Flight diverted after pilot admits he isn’t qualified to land: ‘Really sorry, folks’
Fly? Yes. Land? No.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency diversion to Salt Lake City last week because the pilot was not qualified to land the jet in Jackson Hole — a confession he made to the entire cabin, according to reports.
Once Alaska Airlines/SkyWest flight 3491 was safely on the ground in Utah to change pilots, the flight’s original captain even did a “walk of shame” as he retrieved his bag from the back of the plane and exited at the front, according to a Reddit thread cited by Cowboy State Daily.
“Hey, I’m really sorry folks but due to me not having the proper qualification to land in Jackson Hole, we need to divert to Salt Lake City Utah. We’ll keep you posted on the next steps,” the Reddit thread poster who claimed to be a passenger on the flight paraphrased the pilot’s awkward announcement.
According to several eyewitnesses, the Skywest-operated twin-jet Embraer ERJ 175 was making its approach to the Cowbody State airport when the pilot delivered the maddening news.
FlightAware data shows that the aircraft had left San Francisco ahead of schedule and made a standard approach to JAC — but never closed in on the ground.
Instead, the Alaskan Airlines flight maintained its speed and altitude until it completed one entire circle around the airport before jetting off to Salt Lake City — nearly 300 miles away.
The nightmare didn’t end there, however. The passengers were stuck on the plane for another 90 minutes while Alaskan Airlines tracked down a pilot who could take them to their final destination, the outlet reported.
The weary flight finally landed in Jackson Hole at 2:55 p.m., more than three hours after its scheduled arrival time.
According to the agitated passengers, the crew offered no further information for the major inconvenience other than he wasn’t qualified to land in Jackson Hole.
“[T]he pilot got off the plane (in a walk of shame since his bag was in the overhead in the back of the plane lol) and then a new pilot from Salt Lake City got on the plane and we flew into Jackson,” one person wrote.
According to SkyWest, a simple mix-up in paperwork was to blame — but didn’t explain what qualifications the pilot could have been lacking.
“[Flight 3491] landed for a short time in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error related to the flight crew,” the airline told the Cowboy State Daily in a statement.
“The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was secured to operate the flight. All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft; the flight diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of abundance of caution.”
Jackson Hole Airport Director Jim Elwood told the outlet that each individual airline has its own training programs and pilot certification protocol based on its unique geographical features.
The Jackson Hole Airport is at an elevation of over 6,451 feet and is framed by the Teton Range, soaring more than 13,000 feet in elevation. It is frequented by downdrafts and windshear, making for a “tricky” landing on a relatively short runway.
The FAA did not have any information on the incident. SkyWest did not respond to request for comment.
