The Southwest Airlines pilot being lauded as a hero in a harrowing emergency landing after a passenger was partially blown out of the jet's damaged fuselage is also being hailed for her pioneering role in a career where she has been one of the few women at the controls.

Update 11.55pm: A woman killed when she was partially blown out of a Southwest Airlines plane died of blunt impact trauma to her head, neck and torso, Philadelphia's medical examiner said.