Nov. 5, 2007, Winnipeg, Man. - A pilot responsible for a dramatic plane crash at a busy Winnipeg street five years ago had no reasonable excuse for running out of fuel, a judge said in a 69-page ruling made public Friday.

Mark Tayfel, 42, had been convicted Thursday of criminal negligence causing death, four counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and one count of dangerous operation of an aircraft.

At his trial, Tayfel, a former pilot with Keystone Air, argued he committed a ``mistake of fact'' and should not be held criminally responsible for the crash.

Tayfel blamed the crash on faulty fuel gauges. He said he inspected the plane's gauges before take-off at Gunisao Lake Lodge in northern Manitoba and believed he had plenty of fuel for the return trip to Winnipeg.

But Justice Holly Beard ruled a ``reasonable and prudent'' pilot would have taken other steps to ensure there was enough fuel on board.

``I have found that the accused's belief that he had 850 pounds of fuel and that he could make the flight safely were not reasonable,'' she wrote.

``His various explanations sound more like after-the-fact justifications for his very hasty estimate as to the amount of fuel on board rather than any attempt to make the considered calculation expected of a reasonable and prudent person.''

Six American passengers were aboard the twin-engine plane when it crashed at the intersection of Logan Avenue and McPhillips Street in June 2002. Chester Jones, a 79-year-old Kansas resident, died of his injuries three months later.

Tayfel, who now works as a dispatcher for an air transport company in Calgary, was ``extremely disappointed'' with the ruling, said his lawyer Belfour Der.

``He's a very stoic, quiet person. He's taking it like a man, let's put it that way.''

Der said it's too early to consider an appeal.

``What happens at the sentencing will influence what happens in the future, if anything,'' he said.

A date for sentencing has not been set.