A woman on a Thanksgiving holiday trip from Tampa, Florida to Pennsylvania went into labor mid-flight last Wednesday. The family had a 20 minute layover in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Nereida Araujo said she “felt like a pop” in her lower back and realized that the baby was going to be born 11 days prematurely. Her doctor and the airline had cleared her to fly even at the advanced date in her pregnancy.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the crew on the flight radioed ahead to the Charlotte airport. Medics were waiting to assist when the jet pulled up to the gate. Aruajo delivered a baby girl while still on the aircraft.
The girl was named Lizyana Sky Taylor in honor of the strange circumstances of her birth.