The baby was slipping from his mother’s lap without anyone noticing.
She was traveling on United flight 3486, from Newark to Grand Rapids, and exhaustion had overcome her halfway through the journey. It was Monique Harris, a flight attendant with Republic Airways, who saw the danger before anyone else and stretched out her arms just in time to catch the baby in midair. But she didn’t stop there: she told the mother to close her eyes again, that she would take care of the little one in the meantime.
A passenger named John Frehse photographed the scene and shared it on Instagram, even tagging United’s CEO, Scott Kirby. The post surpassed 145.000 likes in just a few days, and both Republic Airways and United responded by praising Harris. She said she never acts seeking recognition — she only did what anyone should do for an exhausted mother.