A close call in Nashville between an Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines 737 jet avoided catastrophe but serves as another wake-up call.
BAN Incident: Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 Forced To Abort Takeoff At High Speed To Avoid Southwest Airlines 737-700
On September 12, 2024 at Nashville International Airport (BNA), an incident occurred on runway 13 involving two commercial jets:
- Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 (registration code N919AK)
- AS369 to Seattle (SEA)
- three-year-old jet
- Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 (registration code N225WN)
- WN2029 to Jacksonville (JAX)
- 19-year-old jet
AS369 was cleared for takeoff and pilots initiated the takeoff roll. But as the aircraft hurdled down runway 13, accelerating to 100 knots, pilots heard that WN2029 was given clearance to cross the same runway.
The Alaska pilots aborted takeoff, which caused the tires of the 737 MAX 9 aircraft to deflate:
The FAA is investigating a potential near collision that occurred between an Alaska Airlines Boeing B737MAX9 aircraft (N919AK) and a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft in Nashville.
The Alaska Airlines deflated the tires in the act of aborting the take-off, to avoid a… pic.twitter.com/RibsttbyH6
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) September 12, 2024
There were no injuries and it is not (yet) clear how close of a call this was, though it appears to be another Air Traffic Control (ATC) error.
The NSTB has initiated an investigation:
NTSB is investigating the Sept. 12 runway incursion at Nashville International Airport involving Alaska Airlines flight 369, a Boeing 737 Max 9, and Southwest Airlines flight 2029, a Boeing 737-700.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) September 12, 2024
I don’t want to sensationalize any incident unnecessarily and will await the NTSB investigation, but this appears to be another needless safety incident and even if the planes remained at quite a distance from each other (that part is not clear yet), it just seems clear there is no reason for incidents like this…that there is something fundamentally wrong with the ATC system in the USA.
While I have not opined yet on the latest Department of Transportation investigation into frequent flyer programs, I do wish that the federal government would make ATC modernization its top goal.
image: @fl360aero/X // Hat Tip: AvHerald
Lol, imagine if those in power actually tried to fix issues like this instead of focusing on dIvErSiTy
It is possible to do both.
Congratulations buddy, your constant complaining to Matt and threats against his business are paying off. He is now censoring posts against your “lifestyle” choice. Again you people win because nothing is never enough for you people.
Dave…the whole sex with minors thing crosses a line…
I don’t censor opinions, but you cannot just make up things and present them as fact when such comments are intended to tear down specfic people who participate in this blog.
Aaron did not ask me to remove your comment (Darin did, but I may have done it anyway). You know that over the years I’ve removed at most 2-3 comments from you…you are always welcome here. But the fixiation of homosexuality and the crude and unfounded comments not only detract from the discussion, but seem to be geared only at unjustifiably inflicting pain. Let’s be nice to one another.
I’ve never complained to Matthew directly or ever threatened his business.
“Nothing is never enough for you people”
Besides the mistake of never versus ever, we what actually want is to just want to be accepted by people and not experience hate from nasty vile trolls like you. I think that’s a fair request.
Where is DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg when you need him? Get off your butt!
Maybe he can react to angry tweets on X about this! slay queen, yas, etc
Did a gay Black man steal your husband or something?
Buttigieg identified this issue in 2023 calling a summit conference the first since 2009. The NTSB has recommended technology to provide safer ATC operations for 20 years only to be ignored and unfunded. The money to fund an additional 2,000 ATC positions was still stuck in an bill until this spring. Largely bi-partisan, many refused to support it.
Good point, Maryland.
Why is a Southwest Airlines plane always at the center of some sort of incident?
Question to you @Matthew: Are these incidents becoming more and more common now or they always happened and we are hearing more now because of the easy way we can get information? Same goes for those incidents of planes colliding while on the ground and clipping wings, tails, etc… I may be wrong but I don’t recall hearing a lot of this type of incidents before. Hopefully one of these close calls won’t become a huge tragedy so people can wake up and find a way to do a better job.
That is an excellent question and almost one I addressed last night when I wrote the story.
I tend to think it is both. Yes, we are getting a little sloppy, but unlike in the past, there is no hiding from it. Not when you have folks spending their days listening to ATC communications.
Maybe the same reason why we are also hearing about more altercations and incidents on board planes and airports? With smartphones and social media stuff like that is something more people are seeing and hearing about.
@Matthew, there’s a comment here that really crosses the line, hope you’ll do the right thing. Don’t think I need to say anything more.
Deleted.
Lots more incidents on aeroinside but they want you to subscribe