Pilots on an Alaska Airlines flight departing Thursday from Nashville aborted takeoff at the last second when it became clear they were on course to crash into a Southwest Airlines plane that had been permitted to cross in front of them, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Alaska Airlines Flight 369, a Seattle-bound Boeing 737 Max 9 with 176 passengers on board, was cleared for takeoff by Nashville International Airport air traffic controllers and began accelerating—reaching 119 miles per hour—but, around the same time, Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 was cleared to cross over the end of the same runway. The crew slammed on the brakes, leading to blown tires, which the airline said was due to a design feature that manages heat buildup from hard braking. “We’re grateful for the expertise of our pilots who immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. Earlier this week, a Delta Air Lines jet clipped a small plane operated by its subsidiary Endeavor Air, tearing its tail off.
