American Airlines flight out of Hawaii told to make ‘expedited climb’ to avoid mountains

By Pete Muntean, CNN

(CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration says an air traffic controller’s instructions kept an American Airlines flight from hitting mountains near Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii.

The agency is investigating the incident on American flight 298 just after takeoff, bound for Los Angeles early Wednesday morning. Open-source flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange shows the flight took off from Honolulu’s runway 8 Left pointed east toward the Koʻolau mountain range.

“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,” the FAA says. “The controller’s actions ensured the aircraft remained safely above nearby terrain.”

Audio from LiveATC.net captures the Honolulu air traffic controller telling American 298 to “expedite your climb … through terrain” and to turn right.

In a statement, American Airlines says, “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” and points out “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.”

The EGPWS is triggered when an airplane is at risk for colliding with the terrain.

Flight tracking data shows by the time the flight reached the terrain, the flight was at least 1,500 feet above mountain peaks.

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