WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Air traffic controllers

last month cleared an Alaska Airlines jet to take off at

Tennessee's Nashville International Airport on the same runway

where a Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) plane had been cleared to cross, the

National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday.

The Sept. 12 incident prompted Alaska Airlines Flight 369

, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane with 176 passengers and six

crew on board, to abort takeoff to prevent a potential

collision. The Alaska pilots quickly applied the brakes to

prevent the incident from escalating, blowing its tires.