bleriot XI she flew across the English Channel on April 16, 1912. Not only was she the first woman to accomplish this task, but in 1911 she had also become the first woman to receive a pilot's license.

Bettmann via Getty Images57. 1910

Elise Deroche, French aviator, in 1910.

adoc-photos via Getty Images58. Circa 1905

Helene Dutrieu, Belgian aviator, circa 1905. 

adoc-photos via Getty Images59. Circa 1920s

A woman flier of the barnstorm era. Miss Todd in a double-decker crate ready to take off.

Bettmann via Getty Images