To: Grey Area. .. .If you believe that I am insensitive to the loss of human life then you are totally wrong. I made the comment about beer being a food to point out the differences in culture between the North and South of Germany. I pointed out the pilots drinking in the US Military because it happens there as well and I assume it happens in the RAF as well as other military air arms. I have heard many stories about pilots going on Oxygen prior to a flight to clear their minds. . .. .As indicated above it might be that the German Military might be covering up a potential flaw in the helicopter. This may or may not be true but no matter what the mechanical problem is or was on that flight the fact remains that the pilot was legally under the influence and should not have been in command of that helicopter. I don’t know what the tort law is in Germany but if the pilot was in conflict with the rule governing the time between the bottle and the throttle assuming the military has such a rule then he could be held liable . I would assume the LBA has that rule for commercial pilots. If a case is brought who is the guilty party? The pilot for not following procedure or the pilots superior for allowing him to go on the flight. By sweeping a potential problem under the carpet the German military might be absolving Bell from any responsibility in the matter. The pilot exercised poor judgement and in the process may have rendered himself incapable of responding to a catastrophic failure. But then again this is pure speculation just like the posts above and must await a full investigation. One final question is if the German military is not owning up to a potential technical problem then how can they arrive at any other conclusion than pilot error.. .. .In the United States the FAA has a rule governing the time between the last drink and taking command of a commercial aircraft. This rule is broken on occasion and here is an example.. .. .A Northwest pilot and copilot were seen in an airport bar consuming alcohol an hour prior to a flight. Although they were in violation of the FAA directive they could not be arrested in Minnesota, as there were no statutes covering the offence. They allowed the two pilots to fly the airplane to I believe Chicago where the State of Illinois had such a statute and the pilots were arrested when they landed. Now, if that plane crashed and it was known that the pilots had consumed alcohol prior to the flight who would be guilty the FAA for allowing them to fly or the pilots for violation of a federal regulation.. .. .One final point, I did not see one reference to the offering of condolence to the surviving families or mourning the loss of a fellow helicopter pilot and his crew. . .. .Please note in my bio it says "Keeping crew and passenger safe".