I know I'm speculating here, but I've seen in the past where the importance and excitement of a SAR mission causes other than rational thinking.. .. .I think it's fair to assume that it's not normal for those pilots to fly while intoxicated.. .. .What isn't fair to assume is that their intoxication caused the incident. I would not be surprised to hear that that was the case. I would not be surprised to hear that their condition prevented them from responding appropriately to some failure. I do think that they should be held responsible no matter the final outcome...drunk pilots just shouldn't be encouraged.. .. .The reason I don't want to jump to a conclusion is because if it was a problem with the helicopter rather than the crew, then it may be a fleet wide problem and other occurences can be eliminated. I've seen this before in Flight Safety investigations, a few assumptions at the beginning sway the investigator, obscuring the true cause.. .. .__________. .. .Finally (as if that's not enough), the medical crew are almost certainly not responsible for the incident, but they are responsible for their own lives. If you go on any aircraft as a passenger or crew member, make sure you can trust the crew. If they seem unprofessional, overly fatigued, incapable of the mission, etc. then get them to convince you that they're okay (ie.."Are you too tired to fly?"). If you smell alcohol on their breath, DON'T GO FLYING!