I apologize if someone's said this before, but it seems to me that a critical question is how high his alcohol levels were (if they existed at all). As I understand it, the cutoff is low enough that a pilot might follow all the applicable rules of thumb, not feel impaired, and still be over the limit. (For example if he metabolizes alcohol unusually slowly, or was served drinks stronger than he thought they were.) And the cutoff is, after all, arbitrary. If 19 mg/ml is deemed safe, 21 mg/ml can hardly be certain death for all on the aircraft.
Of course, a pilot could avoid any risk by not drinking at all for a long period before the flight, but drinking isn't prohibited. I'd hope a pilot wouldn't be crucified for doing something he reasonably believed would keep him on the right side of the law, and created little or no actual risk.
Of course, a significantly higher level is likely to indicate a serious alcohol problem, extreme recklessness, or both.