RIM drunks on AC cause diversion

[Kip Powick]

Two drunken Research In Motion employees forced an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Beijing to make an unscheduled stop in Vancouver, disrupting travel plans of more than 300 people.

George Campbell, 45, of Conestogo, Ont., and Paul Alexander Wilson, 38, of Kitchener, pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief in Richmond Provincial Court on Wednesday.

(Ya gotta love this)They were each given suspended sentences and one year’s probation, and ordered to pay restitution to Air Canada of $35,878 each, and barred from having any contact with Air Canada crews or flying that carrier during the probation period.

RIM issued a statement saying: “Based on the limited information available at this time, RIM has suspended the individuals involved pending further investigation.”

The incident began Monday night aboard Air Canada Flight 31, a non-stop flight from Toronto to Beijing, where the unruly passengers consumed “too much alcohol” and “disobeyed” the flight crew, according to Richmond RCMP.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 314 passengers and 17 crew members was already north of Alaska, when the pilots decided to turn the plane around to unload the passengers.

After forcibly restraining the two men, the crew notified the RCMP of the decision at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, and the plane landed at about 10:21 p.m. in Vancouver

Richmond RCMP officers were waiting at the airport to arrest the men: “They weren’t necessarily fighting. They were just simply being unruly in their drunken state,’ said Cpl. Sherrdean Turley in an interview. “And in that state, they just simply weren’t listening to any direction that the flight crew was giving them.”

Because the daily direct flight between Toronto and Beijing extends for 13 hours, any unscheduled stop would put the flight crew — four pilots and 13 flight attendants — beyond the number of hours they are allowed to fly for health and safety reasons.

But the airline could not immediately get a flight crew to the Vancouver airport, so passengers were put up in a hotel overnight and then flew on to Beijing on Tuesday, arriving 18 hours late.

The RCMP’s Turley praised the restitution order. “It’s really good. I can’t begin to imagine what this cost the company,” she said.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick added the crew followed standard procedures to maintain the safety and security of passengers and the flight.

“Safety and security are always paramount, so when the pilot feels that is compromised they will act,” he said.

Another passenger aboard the plane says Campbell and Wilson were fighting with the flight attendants, prompting the crew to subdue them.

[DEFCON]

Yes indeed, just imagine the costs incurred by AC, and others?

Nearly every inflight passenger incident requiring returns, diversions, police and the courts always seems to be the result of one contributing factor; booze.

So; why do we continue to provide booze onboard aircraft, being there's countless reasons supporting a complete ban?

[Kip Powick]

So; why do we continue to provide booze onboard aircraft, being there's countless reasons supporting a complete ban?

Well, we don't know if these clowns were in "J" or "Y" but I think the "J" pax want the option of 'beverages' and the airline certainly can't provide booze for one section only. Everything in moderation is the motto. The question is, did these people get on the flight "tanked" or not?? I would hazard a guess and say they did not as the incident happened quite a few hours out of YYZ......but then again perhaps they were on the verge of being really drunk and one drink onboard did them in.

Everyone is quick to blame the FAs for not monitoring the fluid intake of pax but there are so many variables that it probably is a very difficult job........

Anyhow, I would imagine they will be coming home on VIA Rail...... or maybe WestJet....with their tails between their legs and a lot lighter in the pocket book

[inchman]

Yes indeed, just imagine the costs incurred by AC, and others?

Nearly every inflight passenger incident requiring returns, diversions, police and the courts always seems to be the result of one contributing factor; booze.

So; why do we continue to provide booze onboard aircraft, being there's countless reasons supporting a complete ban?

Many passengers enjoy having a drink on board an aircraft and, for the most part, they behave themselves. While what you say is true regarding passenger induced diversions, they occur so seldom that they are still news, thank goodness.

Suggesting that all booze on board should be banned for an occasional diversion (the cost of which, at least to the airline, is now at least being recognized) is way overkill and punishes the majority for the act of a minuscule few.

Booze is a much bigger problem on the ground than it is in the air. Maybe we should ONLY allow people to drink on airplanes.

[Fido]

Yah, drunks are a pain in the butt and no fun to be around.

However, I would hazard a guess that these two are obnoxious even when sober as a judge.

Alcohol does not automatically make one unruly. I bet there was a predisposition about these two (and many others).

Alcohol is a nice excuse.

[DEFCON]

Let me be the 'Devil's Advocate' for a moment please; I am an individual that doesn't consume alcohol and I am aware, the drunken passenger represents an unpredictable serious threat to flight safety. Therefore, if we consider the smoker to be dangerous to our collective well-being and he's required to place his demons on hold while aboard, so should the boozer!

[Kip Powick]

Let me be the 'Devil's Advocate' for a moment please; I am an individual that doesn't consume alcohol and I am aware, the drunken passenger represents an unpredictable serious threat to flight safety. Therefore, if we consider the smoker to be dangerous to our collective well-being and he's required place his demons on hold while aboard, so should the boozer!

Well..hmmm....errr..........I've never heard of second-hand booze

[mo32a]

Ex Air Force and you have never seen second hand booze???

I don't believe it.

[DEFCON]

By analogy; in this case, 'second hand booze' produced a result in which, 312 other people were forced to spend the night in YVR versus Peking. Other than the 'commercial loss', who will ever know what degree of 'business & personal losses' were forced on the pax as a consequence of their just 'being there'?

[Kip Powick]

Ex Air Force and you have never seen second hand booze???

I don't believe it.

Never second- hand...it was called "recycled"

[xmikes@imap.cc]

If there was no booze available in the airport there would be a lot fewer drunks. It will never happen, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings.

[boestar]

Restitution of nearly $72,000 will hel recoup the cost of the delay and diversion. not 100% but a good dent.

[Seeker]

Restitution of nearly $72,000 will hel recoup the cost of the delay and diversion. not 100% but a good dent.

More importantly - it will serve as a STRONG deterrent to others who might be tempted to get carried away and even more important than that is the legal precedent it creates.

[mo32a]

I like it, but how the heck did our justice system arrest, try, and sentence these guys in 2 days?

Even with guilty pleas you don't get court time that fast.

[DEFCON]

Seeker

"More importantly - it will serve as a STRONG deterrent to others who might be tempted to get carried away and even more important than that is the legal precedent it creates"

Do you really believe that an otherwise ‘normal & responsible’ person plans, or is 'tempted, to get carried away' on a flight?

Perhaps, there's more to the story here than the average person might appreciate? For instance; individual physiology, such as the impact of lower than normal air pressure & oxygen levels on the body does need to be considered when assessing the behavior of individuals, such as in the present case. Did the Defense explore this avenue with the Court?

Perhaps the air carrier should be providing guidance material with respect to the ‘air-born’ effects of booze? Maybe even grim warnings that are something like; consuming one ‘blank’ of booze at altitude is equal to x-many at sea level, which will leave you drunk, unable to escape during an emergency evacuation and an IMPEDIMENT TO OTHERS’?

BTW, do F/A’s serve booze to those seated in emergency exit rows? If so; how smart is that???

Question; if the carrier is aware of the unusual physiological consequences associated with the consumption of booze, and can ‘logically’ assume the passenger isn’t; aren’t they too responsible in-part for the events that unfolded on the flight?

Maybe the time has come for government to act proactively in the ‘interest of safety’ and place an outright ban on consumption, just as they do with everything else?

[Seeker]

Well, there's never a guarantee that it will work but maybe, just maybe, if you remind some drunken fool that the last drunken fools were charged $35,000/each for their stupidity you might get compliance.

[J.O.]

This is a complex subject, but what we're missing here is that not everyone is a stupid and belligerent drunk. Some folks can "appear" to be pretty normal when they're actually pretty far gone. My question would be if the airline would be held liable if these guys disembarked in a similar state, hopped into a rental car and caused a fatal accident? Sooner or later such a scenario is going to play out somewhere, IMO.

[Fido]

...The passenger accused Air Canada of being irresponsible, claiming the airline staff either allowed drunk passengers on the plane or gave them too much to drink once they were aboard.

.....

Just maybe what started the rucus was the two being told "You are cut-off". Followed by "Do you know who I am?"

[Lakelad]

.

Fired RIM execs 'chewed through restraints' on flight

Dec 9, 2011 - CBC News

New details are emerging about the rowdy behaviour of two Research In Motion executives who were fired for disrupting an intercontinental flight — including that they managed to chew their way out of restraints after being handcuffed by crew members.

George Campbell, 45, and Paul Alexander Wilson, 38, each pleaded guilty to mischief for disrupting a Nov. 30 flight from Toronto to Beijing.

The plane landed instead in Vancouver, where a court later ordered them to pay $72,000 in restitution. They also received suspended sentences and were placed on parole for a year.

RIM fired both men after investigating what happened, but little information has been made public about what was so disruptive about their behaviour.

However, court documents obtained by CBC News paint a very chaotic picture.

The pair seemed heavily intoxicated from the start of the flight, according to one passenger. They drank, passed out, and woke up to continue consuming alcohol and yelling at one another.

Campbell was described as a "rowdy and abusive" passenger who at one point warned that he would "off people when they left the plane," according to the Crown prosecutor.

One of the men also "assaulted a flight attendant and threatened to punch another," the prosecution said in court.

Crew members eventually handcuffed the two unruly passengers with plastic restraints and then with tape. But they eventually "chewed their way through their restraints."

Diverted to closer airport

The pilots, believing they could not make the trip to Beijing for security reasons, decided to divert the plane to Anchorage. As the situation continued to escalate they changed course again and headed for the Vancouver airport, which was closer.

During the final 80 minutes of the flight, "several flight attendants and a couple of passengers" restrained the two men and the crew initiated a "lockdown situation" so that no one was allowed to leave their seats.

The prosecutor in the case called Campbell and Wilson's conduct "way over the top."

"The repercussions for the company as well as every single person on the plane, both financially and perhaps even emotionally, are going to be huge."

Air Canada later pegged its losses for diverting the flight at nearly $200,000 and RIM issued a statement saying that the conduct did not fit with the company's "standards of business behaviour."

The two men were on a week-long business trip for the BlackBerry maker, but they were arrested after the flight landed in Vancouver.

Both men live near Waterloo, Ont., where RIM is headquartered.

Campbell refused to comment on the incident when reached by phone on Friday. Air Canada issued a statement but would not answer questions about the case.

.

[Innuendo]

When I saw this on CBC's website and read that they were "Cuffed", IE restrained I wondered why the flight could not have continued. My thinking was that given a few hours, they might have sobered up enough to realize what they had done and that the next legal jurisdiction they were going to be in was China and their behaviour might then have become more reasonable. I did not envisage them "Chewing their way" out of the restraints. These guys really were "Over the top", a very tough job for all the crew, my respects to them.

Amazing behaviour given the executive positions they had achieved in a major corporation.

I wonder how they would have ended up if they had ben turned over to the authorities in Beijing? As it is they have a conviction on record which will have a great influence on their ability to travel and be employable elsewhere, not to mention the financial liability they could end up with.