RIM Fires Two Employees Pulled Off Flight for Drunken Behavior

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, said it fired the two employees who were taken off an Air Canada flight by police last week because of drunken behavior and charged with “mischief.”

“RIM expects that its employees conduct themselves in a manner reflective of our strong principles and standards of business behavior,” the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in an e-mailed statement. “The individuals involved in this incident are no longer employed by RIM.”

George Campbell, 45, and Paul Wilson, 38, were removed from the Toronto-to-Beijing flight after the two men’s unruly behavior prompted the pilot to divert the plane to Vancouver, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The men pleaded guilty to one count of mischief, were given suspended sentences and probation for one year and ordered to pay C$71,757 ($70,557) in compensation to Air Canada, the police said.

RIM declined to discuss the case further or say what positions the fired employees held.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net