What happened? Pilots who landed Southwest plane after deadly engine failure tell story

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Pilots of the Southwest flight on which the engine exploded and a woman was killed spoke for the first time to ABC News Martha Raddatz.

The flight with 144 passengers was headed from New York to Dallas April 17 when the engine exploded 20 minutes into the flight. Jennifer Riordan died when the window shattered and the pressure partially sucked Riordan out of the plane.

Pilots Darren Ellisor and Tammie Jo Shults were able to safely land the plane during a terrifying ordeal.

“My immediate reaction was a seizure of the engine. It was very disorienting to have all these things happen at once and I actually couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on,” Ellisor said.

Raddatz spoke Friday morning to our sister radio station WDBO's Joe Kelley about her exclusive interview with the pilots that airs Friday night at 10 p.m. on WFTV Eyewitness News Channel 9.

“They (pilots) both deserve a lot of credit. They worked together to get that aircraft down on the ground safely. They communicated quickly. They call it aviate, navigate, communicate that’s how you’re supposed to fly those aircraft, and in an emergency, they were both steady and calm,” Raddatz said to Kelley.

The pilots flew together for the first time the day before the deadly engine explosion, Raddatz told Kelley.

“They knew they had to stay calm and just do what they were trained to do,” Raddatz said.

The pilots have not returned to flying yet. They are both taking time off.

Both pilots are retired from the military. Shults was one of the first female Navy aviators and discussed that role during the "20/20" interview which airs Friday at 10 p.m. on WFTV Channel 9.

Cox Media Group