A passenger flying from Portland to Jackson Hole via San Francisco reported a startling incident in which the pilot of the aircraft claimed he was not qualified to land the plane at the intended destination. The passenger, who shared his experience on Reddit, described how the plane, operated by SkyWest Airlines under Alaska Airlines, had to divert to Salt Lake City due to the pilot’s lack of qualification.
According to the passenger’s account, the plane was descending into Jackson Hole when the pilot made an unexpected announcement: “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 plane subsequently landed in Salt Lake City, where passengers were left waiting on the tarmac for over an hour.
During the delay, the pilot reportedly left the aircraft in what the passenger described as a “walk of shame,” and a replacement pilot was brought in to continue the flight to Jackson Hole. The flight eventually landed at its intended destination, though the passenger noted that it was “perhaps the bumpiest landing in the descent I’ve ever experienced.” The delay caused the flight to arrive about three hours later than scheduled.
The passenger, who expressed frustration at the delay and the rough landings, particularly given that both he and his girlfriend are nervous flyers, initially identified the airline as Alaska Airlines. However, it was later clarified in a report by People that the flight was operated by SkyWest Airlines.
SkyWest Airlines issued a statement addressing the incident, clarifying that the diversion was due to a paperwork error rather than a lack of pilot qualification. “On Thursday, Aug. 8, SkyWest Airlines flight 3491, operating as Alaska Airlines from San Francisco to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, landed for a short time in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error related to the flight crew,” the airline stated. They added that a new pilot was brought in to complete the flight to Jackson Hole, and assured that all pilots involved were qualified to land the aircraft. The diversion, they said, was made out of “an abundance of caution.”
The incident has sparked a discussion on Reddit, with users speculating about the cause. Some suggested the pilot may not have met “special airport” requirements for Jackson Hole, while others pointed to potential “high minimums” standards for pilots with fewer hours. Despite the confusion, the airline has committed to an internal review to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“I think it is more likely that the captain did not meet the ‘special airport’ requirements for JAC but it was only discovered after departure (probably by the dispatcher). There are normally systems in place to track these things but occasionally they do fall through the cracks,” said a user.
Another said, “My ex husband of 25 years is a pilot at Alaska. There is something called high minimums. Until a pilot has reached a number of hours the conditions need to be better- I.E. certain visibility, a dryer runway etc. This is probably what happened.”