American Airlines flight narrowly avoids mountain range in Hawaii

On November 16, 2024By Littum

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An American Airlines flight apparently came dangerously close to the Koolau mountain range earlier this week.

Flight tracker FlightAware shows that Flight 298 departed from Honolulu to Los Angeles on Wednesday just after 1 p.m. 12.30 p.m

The flight path was straight, but aviation experts said the route would take a hard right turn after takeoff.

Audio released by an air traffic controller can be heard instructing the pilot to avoid the mountains: “Number 298 turn right, accelerate your climb through terrain, then turn right through 120.”

“Accelerate your climb” is a technical way of saying hurry up and gain altitude.

Ultimately, the plane arrived in Los Angeles seven hours later without incident.

HNN has contacted American Airlines for comment and is awaiting a response.