An Alaska Airlines flight aborted its takeoff Thursday to avoid a possible collision with a Southwest Airlines plane that had been cleared to fly ahead of it in Nashville, Tennessee, officials said.
Alaska Airlines Flight 369 was cleared to take off from Nashville International Airport on Thursday morning, but the pilots of the Seattle-bound plane had to quickly apply the brakes “due to a potential traffic conflict on the runway,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 was cleared to cross the end of the runway.
Alaska’s crew reported that the plane’s tires blew out during the aborted takeoff, the FAA said. Alaska said the tires are designed to deflate due to the heat generated by the abrupt stop.
According to Alaska, no injuries were reported in the incident.
“We deeply regret the distressing experience this has caused our guests and crew,” Alaska said.
The 176 passengers on the Alaska-bound flight disembarked and returned to the terminal, the airline said, and were scheduled to arrive in Seattle on Thursday evening.
Southwest said it was in contact with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board and would cooperate with any investigation.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” Southwest said in a statement.
contributed to this report.
