An Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco International Airport to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was unexpectedly diverted to Salt Lake City last week after the pilot informed passengers that he did not have the necessary qualifications to land at the scheduled destination.
Flight 3491, operated by SkyWest with an Embraer E175 aircraft, landed at Salt Lake City International Airport on August 8 after aborting its approach to Jackson Hole.
“Hey, I’m really sorry guys, but since I don’t have the necessary clearance to land in Jackson Hole, we have to divert to Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ll keep you updated on the next steps,” the pilot announced, according to eyewitness reports.
The flight departed San Francisco International Airport at 9:09 a.m. and landed in Salt Lake City about two hours and 45 minutes later, according to flight records. Before the diversion, the flight had circled Jackson Hole in a holding pattern for several minutes.
The passengers remained on board in Salt Lake City for about 90 minutes while a replacement pilot was arranged. Eventually, the plane continued on its way to Jackson Hole, arriving at 2:55 p.m. Mountain Time instead of the scheduled 11:44 a.m.
Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for further details on the incident.
In a statement to Cowboy State Daily, SkyWest attributed the redirection to a typo.
“All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft,” the statement said. “The flight was diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of an abundance of caution.”
