Alaska Airlines plane aborts takeoff to prevent crash with Southwest Airlines plane

An Alaska Airlines plane had to abort its takeoff at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee on Thursday to prevent a possible collision with a Southwest Airlines jet, according to the airline.

The Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane had 176 passengers and six crew on board and it had received the go ahead from air traffic control to take off.

The Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 was also cleared for take off at the end of the same runway, according to reports.

"Our pilots train for these situations and they handled the situation expertly," Alaska Airlines said in a statement to a local news outlet. 

The airline also said the Seattle-bound passenger were put another flight on which they reached their final destination later that night.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. 

"We are clearly very concerned about this and others we are investigating," said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy.

The incident follows two Delta planes that crashed on Tuesday in Atlanta.