They ceased pushing, and Brian carefully climbed down the ladder until his head was on a level with the underside of the Delta jet's wing.

It was then recycled for use in a 1993 engine, which was installed on another Delta jet until last November.

The next week, a Delta jet strayed 60 miles off course over the Atlantic Ocean and nearly collided with another aircraft.

The big Delta jet banked, then entered its final approach into Logan Airport.

Just as the Delta jet turned up from the attempted landing, the American jet took off from a parallel runway.

The first was prompted by a series of incidents involving Delta jets in the spring and summer of 1987.

"According to the information we have, the Delta jet took evasive action with a hard right turn to avoid a collision," he said.

The mishap Tuesday was the latest in a series of incidents this year involving Delta jets and apparent errors by crew members.

The flaps should have been extended 15 degrees when the Delta jet took off.

On July 7, a Delta jet landed at an airport 19 miles from its intended destination on a flight to Kentucky.