Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were upset last week when the pilot announced over the intercom that he could not land the plane at their destination. Instead, the flight was diverted to Salt Lake City.

According to several eyewitness reports, the pilot of Alaska Airlines/SkyWest Flight 3491 reported from the cockpit on Thursday that he could not land.

“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 next steps,” the pilot explained.

Data from FlightAware shows that the SkyWest flight took off from San Francisco as scheduled (eight minutes early, to be exact). The aircraft then made a standard approach to JAC – entering the airport airspace from the southwest and then turning north to reach the preferred landing direction.

But the twin-engine Embraer ERJ 175 did not reduce speed or altitude, but immediately went into a holding pattern over the airport, according to FlightAware.

After completing an oval circuit, the aircraft headed for Salt Lake City Airport, where it landed without incident.

Once in Salt Lake, passengers reportedly remained on board for about 90 minutes until a replacement pilot could be found. The flight then continued to Jackson Hole and landed at 2:55 p.m. local time for a flight scheduled to arrive at 11:44 a.m.

Unscheduled stopover in Salt Lake

Reddit user babecityrecords posted about it a day after the incident with the title “Something VERY strange happened on our Alaska flight yesterday: our pilot was not qualified to land??”

After the flight was diverted to Salt Lake City, the pilot made no further statement and simply left the plane, according to the Reddit poster.

“The pilot exited the plane (with a walk of shame as his bag was hanging in the overhead bin at the back of the plane lol) and then a new pilot from Salt Lake City boarded the plane and we flew to Jackson,” the passenger posted.

Alaska Airlines Flight 3491 is a daily round-trip flight between San Francisco and Jackson Hole operated by SkyWest Airlines. The regional airline based in St. George, Utah, primarily operates West Coast shuttles in partnership with Alaska, American, Delta and United.

The big question is, why would SkyWest send a captain on a flight to Jackson who is not qualified to land there?

“Is the flight to Jackson like a level 10 boss?” babecityrecords wondered.

In fact, this is exactly the case, as expressed by several airline pilot-certified pilots in this popular, user-driven general interest forum.

SkyWest gave a somewhat confusing explanation for the flight diversion, attributing the mix-up to a recordkeeping error.

“(Flight 3491) briefly landed in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error regarding the flight crew,” the airline said. “The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was found for the flight. 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.”

Frequent flyer?

The most plausible explanation is that the senior captain in the cockpit on Thursday was not experienced enough to land in less than ideal conditions, what the pilots call “unlimited cloud base and visibility (CAVU).”

Jim Elwood, director of Jackson Hole Airport, said each individual airline has its own training programs and pilot certification protocols.

Jackson Hole Airport sits at an elevation of over 6,451 feet and is framed by the Teton Range, which rises to over 13,000 feet. Experienced pilots report that the approach is “difficult” due to frequent downdrafts and wind shear, as well as a short runway.

Due to the complexity of landing at JAC, the airport has had the Special PIC (Pilot in Command) qualification since 1990, as well as a Level 4 SAAT rating, which requires a more experienced line check airman as co-pilot.

Each airline has its own training standards and requires different minimum flight hours.

Many qualified captains with thousands of flight hours may not meet the minimum requirements required by companies to fly a particular aircraft or to fly to certain airports with minimum cloud base and visibility requirements.

Did a thunderstorm deter the pilot?

In other words, according to most pilots who commented on the post, it is entirely possible that SkyWest sent out a pilot who had enough time in the saddle of a smaller ERJ 175 to land at Jackson Hole Airport, just in more favorable weather conditions.

The weather in Jackson could have worsened after launch or not cleared as predicted. On August 8, the weather in the Jackson area was partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorm cells.

FlightAware radar shows storm fronts near the airport during the scheduled landing of Flight 3491.

Ultimately, the pilot decided to play it safe and have a more qualified person land the plane.

“Perhaps the lack of qualification was less a formal determination than an expression of the captain’s lack of confidence at the controls in the particular wind scenario that later resulted in a bumpy landing,” wrote Gary Leff, author of industry magazine View from the Wing.

The final landing in Jackson was reportedly “very bumpy,” leading to speculation that the diversion may have been weather-related.

Other commentators said communication with passengers could have been better, but most praised the pilot for his safe decision.

“This is a true example of the discipline, precision and integrity of aviation professionals,” said one poster.

Pilots are few and far between

It’s no secret that commercial airline pilots have been in high demand since COVID travel restrictions were lifted.

SkyWest CEO Chip Childs told Flight Global in February this year that the airline is still around 2,000 pilots short to meet market demand.

Several passengers on Flight 3491 wondered whether they were entitled to the free meal promised by Alaskan Airlines if the flight was delayed by more than three hours.

“If your flight is delayed or cancelled for three hours or more due to circumstances within our control, requiring you to wait three hours or more for a new flight, we will offer each ticketed guest an appropriate meal at the airport,” the airline explains.

So far, no one has received compensation for the delayed flight.

Jake Nichols can be reached at [email protected].