GladwellCan cultural issues cause plane crashes? Malcolm Gladwell -- the wild-haired pop intellectual of "Tipping Point" fame -- says yes, and dedicates a whole chapter to the subject in "Outliers: The Story of Success," the book he just published. While it touches on aviation, the tome is largely focused on issues concerning what makes people successful. (Bottom line?: He concludes it's a cocktail of culture, work ethic and luck.)

But Gladwell talked about the airline angle -- the title of the chapter...