An Alaska Airlines flight had to be diverted after a red-faced pilot admitted he was “not qualified to land.”
Flight 3491, operated by Alaska’s partner SkyWest, departed San Francisco on August 8 for Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
But before he could begin his approach to landing, the pilot announced that he would had to be diverted to Salt Lake City in the state of Utah, “because I do not have the necessary qualifications,” according to the passengers on the plane.
Tracking data from FlightAware shows that the plane was heading toward Jackson Hole before circling a few times and then heading toward Salt Lake City, 290 miles away.
Jackson Hole Airport is notoriously difficult to land due to its mountainous altitude, short runway and wind shear, which places special demands on pilots.
An Alaska Airlines flight had to be diverted from Jackson Hole Airport to Salt Lake City after a red-faced pilot admitted he was “not qualified” to land
Some pilots may only be authorized to land in conditions with unlimited cloud base and visibility (CAVU).
After this embarrassing admission, the pilot reportedly exited the plane in a “walk of shame” to retrieve his bag from the back of the plane, Cowboy State Daily reported.
One passenger described the bizarre experience in detail on Reddit, saying that he and the other passengers then had to wait on the tarmac while a new pilot was sought.
“We landed about three hours later than planned because the pilot did not have the necessary qualifications?” the passenger speculated.
“Is the flight to Jackson like a level 10 boss?”
SkyWest told Cowboy State Daily that the diversion was due to a mix-up in records.
“(Flight 3491) made a brief landing in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error regarding the flight crew,” a spokesman said.
“The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was sought to operate the flight.”
Ackson Hole Airport is a notoriously difficult landing spot, nestled at an elevation of over 6,451 feet in the Teton Range.
The pilot took off from San Francisco Airport towards Wyoming without any problems, but was unable to land as planned.
“All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft. The flight was diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of an abundance of caution.”
Jackson Hole Airport is located at an altitude of over 1,966 meters in the middle of the Teton mountain range.
Due to its demanding approach, additional requirements are required, including the Special Pilot in Command qualification and a Level 4 SAAT rating, which requires a more experienced co-pilot.
Others speculated that the pilot would normally have been able to land due to the poor weather conditions, but lacked the necessary experience to land in less than ideal conditions.
Data from FlightAware shows storm fronts in the area near Jackson Hole at the flight’s scheduled landing time.
Flight 3491 was operated by Alaska’s partner SkyWest on August 8
However, the passenger who reported his experience claimed that this was not communicated at the time.
“As far as I can remember, all we were told was, ‘The pilot is qualified to land at this airport’ – no information was given about safety or weather,” the customer said.
However, the passenger admitted that the landing several hours later was “the bumpiest descent landing I have ever experienced.”
