VANCOUVER – Two Ontario employees of Blackberry maker Research in Motion are facing a big fine after their drunken rowdiness forced an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Beijing to be diverted to Vancouver on Monday.
Forty-five-year-old George Campbell of Conestogo and 38-year-old Paul Alexander Wilson of Kitchener have been ordered to pay restitution of $71,757 after pleading guilty to mischief.
They were also given suspended sentences and probation for a year.
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RIM also said the two men are off the job until it can more closely look into the matter.
“Based on the limited information available at this time, RIM has suspended the individuals involved pending further investigation,” RIM spokesman Marisa Conway said in a statement.
Another passenger aboard the plane says Campbell and Wilson were fighting with the flight attendants and it took the entire crew to subdue the men, who were eventually handcuffed to seats on the plane.
The passenger accused Air Canada of being irresponsible, claiming the airline staff either allowed drunk passengers on the plane or over served them once they were aboard.
After the jet diverted to Vancouver, the other passengers were put up in hotels overnight and the flight resumed the next day, 18 hours behind schedule.
With files from The Associated Press
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