The pilot who landed a crippled Southwest Airlines flight last month has given her first TV interview where she said her experiences as a US Navy fighter pilot played a big role in getting the plane down safely.
Tammie Jo Shults went on US current affairs show 20/20 with her co-pilot Darren Ellisor where she opened up about the moment one of the engines on the Boeing 737 exploded.
"My first thoughts were actually, Oh, here we go, just because it seemed like a flashback to some of the Navy flying that we had done," Ms Shults said.
Her co-pilot also gave a detailed description of the harrowing events aboard Southwest Flight 1380 on April 17.
"We were passing through about 32,000 feet when we heard a large bang and a rapid decompression," Mr Ellisor said.
"The aircraft yawed and banked to the left a little over 40 degrees and we had a very severe vibration from the number one engine.
"There was shaking, everything. And that all kinda happened all at once."
Investigators say the captain, Tammie Jo Shults, took over control from the co-pilot. She first asked air traffic controllers for permission to land at the nearest airport, but then aimed for Philadelphia, where the crippled plane made an emergency landing.
A jagged chunk of an engine part called the inboard fan cowl hit a window, shattering it and causing a partial loss of pressure in the cabin that pushed 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan halfway out the window. She died later.
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