An American Airlines aircraft narrowly avoided a collision with mountains in Hawaii after receiving instructions to swiftly increase altitude, according to officials’ statements on Friday.
Flight 298, bound for Los Angeles, departed from Honolulu at 12:30 am on Wednesday when air traffic control instructed the crew to “expedite your climb” – a directive to ascend quickly to avoid danger, as documented in audio recordings from LiveATC.
The controller’s exact words were, “Number 298 turn right, expedite your climb through terrain and then turn right,” as reported by hawaiinewsnow.com.
The aircraft’s rapid ascent, necessitated by the pilot’s failure to execute a post-takeoff turn, likely prevented a collision with the Koʻolau mountain range on Oʻahu, officials indicated.
The emergency altitude increase occurred because the flight crew “did not make the assigned turn while departing from Honolulu International Airport,” according to an FAA representative speaking to NBC News.
American Airlines released a statement saying the “crew of American Airlines flight 298 requested and received right-turn clearance and complied with controller instructions.”
The airline further said, “There were no issues with terrain clearance based on the trajectory of the aircraft.”