‘Flight angel': Stranger comforts, befriends 96-year-old woman during her first flight in 15 years

SAN DIEGO - A complete stranger became a source of comfort for a 96-year-old woman who was apprehensive about her first flight in 15 years.

Megan Ashley, who witnessed the interaction between the woman and kind stranger, shared photos on her Facebook page. On July 29, Ashley said she was flying from San Diego to Nashville when she overheard the sweet encounter.

“For her birthday, she wanted to go to Kansas City to see her family, but she was scared of flying. She asked for this man’s hand during takeoff and then hugged him again when experiencing turbulence,” Ashley said in her post.

She went on to say the man “gladly took her hand, let her hold onto him, calmed her by talking to her and explaining everything that was happening, and simply was that stranger there for her.”

During the flight, he helped the woman get up to go to the bathroom and made sure she made it safely back and forth through the aisles.

The woman, who appeared to be quite grateful to have met a kind-hearted friend on the flight, offered the man her in-flight pretzels, according to Ashley.

“It made me smile the whole flight as he comforted her. This man was her flight angel. He held her bag, helped her get of the plan and into the wheelchair,” Ashley said.

She added that the man made sure the woman caught up with her daughter, who had somehow been separated from her mother.

“Hats off to you sir, for your kind heart and your compassion toward someone whom you’ve never met. I have never been so touched on a flight before. This truly made my week,” Ashley said.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.