American Airlines flight narrowly avoids crashing into mountain

American Airlines flight narrowly avoids crashing into mountain

An American Airlines flight narrowly avoided crashing into a mountain while travelling over Hawaii.

Authorities are investigating the incident after flight AA298 departed Honolulu International Airport on Wednesday morning and had to climb over Kōnāhuanui.

The Los Angeles bound Airbus A321neo had to steer clear of the mountain peak after being told by air traffic control to accelerate hard.

According to aviation news outletSimple Flying, the jet taxied for 14 minutes and took in the direction of the mountain range.

Two minutes after takeoff the plane was at an altitude of 2,900 feet and was travelling east to the south of the peak, which has an elevation of 3,150 feet.

Three minutes in, the aircraft had managed to reach an altitude of 5,200 feet and was climbing rapidly, according to the outlet.

The jet was then turned right and flew southwest over another mountain, which is considerably lower.

An air traffic controller can be heard telling the pilot on audio on LiveATCto 'turn right and expedite your climb through terrain'.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said: '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 controller’s actions ensured the aircraft remained safely above nearby terrain.'

American Airlines said in a statement: '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.

'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.'

It comes after two passenger planes nearly colliding over New York in July, sparking an investigation.

The Delta Connection flight, carrying 80 people, was taking off at Syracuse Hancock Airport at the same time an American Eagle plane was landing.

Police footage of the incident shows the Delta plane climbing through the sky while the other plane is descending towards the runway.

But the aircrafts appear to be much closer together than they should be before crossing paths safely.

In the video, the Delta Connection flight is seen gaining speed as it gains altitude before the other plane comes into frame.

The American Eagle aircraft is descending as it approaches the runway but the two planes cross paths and narrowly avoid each other.

They came to around 1,000 feet within each other vertically, according to FlightRadar24.

The FAA went on to blame an air traffic controller for the incident saying: 'The investigation found the incident was caused by a controller’s performance issue and was addressed through our standard processes.'