TSA Agent in Alaska Saves Choking Passenger With Heimlich Maneuver

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent saved a passenger who was choking at an Alaska airport last week.

A statement released by the TSA earlier this week detailed the quick-thinking action of Lead Transportation Security Officer Brenda Irizarry at Juneau Airport.

A passenger came running to the TSA checkpoint to tell them that another passenger was choking in the departure lounge.

Officer Irizarry ran to the passenger and performed the Heimlich maneuver while a TSA supervisor called emergency services.

The passenger, who had special needs, had “swallowed a large grape and was choking,” her father, James Studley, said in a statement. His daughter, Nicole, suffers from multiple physical disabilities and recently emerged from a five-week stay at a hospital in Anchorage, according to the Juneau Empire. The family was at airport traveling to a wedding in California.

“Brenda’s quick action saved [my daughter] from certain hospitalization while waiting at Alaska Airlines,” Studley said. “Brenda, after several attempts using the Heimlich Maneuver, got the grape to pop out to the floor of the terminal. God bless you Brenda, thank you."

Earlier this year, a mother thanked American Airlines employees who saved her baby daughter's life when they were 10 minutes away from landing. After the baby began suffering a seizure mid-flight, the team administered oxygen and monitored her pulse until landing, when they were able to rush her to a nearby hospital.