The pilots who drank somewhere around the equivalent of 15 12 ounce beers between them starting at 11:00 PM and ending at 4:00 AM may have had a night of heavy drinking, but I wouldn't call that unheard-of. Happens all the time, I believe. The bar manager testified that they didn't even appear drunk.
They were still legally drunk midmorning the next day? Wow! I think that bartenders shouldn't only be asking heavy-drinking patrons if they're going to be driving home that night. They should be asking heavy-drinking patrons if they plan on going to work the next day.
I think that a bartender who serves a person that many drinks that late at night should actually have to inform them that they will be considered legally intoxicated until well into the next day. In this case, at around beer 10 the bartender should have stopped and said "Gentlemen, it is my duty to inform you that if you continue to drink alcohol it is likely that you will be considered by the State of Florida to be legally intoxicated until well into the workday tomorrow and you will be advised to not operate a motor vehicle until a time during the day tomorrow where your BAC percentage falls safely below the legal limit."
