Flight attendant saves choking baby on plane

ORLANDO -- A flight attendant saved a choking baby on a plane about to take off for a flight from New York to Orlando, reported CBS Orlando station WKMG-TV.

The source said JetBlue Flight 183 was still at the gate at New York's JFK airport at 2 p.m. Tuesday and the plane doors had just closed when flight attendants were alerted to an emergency on board.

Two parents seated in the third row said their baby was choking. According to an eyewitness, the baby was limp and unresponsive.

That's when a female flight attendant who was nearby grabbed the baby, patted his or her back and revived the child.

"I saw them as they handed her the baby. It just looked like the baby was asleep, and then within 10 seconds the baby was obviously alert," said a passenger who asked to not be named because he also works for the airline. "You just react and the training kicks in and that's exactly what she said. She said, 'The training kicked in and it just took over."'

When the baby recovered, passengers erupted in cheers.

"Everyone started clapping because the people who could see it realized right away what was going on. And it was like a round of applause," said the passenger. "You never expect anything like that to happen and when it has such a good outcome and it happens so quickly, you're watching it and you're thinking, 'Oh, this is really happening."'

Sources said the pilot paged for a doctor on board, who assessed the child and believed the child had choked on his or her tongue after being given teething medication.

JetBlue released a statement Wednesday, saying that "a customer reported to the crew shortly before takeoff that his infant child was unresponsive. Crewmembers performed emergency response techniques, and medical personnel met the aircraft at the gate."