Sorry guys. He was over the limit at 9AM??? There is no excuse, no mitigating circumstance, no matter how highly others regard him.
12 hours bottle to throttle - another little maxim drummed into me when I was learning to fly. Sure we had a pint or three in the clubhouse after flying ceased for the day. But if I was flying again early in the morning then the 12 hour rule was sacrosanct and still is 30 years later.
And I'm only a humble little PPL.