In a potentially catastrophic incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching an investigation into how two jetliners were put on an apparent collision course as they departed from Reagan National Airport on Thursday morning.

Air traffic control audio recordings obtained from LiveATC.net revealed the frantic moments when controllers urgently radioed both planes to halt their movements. The recordings captured controllers shouting for a JetBlue flight to abort its takeoff as a Southwest Airlines aircraft began taxiing across the runway in front of it.

Fortunately, the two planes stopped mere 400 feet apart, according to FlightRadar24 data. However, the data also indicated that the forward fuselage of the Southwest flight had already entered the runway.

From the audio recordings, it was evident that the controller responsible for the runways at Reagan National had cleared the JetBlue Airways flight for takeoff at approximately 7:40 a.m. Simultaneously, another controller, overseeing aircraft taxiing, directed a Southwest Airlines jet to cross the same runway.

Approximately 30 seconds after granting clearance to the JetBlue plane, the controllers urgently shouted for both planes to halt their movements. The tower controller repeatedly called out for JetBlue Flight 1554 to stop, while the ground controller ordered Southwest Flight 2937 to halt. The Southwest pilot responded, confirming that they had indeed stopped and emphasizing that they had been cleared to cross Runway 4.

The FAA, in a statement to CNN, acknowledged that both planes were sent onto the runway and stated that it would conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. According to the statement, an air traffic controller had instructed Southwest Airlines Flight 2937 to cross Runway 4 while JetBlue Flight 1554 was initiating its takeoff roll on the same runway.

Following the incident, the JetBlue plane taxied back to the runway threshold and then successfully took off for its destination, Boston Logan International Airport. The controller checked with the pilot if they had enough room to maneuver around the Southwest aircraft, to which the pilot responded affirmatively and suggested making a left turn onto Alpha.

Meanwhile, the Southwest plane was directed to continue crossing the runway and proceeded to taxi towards a second runway, where it departed as planned for Orlando.

JetBlue reported that its Boston-bound flight had to abort takeoff due to the presence of another aircraft attempting to cross the runway. The airline confirmed that the plane was inspected and took off safely following the incident.

Southwest Airlines acknowledged the occurrence and stated that they are collaborating with the FAA to gain a comprehensive understanding of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

CNN reached out to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to ascertain if they plan to conduct an investigation into the near collision.

As the FAA delves into the incident, questions will be raised regarding the effectiveness of air traffic control protocols and the importance of ensuring the safety of passengers and crew in one of the country's busiest airports.