A man bleeding from his scalp following surgery was arrested Tuesday after refusing to disembark an American Airlines plane from Miami to Las Vegas, authorities said.
Eugenio Hernandez-Garnier, 27, was asked to deplane American Airlines Flight 1858 because he was “bleeding from his forehead and had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head,” according to an affidavit obtained by NBC News on Thursday.
Hernandez-Garnier was asked to wipe away the blood and change the bandages, but he said he did not have any clean bandages, the document said.
“Hernandez-Garnier was asked to leave the aircraft several times by the American Airlines supervisor,” the affidavit states. “Because he was bleeding from the head and crew members were concerned about his medical condition and contamination from bodily fluids.”
Hernandez-Garnier and his wife, Yusleydis Loyola Blanca, 32, were arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting an officer without the use of force, according to the affidavit and the couple’s attorney.
Because of the disruption, the flight had to be canceled on Monday evening and postponed until Tuesday, the airline said in its affidavit.
Hernandez-Garnier told NBC South Florida he traveled to Miami to undergo hair transplant and liposuction. His wife also underwent medical procedures, including a breast lift and liposuction.
Loyola showed live on TikTok how she was taken off the plane in front of thousands of people.
“You know I had a breast lift and liposuction on my arms. I can’t even walk,” Loyola said on camera in Spanish, NBC South Florida reported. “Call 911. We are being discriminated against and abused.”
The video shows two police officers putting Hernandez-Garnier’s arms behind his back. He screams, and then his wife starts screaming: “Look, he had surgery recently, he just had surgery!”
“Don’t put my phone down!” she yells at the first officer. “He just had surgery and they’re beating him!”
NBC South Florida reported that she was then escorted off the plane screaming, “My breasts!”
Attorney Michael Iglesia, who represents the couple, said Thursday that the two were from Las Vegas and had traveled to Miami for medical procedures, but he declined to provide further details.
Iglesia denied that Hernandez-Garnier was bleeding from the head; he said it was dried blood. He also said the couple had a doctor’s note allowing them to fly. They got through security and were given priority passes to board in the first group because of their “delicate condition,” Iglesia said.
Hernandez-Garnier encountered a problem because passengers complained, Iglesia said.
“After he had been sitting in his seat for about 20 minutes and boarding was complete, he was asked to leave the plane,” Iglesia said. “Passengers were uncomfortable with his appearance.”
American Airlines said in a statement Thursday that “two customers were disruptive and did not follow crew instructions.”
“Police responded and removed both passengers from the aircraft,” the statement said. “We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our passengers for the inconvenience.”
