An American Airlines flight had to perform an “expedited climb” on Wednesday to avoid mountainous terrain, reports said.
American Airlines flight AA298, which departed Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii in the early hours of the morning, received a request from air traffic control to accelerate its climb to steer clear of a mountain range.
Simple Flying, an aviation news outlet, reported that after taxiing for 14 minutes, the Airbus A321neo aircraft took off from Runway 8L at 12:49 a.m. local time toward Los Angeles International Airport. The runway is less frequently used for eastbound departures compared to Runway 8R, the outlet said.
Flight data showed that about two minutes after its departure, the plane was at an altitude of about 2,900 feet, flying at a speed of 238 knots. The flight then continued to the east, passing just south of the Kōnāhuanui mountain peak, which rises to 3,150 feet.
By 12:52 a.m., the aircraft had climbed to 5,300 feet and was ascending quickly. It then made a right turn, flying southwest of Puʻu OʻKona, which has an elevation of about 2,350 feet, Simple Flying reported.
According to Flightradar24, a real-time flight tracker, the flight continued without further incident, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at 7:36 a.m. PT on November 13.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the matter. Newsweek has contacted American Airlines for comment via email outside regular working hours.
In a statement seen by ABC News, the FAA said, “An air traffic controller instructed American Airlines Flight 298 to perform an expedited climb after the crew did not make the assigned turn while departing from Honolulu International Airport.” It added, “The controller’s actions ensured the aircraft remained safely above nearby terrain.”
American Airlines said in a statement that “the safety of our customers and team members is our top priority.”
“During the climb out of Honolulu on November 13, the crew of American Airlines flight 298 requested and received right-turn clearance and complied with controller instructions. There was no Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) alert as there were no issues with terrain clearance based on the trajectory of the aircraft,” it continued.
Near misses are rare among commercial airliners, as are crashes, and air travel is among the safest modes of transportation. There have been no fatal crashes involving major U.S. airlines since February 2009, when a Continental flight crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board.
In 2023, an American Airlines flight was moments away from colliding with another aircraft while midair over New York after both planes began their descent to John F. Kennedy International Airport at the same time.
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