A Delta Air Lines flight arriving from Atlanta became the scene of an unforgettable moment as a passenger gave birth to a healthy baby girl weighing 2.5 kilograms, just before the Boeing 737's wheels touched down at Portland International Airport.
In the incident on Friday night, two paramedics, Tina Fritz and Kaarin Powell, who happened to be on board, intervened in the birth.
With no sterile birth kit available on the plane, the paramedics had to come up with creative solutions.
Blankets were collected from other passengers, and a shoelace obtained from a flight attendant was used to tie the baby's umbilical cord.
Paramedic Powell sacrificed her own shoelace as a tourniquet to start an intravenous line.When the birth began, the plane was only minutes away from landing. During mother Ashley Blair's final pushes, cabin crew informed the paramedics that they needed to return to their seats for safety reasons.
Fritz recounted, "They said, 'No, not now!' and after three strong pushes, the baby quickly came into the world."
Seconds after the baby was born and the umbilical cord was cut, the plane's wheels touched down on the runway. Paramedic Fritz summarized those moments with, "The baby immediately turned pink, it was wonderful. The mother was solid as a rock."
As the plane taxied to the gate, the number of passengers had increased from 153 to 154. All passengers and crew celebrated this miraculous birth by taking photos.
Mother Ashley Blair and the baby, named "Brielle Renee," were met by Portland Airport Fire and Rescue teams and transferred to a local hospital as a precaution.
Blair, who was traveling from Tennessee to Portland to be with her mother for the birth, became a mother just 20 minutes before reaching her destination.
Delta Air Lines, in a statement, thanked the medical volunteers and crew, saying, "Our customers' health and safety are always our top priority."
