A man who was bleeding from his head following a surgical procedure was arrested Tuesday after refusing to exit an American Airlines flight headed to Las Vegas from Miami, authorities said.
Eugenio Hernandez-Garnier, 27 was asked to leave American Airlines flight 1858 because he was “bleeding from his forehead and had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC News on Thursday
Hernandez-Garnier was asked to clean up the blood and replace the bandages, but he said he did not have any clean bandages, the document says.
“Hernandez-Garnier was asked multiple times to deboard the flight by the American Airlines supervisor,” the affidavit says. “Due to the fact that he was bleeding from his head and the crew members were concerned about his medical condition and body fluid contamination.”
Hernandez-Garnier and Yusleydis Loyola Blanca, 32, his wife, were arrested and accused of trespassing and resisting an officer without violence, according to the affidavit and the couple’s attorney.
The disturbance prompted the Monday night flight to be deboarded and delayed until Tuesday for the more than 100 passengers, the airline and the affidavit said.
Hernandez-Garnier told NBC South Florida he went to Miami to get a hair transplant and liposuction. His wife also underwent medical procedures, including a breast lift and liposuction.
Loyola went live on TikTok as she was being removed from the plane while thousands watched.
“You guys know I’ve got … breast lift, arm lipo. … 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 officers placing Hernandez-Garnier’s arms behind his back. He screams, and then his wife starts yelling, “Look, he’s recently operated on, he’s just been operated on!”
“Do not put my phone down!” she yells at the first officer. “He’s just been operated on, and they’re hitting him!”
NBC South Florida reported that she was then walked off the plane and screamed, “My breasts!”
Attorney Michael Iglesia, who is representing the couple, said Thursday that the pair are from Las Vegas and had gone to Miami for medical procedures, which he would not specify.
Iglesia denied Hernandez-Garnier was bleeding from his head; he said it was dry blood. He also said the couple had a doctor’s note authorizing them to fly. They got past security and were given priority passes to board in the first group because of their “delicate state,” Iglesia said.
Hernandez-Garnier ran into a problem because passengers were complaining, Iglesia said.
“After about 20 minutes sitting down in his seat, boarding had concluded, he was asked to get off the flight,” Iglesia said. “Passengers were uncomfortable with his appearance.”
American Airlines said in a statement Thursday that “two customers became disruptive and were non-compliant with crew member instructions.”
“Law enforcement responded and removed both customers from the aircraft,” the statement said. “We thank our crewmembers for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.” (NBC)