Chip man faces fear and loathing in Winnipeg

ONE MINUTE YOU'RE A HIGH FLYING EXECUTIVE working for the world's top semiconductor maker, no, not AMD.

And the next you're up before the beak in a hick town in possibly the third-worldishest first world country on the planet.

So CBC reports.

Intel employee Daniel McAuliffe was on his way from Ireland to Arizona for training following a promotion. What could possibly go wrong?

Winnipeg. The very name conjures up ghastly images of tumbleweed rolling across a snowy wasteland spattered with the blood of dead baby seals, dreadful beer with a dash of maple syrup and a Prime Minister who speaks French. What could possibly be worse?

For Daniel McAuliffe, quite a lot. His drunken behaviour forced a British Airways plane to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg and he is now the proud possessor of a criminal record and owes more than $17,000 in fines after pleading guilty to mischief and disobeying a flight crew.

McAuliffe was refused alcohol while flying from London to Phoenix and threw a major wobbler. He was handcuffed to his seat and the British Airways 747 pilot diverted to Winnipeg.

In his defence, McAuliffe said he had been scared of flying following a previous plane crash and that to calm himself down, had knocked back tranquilisers during a day-long drinking binge before the flight.

But this cut no ice with the judge, who imposed a $1,000 fine for each charge. McAuliffe was also ordered to repay the airline more than $15,000 for the unexpected visit to Winnipeg.

On the bright side, the fines are in Canadian dollars, so that amounts to approximately 75p. On the less bright side, Intel has intimated that McAuliffe now looks set to lose his job. µ