The Federal Aviation Administration says an air traffic controller’s instructions kept an American Airlines flight from hitting mountains near Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii.

The American Airlines flight was departing from Honolulu to Los Angeles when it performed an "expedited climb."

HONOLULU (CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) - Air traffic controllers prevented a potential disaster on Wednesday when an American Airlines flight narrowly avoided crashing into the mountains near Honolulu International Airport.