In early April, a woman gave birth during a flight from Jamaica to New York City. Both mother and baby were okay, but it made headlines because it’s not every day that a baby is born on an airplane. That’s probably because most doctors recommend pregnant women don’t fly after 34 weeks. You hear stories about women not making it to the hospital and having to give birth in a car or at home (this happened to Seth Meyers’ wife), but airplane birth stories are rare. Well, there must be something in the, err, air, this April, because it happened again this past Friday.
On April 24, a woman named Ashley Blair, who was 38 weeks pregnant, went into labor in the middle of a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta to Portland. Luckily for Ashley, two female EMTs happened to be on the flight. With help from other passengers and flight attendants, they were able to put together a makeshift medical kit and help Ashley safely deliver the baby. Little Brielle Renee was born just before the plane made an emergency landing.
A woman went into labor on a Delta Air Lines flight on Friday, with passengers stepping in to help deliver the baby while the plane was in mid-air.
The woman, whose name was given as Ashley, was on flight 478 from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Portland International Airport in Oregon on April 24 when the baby began to arrive, per KOIN and KATU. She gave birth about 30 minutes before the plane made an emergency landing in Portland at around 10 p.m. local time, according to the outlets.
Two emergency medical technicians on board as passengers helped deliver the baby, along with flight attendants and crew members, KOIN reported.
Tina Fritz and Kaarin Powell, the two EMTs who delivered the baby, were friends returning from vacation together and happened to be on the aircraft by chance.
A flight attendant asked over the intercom for any medical personnel on board to ring their service bell. “Then the steward came up to us and he goes, ‘Hey, we have a lady up front who thinks she’s going into labor. Contractions are about three minutes apart. Can you guys check her out?’ ” Fritz told KOIN.
She explained that they had to borrow blankets from passengers and got the flight attendant to cut off his shoelace to use as a tourniquet to restrict Ashley’s blood flow to start an IV.
“Within three really good pushes, the baby was out and doing perfect. Mom was a rock star, like, mom did so good,” she continued. “I cut the cord and we wrapped her up… then, we gave baby back to mom, and we taxied in, so the whole plane cheered for mom. It was great.“
On Tuesday, People published an exclusive interview with one of the EMTs, Tina Fritz, about what went down. According to Tina, she and her friend/fellow EMT Kaarin Powell had never assisted in a delivery before. Since there were no extra blankets or an obstetrical kit available, they borrowed blankets from passengers. They also used shoelaces to tie off the umbilical cord and start a tourniquet for an IV. Those women are amazing for how well they handled the situation. Ashley is so lucky that they were on board.
Tina also shared pictures of Ashley and baby Brielle, who weighed 5lbs 8oz. They’ve also kept in touch with Ashley and both mother and baby are doing well. But my goodness, what an eventful flight! That is a story that everyone involved with is going to be telling at dinner parties for the rest of their lives. Baby Brielle is always going to have one hell of an ice breaker story, too.
Baby Born on Board Delta Flight Pictured with Mom Moments After Birth as EMT Shares New Delivery Details (Exclusive)
— People (@people) April 29, 2026
Photos credit: IMAGO/Nicolas Koutsokostas/Avalon, Tina Fritz via Facebook
