Baby on board: Mom gives birth on flight from Florida

A Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas-Fort Worth gained one more passenger when a woman gave birth mid-flight.

Flight 971 was in the air for just a short time Saturday after leaving Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when Cristina Penton, who was in her 36th week of pregnancy, said she wasn’t feeling well and needed medical assistance.

“Within 10, 15 minutes of takeoff I felt like something was not fine,” Penton, of Phoenix, said later in comments broadcast by television station KSAZ.

It so happened that a pediatrician and nurse were among her fellow passengers.

“Soon after that it was clear I was having my baby, and I was in pure panic,” Penton said.

The flight was diverted to Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans and emergency medical crews were preparing to meet the aircraft when it arrived, according to Spirit Airlines.

But it seems baby Christoph Lezcano wanted to arrive before the flight did. He was delivered on the jet — the 7-pound baby boy came in at 19½ inches long, airline officials said.

Penton and her new son were taken to a hospital in Kenner, La., where both were doing fine and Penton was well enough to speak with reporters.

“A baby being born during a flight is very rare,” Paul Berry said in a statement for Miramarbased Spirit Airlines.

He said flight attendants are trained to handle medical emergencies and have access to doctors on the ground by way of two-way communication.

“In this case, we were fortunate to also have a pediatrician on board who brought even more care and comfort to the situation,” Berry said.

And oh yeah: Spirit Airlines is letting Christoph and a guest take a flight each year on his birthday anywhere the airline goes — for free — for life.