Ted B.
I understand your point, Dave, but I think that what you're forgetting is that those pilots were working, in effect, for the pbuttengers on that airplane. When I buy a plane ticket, I expect that the pilots have obeyed the rules that they agreed to obey. If they aren't supposed to drink 8 hours before a flight, then I expect that they won't.
Your main argument seems to be that they probably could have flown just fine. The problem is that society has a right to draw a line, as it were, in the sand. Some people can operate a car just fine at .10 BAC, while others struggle cold sober. But we have to have a point that we can agree on is the point that it's not acceptable to try. And just because he turns out fine the thousands of times a day that people drive above .08 BAC doesn't make it okay.
While I agree that 5 years may seem harsh, I would suggest that it's an excellent warning to anyone considering violating the fly rules and getting in the chickenpit of a piece of machinery that could kill over 100 people.
scooter34
