I am always amazed at the self righteous claptrap that is often spouted on this forum! Mostly it would seem by those who have no real reason to be on here apart from some perverted form of voyeurism that enables them to feel they have some part in aviation.
How many accidents have been blamed on alcohol? How many accidents / incidents have had alcohol cited as a contributary factor?
The truth of the matter is that the levels of alcohol now allowed in pilots is not really based on any sound scientific facts or a history of it being a problem, unlike in car drivers.
The likelyhood of having a small amount of alcohol in your bloodstream having any effect on the safe outcome of flight is very questionable. The fact that there is no requirement for the total concentration required whilst driving and the almost 100% use of automatics means that any input is only required intermittently. This together with the fact that there is at least one other crewmember on the flight deck makes the likelyhood of an incident almost negligible. Judgement may possibly be not quite as sharp as the individual is capable of, but how often have we all operated when tired, stressed just fed up, when we know that our judgement and reactions are not at peak?
I do not condone drinking and flying, however I am often appalled to see that a fellow aviator has been sent to jail for what is often a small misjudgement in the amount of time it takes his/her system to metabolise the previous days consumption. It is this prurient attitude that ends up with a pilot being convicted of having what is considerably less that that allowed in drivers in UK, being sent to jail. Would a bus or lorry driver convicted of drink driving be sent to jail? I think probably not, unless he was involved in an accident with death or severe injuries.
Have a heart