In a tearful courtroom apology, pilot Mark Tayfel said sorry to his passengers at his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Tayfel was piloting a small twin-engine plane that ran out of fuel and crash-landed on Logan Avenue in June, 2002.

The 42-year-old pilot based out of Calgary was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death, four counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and one count of dangerous operation of an aircraft.

Tayfel was piloting a small twin-engine plane that ran out of fuel and crash-landed on Logan Avenue in June, 2002. A group of Americans were on board, returning from a fishing trip from Gunasao Lake in northern Manitoba.

All seven people onboard survived the crash initially, but one man, 79-year-old Chester Jones, died a few weeks later from his injuries.

Conviction a North American first

It's the first time in North America a pilot has been prosecuted for his role in a plane crash.

On Wednesday in a Winnipeg courtroom, an emotional Tayfel said that he hopes he doesn't have to go to jail, and took responsibility for the crash.

"It was my responsibility to safely bring the passengers back to Winnipeg and I failed to do that," he said.

Justice Holly Beard will hand down her decision Thursday afternoon.

Tayfel's lawyer said his client has been punished enough, and now other pilots have been put on alert.

"They all know about this," said Balfour Der. "They all know he's the first guy who's been prosecuted for decades for something like this."

"What's unique here is the criminalization of something that is unheard of," said Lisa Burgis, who is also defending the pilot in court. "It's a well structured industry. There are regulations, rules, safety checks and balances. Some may say it should be left up to that industry to take care of its own."

During the trial, Tayfel couldn't explain why he was suddenly so short of fuel. He testified he thought he'd have to glide into the airport. However, he overshot the runway and had to pull around for another attempt. He didn't make it.

A former colleague of the pilot testified he flew the same plane back to Winnipeg the night before from Swan River. He told the judge if he was piloting the plane the next day to Gunasao Lake he would have filled up the tank, because there wouldn't be enough fuel to get back.

Tayfel testified he thought he had enough in the tanks. He blamed the crash on faulty fuel gauges.

Judge told small operators cut corners

The judge was told today that pilots working for small operators are often told to cut corners at the expense of safety. The crown wants jail time, and the defense wants a conditional or suspended sentence, saying pilots have run out of fuel before and not been prosecuted.

The defense argued that as part of a sentence, the pilot could be asked to lecture at flight schools about the dangers of cutting corners.

With a report from CTV's Kelly Dehn.