Reel Marine,
In answer to your question: Yes, even if pilots are in compliance with the FAA 8-hour (or company required 12-hour) rule, they can still be guilty if their alcohol level is high and/or they are under any sort of alcohol influence.
Here is an extract of FAR 91.17 (from
http://www.faa.gov):
Sec. 91.17
Alcohol or drugs.
(a) No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft--
(1) Within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage;
(2) While under the influence of alcohol;
(3) While using any drug that affects the person's faculties in any way contrary to safety; or
(4) While having .04 percent by weight or more alcohol in the blood.
Therefore, even though someone might have technically complied with (1), they could possibly still be in violation of (2) or (4) if they had a skinful prior to that 8-hour (or 12-hour) cutoff. This is where
good sense and judgment are required.
As an important side note, I feel very confident in asserting that over 99.999% of the time, airline pilots
diligently exercise this good sense and judgment. We fully respect our position, our responsibilities, and the value of the lives we transport.
It is a shame about the (less than) .001% lapses in judgment. As Jinx300 and AA SLF state, an event like this incorrectly gives us all a black eye, and presents an extremely false image of our profession.
(edited for clarification)