FAILURE INC.

An ironic footnote to the death of Alan Tetelman, first president of Future Analysis Associates (“Failure Inc.” by Rusty Weston, Oct. 20). The midair collision that he died in, over San Diego in 1978, was the well-publicized PSA accident. The irony was that Tetelman, based on his own airplane safety statistics, was convinced that PSA had an outstanding safety record; he flew PSA whenever possible.

Statistics are fickle. They pertain to the population as a whole, but in this case did not protect the individual.

MEL SADOWSKY

Manhattan Beach