Touching photo shows the heartwarming moment a humble airport mechanic helps a quadruple amputee war veteran fix his broken leg

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This is the incredibly heartwarming moment a mechanic answered the call and fixed an Afghan war veteran’s broken prosthetic leg in the middle of an airport.

Taylor Morris, a quadruple amputee, needed assistance after he twisted his left knee out of place before a long flight at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

But the US Navy bomb specialist could not pop the artificial knee joint back into place on his own because the special wrench he needed was in his checked luggage. 

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Airport mechanic Keith Duffner, left, adjusts Taylor Morris' artificial knee after it became twisted

Facing an eight-hour journey that would become even more challenging with a wobbly left leg, Mr Morris and his long-time girlfriend, Danielle Kelly, set out to find an airport employee who could help, but they were unable to find someone with the right tool.

With time running out and a fix looking unlikely, word eventually reached Keith Duffner, the lead mechanic for American Airlines and US Airways at the Nevada airport.

By then, Morris and Kelly were already on the phone looking for someone who could bring a metric Allen wrench to the airport before their flight departed.

Duffner found the pair and went through his tools, finding a similar style wrench that allowed them to pop off the crooked knee and put it back in place. 

A photo of the moment has been circulating online, with Duffner drawing praise from strangers and the couple for helping out.

On her blog, Kelly wrote: ‘By the luck of all that is holy, one of the standard Allen wrenches worked!!

‘It wasn’t perfect but it was about 90 per cent better, which allowed for a much smoother travelling day.’

War hero: Thousands of people have been inspired by Taylor Morris' recovery from devastating injuries

In a post on the airport’s Facebook page, the humble mechanic said: ‘Normally we just fix airplanes and don’t interface with passengers. Occasionally we provide tape or glue for an interim repair, or retrieve a lost item that someone has dropped out of reach.

‘What I did wasn’t much, and we all are in his debt to him and his family for sacrificing in service to us.’ 

Thousands of people have been inspired by Morris’ recovery through Kelly’s blog posts, home videos posted on YouTube and social media updates.

The world fell in love with the high schools sweethearts, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, after a video showed them dancing at a friend’s wedding just five months after he was injured in action.

Morris, an explosive ordinance device technician, lost both of his legs, his left arm and his right hand when he stepped on an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan in May 2012.

Despite suffering horrific injuries, he maintained consciousness and relayed information to his team leaders, earning him the Bronze Star with valour.