The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after an Airbus A321neo operated by American Airlines performed an unusual takeoff path near Honolulu on Wednesday. Rather than making an immediate right turn upon departure, the crew missed instructions and flew the aircraft straight out east. Honolulu’s north and east perimeters sit below mountainous terrain with elevations over 3,000 feet.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) subsequently intervened and instructed the crew to expedite their climb to avoid the mountain range. Details of the incident The flight involved was AA298, which originated at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and was bound for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) .
Data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft, registered as N418AN, pushed back from gate C4 at 00:35 on Wednesday, which was 50 minutes past its scheduled departure time of 23:45 on Tuesday. It is unclear why the flight was delayed. After taxiing for 14 minutes, the aircraft took off from Runway 8L at 00:49, which is less commonly used for eastbound departures than Runway 8R, otherwise known as the Reef Runway.
Two minutes later, flight data indicates the plane was 2,900 feet and flying at a speed of 238 knots north of downtown Honolulu. It continued east, passing just to the south of Kōnāhuanui mountain peak, which has an elevation of 3,150 feet. At 00:52 – three minutes after takeoff – the aircraft had reached an altitude of 5,300 feet was was climbing rapidly.
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