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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2006
Emilie Denis, the first woman fighter pilot of the French navy in Toulon, France, in front of her Rafale.
2000
Brigitte Joubert, one of the only women qualified to pilot rescue helicopters over land and sea in Biarritz, France.
2000
Aysh Gammo, the first Libyan woman airline pilot, gets ready for a flight in Tripoli, Libya.
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.
1999
Lt. Caroline Aigle, France's first woman fighter pilot, in Tours, France.
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.
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.
1993
Barbara Harmer, the first female Concorde pilot.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1963
Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have flown in space, on June 1, 1963.
1962
American Jacqueline Cochran, shown here about 1962, learned to fly at age 22, and it became a lifetime passion.
1944
1st Officer Maureen Dunlop of the ATA (British Air Transport Auxiliary) in the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber.
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.
1942
The new WAFs, dressed in flying suits and helmets, at flight training on Sept. 23, 1942.
1941
Valentina Grizodubova was among the first of thousands of Russian women who volunteered when Moscow was threatened on Oct. 26, 1941.
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.
1939
Pilots on the Russian front during World War II, circa 1939.
1938
Elisabeth Lion, French aviator, in May 1938.
1936
British pilot Beryl Markham, at Abingdon Aerodrome, Berkshire, prior to takeoff for a solo flight across the Atlantic on Sep. 11, 1936.
1935
Helen Richey, who became the first woman to be employed as a pilot of a U.S. airline, on Nov. 7, 1935.
Circa 1935
American actress and amateur pilot Madge Evans, circa 1935.
Circa 1935
Maryse Hilsz, French aviator, circa 1935.
1934
Jean Gardner Batten, New Zealand aviator in India, in 1934.
1933
Miss Le Manoir, French aviator, 1933.
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.
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.
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Kenya
Sarah Achieng is a 31-year-old professional boxer and sports administrator. Here she poses after her training session at a gym in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 27, 2018.
Mexico
Professional wrestler Cristal poses for a photograph in her training gym on Feb. 9, 2018, in Mexico City.
Somalia
Soccer coach and player Marwa Mauled Abdi, 24, poses at Ubah fitness center in Hargeisa, Somalia, on March 1, 2018.
Japan
Firefighter Ran Namise, 24, poses in front of a fire engine at Kojimachi Fire Station in Tokyo on Feb. 23, 2018.
Mali
Houssa Nientao, 64, is one of the few female Muslim monks, also known as "marabouts," in Bamako, Mali. Here she poses in a room on Feb. 20, 2018.
Cuba
Yordanka Masfollor, 34, has a Ph.D. in chemical sciences. Here she poses for a picture at a biotechnology laboratory in Havana on March 2, 2018.
Spain
Lea Vincens, 33, is a rejoneadora (a bullfighter who mounts a horse with a lance). Here she poses at the Aracena bullring in Huelva, Spain, on Feb. 25, 2018.
Greece
Rania Rapti, a butcher, poses in her family's business in Athens, Greece, on March 5, 2018.
Pakistan
Zahida, a police assistance sub-inspector, poses for a photograph at a police academy in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Feb. 26, 2018.
Sierra Leone
Gold prospector Awa Kamara, 65, poses for a photograph in the Pampana River on March 5, 2018, near Mekeni, Sierra Leone.
Iraq
Huda Salem, a 20-year-old member of the Iraqi national weightlifting team, trains at a gym in Baghdad on Feb. 22, 2018.
El Salvador
Nicol Gomez, 37, is a guardian at the La Esperanza prison in San Salvador, El Salvador. Here she poses for a portrait in front of a group of prisoners practicing yoga on March 4, 2018.
Uganda
Farmer Bettina Tumuhaise, 41, poses at her pigsty in Zirobwe, Uganda, on March 2, 2018.
Lebanon
Ray Bassil, 29, is a Lebanese trapshooting champion and UNDP youth and gender goodwill ambassador. Here she poses for a photo at the shooting club in Adma, Lebanon, on Feb. 9, 2018.
Kuwait
Mai Ibrahim Al-Mesad is a project manager of the maritime section of the Jaber Al-Ahmad Causeway in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Here she poses for a picture at the construction site on March 4, 2018.
Senegal
Mechanic and garage co-owner Fatou Sylla poses on Feb. 28, 2018, at her garage in Dakar, Senegal.
China
Taxi driver Yang Fengxia, 45, poses in the street in Hancheng, China, on Feb. 16, 2018.
India
Kuldeep Kaur, 51, is an Indian watch woman for the Bhangiwal village near Mehatpur, India. Here she walks with a flashlight during her night round on Feb. 24, 2018.
France
Sailor Marie Rouffet poses for a picture in the port of Le Guilvinec, France, on Feb. 16, 2018.
Pakistan
First responder Samra Akram Zia poses for a photograph with her motorcycle ambulance in Lahore, Pakistan, on Feb. 24, 2018.
Portugal
Barber Dalia Antunes, 44, poses at the Oliveira Barbershop in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 3, 2018.
Spain
Cristina Munoz Ferraro, 37, is a real estate agent at Remax Family. Here she poses for a picture at the Remax Family office in Sevilla, Spain, on Feb. 28, 2018.
U.S.
Production designer Hannah Beachler poses for a picture in West Hollywood, California, on Feb. 22, 2018. She designed the world of Wakanda in the recent film "Black Panther."
Egypt
Asmaa Megahed is a 31-year-old Egyptian carpenter. Here she poses for a picture at her workshop in the Abdeen district in downtown Cairo on Feb. 26, 2018.
Guatemala
Guatemalan deputy and human rights activist Nineth Montenegro poses for pictures at the Congress in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on March 1, 2018.
South Sudan
Security guard Marlin Keji John, 30, poses in Juba, South Sudan, on Feb. 22, 2018.
Chile
Boxer Carolina "Crespita" Rodriguez, 34, poses for a picture in Santiago, Chile, on March 1, 2018.
U.S.
Wendy Lawrence, 58, is a retired U.S. Navy captain and former NASA astronaut. Here she's pictured by the space shuttle trainer that was used for astronaut training on Feb. 28, 2018. It's now at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
France
Chef Anne-Sophie Pic, the only female three-starred Michelin chef in France and one of a handful in the world, poses on March 2, 2018, in the kitchen of her restaurant La Maison Pic in Valence, France.
India
Anny Divya, 31, is a pilot who became the youngest woman in the world to captain the Boeing 777 aircraft. Here she poses next to planes at the Indian Air Force Museum in New Delhi on Feb. 24, 2018.
South Africa
Mixed martial arts fighter Shana Power, 25, poses for a picture in the gym she co-owns in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Feb. 28, 2018.
Panama
Eyda Rios, 55, is a Panama Canal locks operator. Here she poses at the Panama Canal's Pedro Miguel Locks on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama, on Feb. 26, 2018.
Uruguay
Carmen Cousello, 58, was Uruguay's first female bus driver in 1998. Here she poses for a picture in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Feb. 28, 2018.
Nicaragua
Betania Gutierrez, a tobacco roller at the Momotombo Factory, poses in Granada, Nicaragua, on Feb. 26, 2018.
Spain
Firefighter Maria Jose Martienz Ortiz, 43, poses for a picture in the Fuente San Luis fire station in Valencia, Spain, on Feb. 28, 2018.
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