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Well, not to excuse anything above .00 when flying, you may be overstating it a bit. .08 is barely buzzed. I remember in college taking a breathalyzer to see what .10 "felt" like, and I was surprised to learn that at .10, I still would have called myself sober.

I agree that .08 does not constitute "drunk." But any pilot flying for a major airline carrier has it drummed into their heads over and over again that any amount of drinking 24 hours before a flight is unacceptable. Pilots are very well compensated (average $80,000 a year salary) and get plenty of time off between duty cycles to quaff beers. So I have little sympathy for them. They had to know the rules and the consequences of being caught breaking them.

Agreed... no pity for the pilots should have been implied from what I said... When I said their careers are over, I was not feeling any sympathy for them... Any pilot (I am a pilot myself) has it drummed into them that alcohol is not allowed anywhere near you when flying. When I was in college with a bunch of other future pilots who loved to party, we crossed a lot of lines, but never that one.

I just wanted to keep our FRiend honest about their actual state of drunkeness... Their sin was big enough without exaggerating it.