"Ron Garret" wrote in message
...
[...] If you think about it, there is absolutely no
difference in the risk calculation between making one flight with four
engines and four flights with one engine

The difference is that when you make a flight with four engines, you know up
front that you're carrying four engines. The calculation based on making
four flights with one engine is only useful when you know in advance you're
making four flights.

I certainly hope to make at least four more flights during my flying career,
but it's not certain that I will.

Sorry you can't see the difference. It's a crucial element to the question
of whether it makes sense to worry about the cumulative odds of an engine
failure.

Pete