back to article RIM execs chewed through restraints after in-flight fracas

Two drunken RIM executives on a flight to China fought staff and then chewed through their restraints after being subdued, forcing the pilots to divert the plane. The two boarded a flight from Toronto to Beijing already drunk, according to documents obtained by CBC News, and proceeded to badger attendants for more booze once …

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  1. catphish

    A company not to consider working for

    The post is required, and must contain letters.

    1. Peter2 Silver badge

      Actually, I don't have a problem with the bosses being held to the same standards I am. If I brought my company into similar levels of disrepute I expect i'd be fired, so why not executives?

      I'd be happy to work there.

      1. Annihilator

        In fairness

        Unless RIM were paying for the flight, it's not really any of their business... If they were, then fair enough, but there's not enough in it to judge from the article.

        1. Amazon Wageslave
          FAIL

          They were

          Apologies if this has been posted already. From the linked article:

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

          Eejits got what was coming to them. I feel sorry for all the passengers that pair of oxygen thieves inconvenienced.

          1. Annihilator
            Happy

            @Amazon Wageslave

            Furry muff, thanks for pointing out my obvious mistake :-)

        2. Ilgaz

          You think so

          A friend of mine canceled his meeting with Microsoft and went to IBM instead. Why? Chair story we all laughed at. For some people, company culture matters.

          1. Jimbo 6

            Errrr...

            ...perhaps what catphish actually meant was that, as a company name, RIM suggests that all the people who work for them are RIMMERS who spend their time RIMMING.

            (Go look it up in 'My Big Book of Gay Sexual Slang', if you don't know what it means.)

            Arseholes, indeed.

    2. Colin Miller

      terms of employment

      Some companies have employment conditions that state

      "When you are on a company business away from the office, you are a representative of the company, and must act with appropriate decorum at all times. This includes when you are relaxing in the hotel away from the client/customer/supplier".

      Howe legally enforcible such conditions are, is a different matter.

    3. The Fuzzy Wotnot

      @catphish

      Why? OK when on company business your behaviour is a reflection on the company you work for but in this sort of extreme circumstance I cannot begin to imagine RIM standing up for these two complete and utter arseholes.

      They are dicks, plain and simple. I think most people would agree, they brought more shame on themselves than their company.

  2. Matt Bucknall
    WTF?

    '...and would removed from the plane if this kind of behavior continued.'

    Whilst the plane was airborne? A slightly disproportionate response perhaps?

    1. Number6

      Opening the doors

      I believe there is (or was) a procedure for opening the doors on a 747 in flight. You'd obviously have to equalise the pressure, so either at lower altitude or let loose the rubber jungle.

      It was a proposed method for removing smoke from the cabin, where one front door and one rear door would be opened slightly to let air blow through.

  3. skeptical i
    Devil

    Too bad they weren't already over the Pacific ...

    "Staff, prepare to test the rear eject hatch. Unlocking in three ... two ... "

  4. kain preacher

    Lucky

    They are lucky that the plane did not stop in Alaska . American officials might been so generous. Of course there might be questions over jurisdictions .

    1. FrankAlphaXII
      Black Helicopters

      When you're airborne the Jurisdiction that the plane started in is generally the laws that govern it. Once the wheels touch the ground the law is the law wherever the plane is. They'd have most likely been fined here too. Ive never heard of anyone who didn't plead guilty being imprisoned. And in that sort of situation, you're pretty clearly guilty.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Juristiction

        >When you're airborne the Jurisdiction that the plane started in is generally the laws that govern it. >Once the wheels touch the ground the law is the law wherever the plane is.

        I suggest you read up on the Tokyo Convention, Sir.

        The jurisdiciton is that of the state where the aircraft is REGISTERED. If the commander elects to divert and make a forced landing then registered jurisdiction continues until such point as the local authorities take over jurisdiction should they wish to do so (although I'm no lawyer, I belive this takeover does not prevent the registered authoritiy from prosecuting should they wish to).

  5. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    And they fired them ?

    sounds exactly like the sort of fight RIM needs in it's execs right now

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "the sort of fight"

      What is that supposed to mean? That they throw a tantrum like a three-year-old or Steve Ballmer when things aren't going their way?

      I wouldn't want to work at that kind of company.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        You tend to find the biggest companies do have that sort of attitude. It's sometimes the only way to get people to go the extra mile for a project.

        When the first iPhone was being developed people resigned and rejoined the company, pulled all-nighters and a female boss got wound up so much she slammed a door so hard it wouldn't open again. The stakes were high.

        You can make your choice, go work for a company with big rewards but lots of demand or one where you can just bumble along and probably ultimately fail?

  6. cosymart
    Pirate

    China Stopover.....

    Now Chinese courts would have been interesting...

    1. kain preacher
      Meh

      And the cost of the bullet will be billed to your family . But seriously they need a year in lock up.

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Cost of the bullet

        RIM would offer some 'premium' applications for free for the economic inconvenience suffered.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Those plastic ties made in China surely

      I'm sure Vancouver had plenty of taser guns ready to wake them up and stop drooling on their handcuffs. In China they have more kungfu methods.

  7. John Armstrong-Millar

    Drink!!

    What is it with people who just can't handle their drink??

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Girls!

      Next....

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Chewing through your restraints:

    easier than getting your Playbook set up to receive email

    1. Local Group
      Childcatcher

      I'll be the first to confess...

      I would have loved to be on that flight with a big tub of buttered popcorn and a diet Pepsi watching these suited ( I assume) grown men chewing off their plastic hand cuffs so that they could lay down in the aisle and throw a kicking, whining tantrum, while occasionally getting up to pee against the bulkhead.

      1. Lamont Cranston
        Joke

        But what about the "emotional repercussions"?

        You must be made of stern stuff.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is what happens when your phones have no app's

    This is what you get when your phones have no applications for them to play with, they drink.

    Ego iPhones users drink less than Blackberry users, obvious logic.

    Bound to be a few jokes in this as well. A Windows phone user a Apple phone user and a Blackberry user get onto a plane, who gets off first?

    One aspect, they said that they were both drunk upon getting aboard the plane; Now isn't it the operators resopnsibility to make sure that nobody drunk gets onto a plane - little bit of a shared blame here though. That said there are two types of people - those that can suffer in silence and then there are complete prats who represent companies making lots of mistakes at the expense of the poor sod's doing the real work.

    If I was in charge of RIM I'd not sack them, I'd demonte them to permanant teaboys searving the working staff and paid min wage.

    1. Mystic Megabyte
      Coat

      @AC 21:27

      "Ego iPhones users" shirley shome mishtake!

      Mines the one with a dumb phone in the pocket.

    2. Figgus
      Joke

      "Bound to be a few jokes in this as well. A Windows phone user a Apple phone user and a Blackberry user get onto a plane, who gets off first?"

      Not the iPhone user, because porn is banned on those.

  10. Local Group
    Thumb Down

    Coming soon to a flight you're booked on.

    Soon everyone will have to take a breathalyzer test before boarding a plane.

    And a DNA test to see if you have rodent genes and restraint chewing capabilities.

    I'll stick with the bus.

    1. My Screen Name
      Happy

      Interesting Route

      The route from Toronto to Beijing may be an adventure, though!

      1. kneel_in_kanada

        Great circle route?

        How could they possibly be closer to Vancouver than Anchorage, if they've left Toronto?? Surely they fly close to, as possible, to the GCR?

        1. ZagZee

          flight path goes over the pole,

          http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Toronto+to+Beijing

          1. Darryl

            Probably because it's 2000km shorter to go across the Pacific than 'over the top'

        2. Number6

          Not always the GCR

          Over the Atlantic the winds have enough influence that it can be worth departing significantly from the great circle route to benefit from a tailwind or avoid a headwind. I've had a very northerly routeing before now due to this. Weather over NW Canada might have contributed to the actual flight path.

        3. YVR flyguy

          It makes sense-Canadian execs, Canadian company, Canadian airline, Canadian airline. They land in the airport in which the national police force barely got their hands slapped for tazering to death a overly tired erratic misbehaved Polish immigrant.

        4. YVR flyguy

          Crew

          This mishap put the entire crew over legal duty hours. Not only does this keep this a "home country" problem, but the crew needs to replace the entire crew

        5. GavinC

          Re: Great Circle Route

          The great circle route involves flying over the north poles, which not all aircraft are capable of doing. Only aircraft fitted with a self contained navigation system can fly polar routes, all other forms of navigation system are reliant on magnetism for navigation, which becomes unreliable once you approach the north/south poles.

          Searching the Air Canada website, it looks like they use a 777-300ER on the direct flight, but 767-300's from Toronto. The 777 should have no problems, but the 767 cannot fly a polar route. It may be the case that the flight was operated by a 767 when this incident took place.

          From the Boeing website:

          If an active route takes an airplane over a pole, the preferred mode is lateral navigation with the autopilot engaged. The flight management system (FMS) on the 747 and the 777 are operational in the polar areas with no restrictions. The 757 and 767 flight management computer (FMC) and the 757 and 767 Pegasus FMC are operational to 87 deg north latitude and 87 deg south latitude because of airplane certification restrictions. The MD-11 FMS is considered to be in the polar region when the airplane is above 85 deg north or south latitude. (See “Polar Route Navigation by Airplane Model.”)

          http://boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_16/polar_story.html#4

          As others have mentioned, winds may also have affected the flights route.

      2. Someone Else Silver badge
        Coat

        @My Screen Name

        Hey, if you can see Russia from Sarah's kitchen window, a bus should work...

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    so no more...

    ... Rim jobs for these guys

  12. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    WTF?

    Charvers in Suits!

    Better than Pigs in Space!

  13. Local Group
    Pint

    The only REAL solution

    The Betty Ford Clinic Airlines.

    Black Belt Stewards. Saw dust on the floors. Manacles suspended from the overhead compartments. Real toilets to embrace when lying prone.

    In short, a wing-ed drunk tank.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Same two guys?

    These must be the same couple of loons that came up with the Playbook

  15. Fuh Quit
    Pint

    Animals would behave better

    How is it that there are more and more incidents like this which feature supposedly intelligent people?

    I can be an idiot but you'd never see me do anything like this, drunk or not. The most action you'd see from me during a flight where I was drunk would be to offload fluid in the toilet.

    Maybe it's just that I know how to behave and can handle my sherry.

    My personal viewpoint is that this should not reflect on RIM no matter what. These people don't need managing or telling how to behave (or they shouldn't) so how can we hold the falling messaging manufacturer responsible? The people are. Period.

    1. Drew V.

      I can't believe that this level of loutishness just pops up out of the blue. Bad drunks are always bad drunks, and behave like that on most outings, until they swear off alcohol completely (and these guys obviously had not gone tee-total yet, though they might now).

      In other words, it's very likely that RIM knew about these guys' bad habits. They just didn't act on that knowledge until there was a headline-grabbing plane incident. So it does reflect badly on RIM, albeit in a minor way.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I can't believe that this level of loutishness just pops up out of the blue

        Maybe one just got dumped by his GF, they both got drunk then he found out the other guy was who she'd dumped him for.

  16. Tatsky
    Coat

    Airplane Mode

    Obviously they activated Airplane Mode, which severed all connection to reality, leaving them in what they believed to be their own little secluded bubble.

    I'll get mine.

  17. Dom 3

    Jurisdiction

    Generally the state of registration. See Tokyo convention:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Convention

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why do they serve alcohol in airports and planes anyways?

    seems like your asking for trouble!

    1. ravenviz Silver badge
      Facepalm

      I always thought that people just like getting drunk at any opportunity, especially if it's free. I am now told there is more to it than that and the stag parties I see wearing blue wigs at Stansted Airport at 10 in the morning with tickets to Bratislava holding a pint of Stella each are really just afraid of flying!

    2. Peter H. Coffin

      Because....

      MOST people respond to a bit of drink by becoming more accommodating, more forgiving, and more likely to stay quietly in their seats and pass the time in a slightly garrulous fuzziness. Some small number of folks don't respond that way or cannot stop themselves at one, two, or three, and those are the ones that make the news.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Because you need to drink if you are terrified of flying for one.

      I drink large amounts on planes to ease the journey. Without it I probably couldn't fly at all, and I've been prescribed drugs for it too, they don't help. Mind you, I know to sit in my seat and stay quiet. In fact I go to great lengths to not draw attention to myself.

    4. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Pint

      Because many of us can handle it

      I have regularly had a beer or wine with a meal, or a little night cap before sleeping on a plane, and never thrown any kind of tantrum on board. Why should I be denied that because some goons in suits get plastered?

  19. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    84°W

    I flew on an Air Canada over-the-pole flight a few years ago. We left Toronto, headed NW-ish, and then got on line of longitude 84°W and headed exactly due north (straight-up 84°W). Eventually the plane veered off to the left. We got within 378 miles of the North Pole.

    No where near Vancouver.

    YMM obviously V.

    1. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Joke

      Maybe it was RIM's equivalent of the BOFH and PFY

      they hacked into the navigation system before they were completely pissed out of their skulls. They would also go on junkets for the express reason to become plastered

  20. Hollerith 1

    Of course I am appalled, but...

    Getting drunk while on a business trip is completely out of line. Drink exposes who you really are, and they exposed themselves, in the psychological sense, as utter jackasses.

    Nevertheless, as a Canadian, I have a sneaking admiration of guys who are so ravaged that they would and could chew through two different kinds of restraint. The wild, wild Canadian north still breeds berserkers.

    Having said that, let's see if they are tough enough to handle that long-term unemployment they are facing.

  21. Richard Pennington 1
    Gimp

    Sounds like there is a gap in the market ...

    ... for heavy-duty "RIM-specification" restraints with several steel reinforcing cords running through them. So that the end result of trying to chew through them would be a large dental bill.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    already drunk, according to documents obtained by CBC News

    CBS isn't news, they are Establishment propaganda.

    CBS has an unlimited amount of stories like this, but they won't talk seriously about

    monetary system collapse

    US Constitution

    Eric Holder

    Banksters

    CAFR

    DHS

    The goal here is to keep you busy hating little people, begging for more problem, reaction, solution, instead of going after the biggest criminals and banksters.

    1. FrankAlphaXII

      It was CBC, not CBS

      What the hell do drunk executives from a Phone Manufactuer and the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) have to do with CBS or Banking?

      There are plenty of places to mindlessly rant about the bankers and other business criminals, but last I checked El Reg wasn't really one of them. Pick an "Occupy" Movement on Facebook or the wider Web and rant there.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Don't tie wrists

    It sounds like the air crew made the classic mistake of tying the wrists. Tie the ELBOWS (and knees, if you are working on the lower extremities) - ideally, to the arms of the seat, so they cannot lean over and start chewing.

    One of the many things learned from The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything.

    1. LateNightLarry
      Pint

      Don't tie wrists...

      Better still, tie their wrist, but with their arms behind them. Police do it all the time to crims... Makes it uncomfortable for them to sit for very long, but why should the crew care after the louts tried to destroy parts of the aircraft...

      Or you could tie their wrists in front, but then tie their wrists to their knees or ankles... to keep them from reaching the tie straps...

      Must be wine o'clock somewhere... El Reg, where's a WINE icon?

  24. Armando 123

    This is still better behavior

    than the senior executive who dropped a load on the food cart back in 1996

  25. Midnight
    WTF?

    Just a moment here...

    "The individuals involved in this incident are no longer employed by RIM."

    So after all the trouble they caused, the fines, the sentencing... after all this they got rewarded by no longer having to work for RIM?

    That hardly seems fair at all.

  26. kiwimuso
    Joke

    "Cost of the bullet"

    I guess it was a RIM-fire cartridge then.

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