NASHVILLE, Tennessee — An Alaska Airlines jet taking off from Nashville came to an abrupt stop on the runway Thursday to avoid a possible collision with a Southwest Airlines plane. Federal authorities are investigating the incident.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Alaska pilots aborted their departure because the Southwest plane had permission to cross the end of the same runway.
An Alaska Airlines spokesman said the pilots recognized “a potential traffic conflict on the runway” and “immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating.”
There were no injuries, but the Boeing 737 Max’s tires went flat due to the extreme heat generated during the stop, the Seattle-based airline said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said they are investigating the incident, which occurred around 9:15 a.m. at Nashville International Airport.
Southwest said it is in contact with the FAA and the NTSB and will participate in the investigation.
Alaska Airlines said the flight to Seattle was carrying 176 passengers and six crew members. The plane was inspected and another plane was sent to take passengers to Seattle Thursday evening, the airline said.
“We are grateful for the expertise of our pilots, who immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating,” the airline said.
A series of near-misses, or “runway incursions,” over the past two years has raised concerns about the safety of U.S. air travel. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said last November that the incidents, while “incredibly rare” compared to the number of flights, show that the aviation system is under pressure.
Some incidents have been blamed on pilots failing to follow air traffic controllers’ instructions. However, the scariest of the predicaments — a FedEx jet landing in Austin, Texas, flew over the top of a Southwest jet taking off on a foggy early morning in February 2023 — was blamed on a Air traffic controller mistakes.
Thursday’s incident comes just days after two Delta Air Lines planes collided on a taxiway at Atlanta International Airport, with the larger plane knocking over the tail of a smaller regional jet. No injuries were reported.