Pilots punished despite weak beer defense

MANCHESTER, England, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Two Russian pilots who said they thought they were drinking weak British beer, will pay fines for being over the legal blood-alcohol limit, a judge ruled.

Mikhail Danilstsev and his co-pilot, Andrey Lyubimov, attempted to explain why they exceeded the blood-alcohol limit for pilots before a flight, but Judge Mushtaq Khokhar of Manchester Crown Court wasn't convinced. He ordered each man to pay more than $3,900 in fines, The Daily Mail said Friday.

The two pilots pleaded guilty to being over the legal limit at Manchester Airport in Britain before a flight, but had attempted to rationalize their actions.

They admitted drinking four pints of beer each the night before their flight to Moscow, but said they mistook the alcohol content of the British beer due to its lightness in comparison to Russian brews.

The two pilots had already lost their jobs because of the incident, the Mail reported.

"The offense to which you pleaded guilty is very serious," the judge said. "Any slight error under the influence of drink can result in catastrophe."