An American Airlines aircraft had a near miss with a mountain range in Hawaii on Wednesday the 13th of November. Flight 298 took off from Honolulu International Airport just after midnight on Wednesday, en route to go to Los Angeles. The aircraft did not turn to the correct heading after the takeoff roll, which put the aircraft directly in the path of Hawaii’s Ko’olau Range. Air traffic controllers at Honolulu International Airport told the crew to make an expedited climb, preventing a potential collision into the mountainside.

What happened to the flight?

The most obvious reasoning behind the near-crash is the fact that the crew didn’t turn to the correct heading after takeoff. It appears the aircraft took off from Honolulu’s Runway 08 Left, which was pointing east, in the direction of the Ko’olau range. An air traffic controller at the airport instructed them to conduct an expedited climb. Flight 298 successfully followed this instruction and reached an altitude of 1,500 feet by the time it reached the range.

A spokesperson for American Airlines stated that the planes Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) also did not activate. EGPWS is used and triggered when a plane is about to collide with any sort of terrain. They stated that the EGPWS didn’t activate as there were “no issues with terrain clearance based on the trajectory of the aircraft”. However, the FAA is currently investigating the incident.

What is meant by ‘expedited climb’?

The Honolulu air traffic controller told Flight 298 to conduct an ‘expedited climb’, but what exactly does this mean? An ‘expedited climb’ is an instruction given by air traffic controllers when they requires a plane to climb at the best rate possible without changing the flights handling. The term ‘expedite’ means that the action should be done immediately. The fact that this order was given to Flight 298 before it reached the Ko’olau mountain range is definitely a strong concern, and one the FAA will likely investigate why the incident had to reach such a critical stage of intervention from air traffic controllers.

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