“No One Else on the Plane Knew What to Do” ─ American Red Cross CPR Instructors Save a Life Midflight

The American Red Cross reminds the public of the importance of learning lifesaving skills this CPR and AED Awareness Week

Drew Ashley was flying from Baltimore to West Palm Beach, Florida with his parents last July and, like many of his fellow passengers, settled in for a nap after takeoff. 

Drew soon awoke to the sounds of his father, Tony, calling his name for help. The passenger who was seated next to Tony was struggling with a medical issue, had gone into respiratory arrest and was unconscious.

The actions that the Laurel, Maryland father and son took through the following 45 minutes saved the man’s life. Tony and Drew are both Red Cross-certified instructors who regularly teach classes on CPR, first aid and other lifesaving skills. They sprang into action to help the passenger midflight, administrating CPR for nearly an hour until the airplane could make an emergency landing in Orlando.

“The training that we got from the Red Cross kicked in and we started to do what we had to do to save him,” Drew recalls. “It was like muscle memory – I’ve been teaching this [CPR] every day for years. Once we recognized what was going on we knew what we had to do, and instinct took over and we followed our training. It’s one of those situations that you never forget.”

Drew and Tony lowered the man onto the floor of the aisle and took turns administering CPR, turning him onto his side as he vomited. He maintained a weak pulse but was unresponsive the entire time. After landing, the Ashleys transferred care to first responders who boarded the plane.

While Drew admits that 45 minutes is an extremely long time to provide CPR, it didn’t feel that long because he was focused on helping the gentleman. After the man was hospitalized, the Ashleys heard from one of his friends that he survived and was doing OK – and eventually was able to speak with them on the phone to say thank you.

“Thank God we were there, because if not it would have been a very worse situation. No one else on the plane knew what to do,” Drew says. “However, the credit goes to the Red Cross because without the training we had, he wouldn’t have made it.”

In an emergency, bystanders can be a critical lifeline until medical professionals arrive, yet nearly half of U.S. adults are not prepared to help in a medical crisis. Each year, more than 350,000 people experience out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. and about 90% of them die.

Drew encourages everyone to take a class, because you never know when you might need to provide aid – even for “everyday” things like an allergic reaction or heat stroke, he says.

“Everyone should get trained – even just basic CPR and first aid. You don’t want something happen to a loved one and you don’t have the knowledge to help save their life,” Drew emphasizes. “You never know when an emergency will happen, and if we have more people who have the ability to help, those are skills you can’t really put a price on.”

Red Cross training can give you the skills and confidence to act in an emergency. You’ll learn how to perform CPR, what to do for heart attacks and other emergencies. Visit redcross.org/takeaclass for online and in-person courses and download the free Red Cross First Aid app to have vital information at your fingertips.