Phoenix, AZ – A 73 year old man from Las Cruces, N.M. was saved by fellow travelers after collapsing in Sky Harbor’s Terminal 4.

The man flew into Phoenix Friday morning, July 18, en route to California when he collapsed in the restroom near gate A2. Two passengers in the restroom performed CPR on the patient. A US Airways customer service representative pulled an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and the passengers used it to shock the patient five times. The patient’s heart rate was restored.

Phoenix Police Airport officers and Operations staff responded and the patient was transported to a local hospital by the Phoenix Fire Department. He was breathing on his own, alert and talking with paramedics in the ambulance.

Shortly after saving the patient’s life, one of the passengers boarded a flight for Hawaii and the other to Salt Lake City.

This was the 20th AED save at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport since December 2000, when the devices were installed. Sky Harbor has more than 75 AEDs available in public areas and employee work spaces. Airliners are equipped with the devices, and officers with the Phoenix Police Airport Bureau as well as Fire Department bicycle teams carry AEDs with them at the airport. Phoenix Firefighters have trained more than 2,000 Airport employees and volunteer Navigators on CPR and proper use of AEDs.