On Thursday, an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to cancel its takeoff at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee to prevent a possible accident involving a Southwest Airlines aircraft, according to the airline.

The flight, Alaska Airlines 369, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 carrying 176 passengers and six crew members, was in the process of taking off around 9:15 a.m. ET when it detected a potential conflict with another aircraft, despite having received takeoff clearance from air traffic control.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that Southwest Airlines Flight 2029, also a Boeing 737-700, had been given the green light to cross at the end of the same runway, prompting an investigation into the occurrence.

The pilots of Alaska Airlines reacted quickly, applying the brakes to prevent the situation from escalating. The flight had been scheduled to head to Seattle, and the passengers were later transferred to another plane.

Both Alaska Airlines and the FAA confirmed that the tires on the 737 MAX 9 blew out during the emergency braking process.

Southwest Airlines has not released an immediate statement. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines reported that maintenance teams in Nashville are examining the damaged plane.

Concerns about safety in U.S. aviation have increased after a number of near-miss incidents last year, particularly regarding the pressures faced by understaffed air traffic control personnel.

On Wednesday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker informed the press that serious runway incursion occurrences have decreased by over 50 percent, yet “we are actively addressing the issue by implementing more technology for air traffic controllers and enhancing technology at arrival facilities.”

In June, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that misjudgments by an air traffic controller contributed to a near-miss between a FedEx aircraft and a Southwest flight in Austin, Texas, in February 2023.

The two aircraft nearly collided, coming within approximately 170 feet (52 meters) of each other when the FedEx Boeing 767 had to ascend above the Southwest 737-700 to avert a crash under low visibility.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy emphasized the need for air traffic controllers to undergo training for low-visibility conditions and for the quicker implementation of technology at airports and alerts within cockpits to prevent future near-collisions.

“This should act as a wake-up call for many—these are important warning signs and require immediate action,” Homendy stated.