The heroic story of pilot Tammie Jo Shults has made waves across the Internet as America rightfully praises the courageous woman who brought 143 passengers to safety on Southwest Flight 1389 yesterday.
After one of the engines blew on the plane traveling from New York City to Dallas, Shults was forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia, that she executed with “nerves of steel.”
The lesser-told story has been of the hero cowboy, Tim McGinty, who risked his own life to pull passenger Jennifer Riordan back in the plane after the mother of two was sucked out of a window that burst amidst the engine explosion.
McGinty, sporting a cowboy hat and a bandage around his arm, desperately tried to pull Riordan back inside the airplane alone, but ended up needing help from a fellow passenger (and firefighter) to fight the extreme suction working against them.
“A guy helped and we got her pulled in and they tried to resuscitate her,” said McGinty.
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The firefighter, Andrew Needum of Celina, Texas, and a nurse performed CPR on Riordan but were sadly unable to revive her.
According to McGinty’s wife Kristen, it is just like her husband to be the first on the scene to help a fellow stranger.
“My husband loves God and believes our purpose here is to love fiercely and to serve others,” she told USA TODAY. “Some heroes wear capes, but mine wears a cowboy hat.”
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Kristen added that before the explosion, her husband helped secure her oxygen mask and held her hand amidst the chaos.
Jennifer Riordan’s family and thousands across the country grieve her tragic death, but are also grateful that such selfless heroes did all they could to save her, up until her final breaths.
“Jennifer’s vibrancy, passion and love infused our community and reached across our country,” her family said in a statement of the revered Wells Fargo bank executive who was first and foremost the ‘bedrock’ of their family.
“Her impact on everything and everyone she touched can never be fully measured,” they continued. “But foremost, she is the bedrock of our family. She and Mike wrote a love story unlike any other. Her beauty and love is evident through her children.”
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In their time of grief, the Riordans ask for privacy and have one special request in honor of Jennifer:
“In her memory — please remember to always be kind, loving, caring, and sharing.”
In memory of Jennifer, please share that simple but powerful message with the ones you love (and maybe even the ones it’s harder for you to love) today. ❤️
