On a recent flight from Hawaii, American Airlines experienced an unusual departure. A Boeing 777-200ER, bound for Dallas/Fort Worth, took off from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on Friday evening. Instead of following standard procedures, the aircraft climbed directly over downtown Honolulu and Waikiki, alarming witnesses on the ground.
Normally, aircraft departing from HNL take an immediate right turn after takeoff to ascend away from the city. However, AA124 did not perform this turn until it was already over downtown. It climbed to 1,800 feet over Kaka’ako Waterfront Park and continued over popular areas like Waikiki Beach and the Honolulu Zoo.
This incident follows a similar situation just weeks earlier, where another American Airlines flight exhibited strange departure behavior. On this particular flight, confusion arose between the crew and air traffic control (ATC) about altitude instructions. While climbing, the crew misheard ATC’s direction to climb to 16,000 feet and mistakenly thought ATC had instructed them to climb to 6,000 feet instead.
The flight path of AA124 contrasted with other flights departing that day. For example, a Southwest Airlines flight shortly after AA124 adhered to standard departure protocols and climbed offshore. The irregularity of AA124’s flight path raised questions about potential issues with either pilot procedures or ATC instructions.
While the cause of this unusual route remains unclear, the event highlights concerns over how departure procedures are managed at major airports. Given this pattern of strange departures, an investigation into the processes for reviewing flight instructions could be warranted. American Airlines has yet to offer a public explanation for the deviation.
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