The former college football star heard commotion in the back of his seat and left first class to pray with the man's family.
Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow stepped into action while aboard a Delta flight Sunday as a fellow passenger suddenly collapsed, suffering an apparent heart attack.
Other passengers and the frantic flight crew notified medical personnel on board who started doing chest compressions when they couldn't find a pulse. They also used a portable emergency defibrillator to restart the stricken man's heart.
The former University of Florida star overheard the commotion and left his seat in first class on the Phoenix-bound flight from Atlanta.
Passenger Joshua Douglass, a Marine Corps reservist, was on the flight and watched in amazement as Tebow began comforting those around the incapacitated passenger.
He told Inside Edition: “I just look up and I see a guy walking down the aisle, and I’m just like, 'That's Tim Tebow.'”
The stunned passenger photographed what Tebow was doing.
Douglass said: “He gives them a hug and of course, they embrace him. That's the time I took the photo because I thought, no one would believe this situation. Next thing you know, he's starting to pray with the family and give words of encouragement. Unbeknownst to him people were teary eyed, you know whispering words of encouragement and praying along with him.”
Another passenger, Richard V Gotti, snapped a photo of Tebow with the family and posted it to Facebook.
Gotti wrote: “He met with the family as they cried on his shoulder! I watched Tim pray with the entire section of the plane for this man. He made a stand for God in a difficult situation. The plane landed in Phoenix and that was the first time they got a pulse back!”
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Tebow, who is known for his strong faith, used to famously getting down on one knee and pray during football games. Fans even gave it a name which has entered the vernacular: "Tebowing."
The former New York Jet stayed with the family for the remainder of the flight, helping them off the plane, and picking up their luggage. He even went with them to the hospital, where they got the news their loved one had died.
