Alaska Airlines flight diverted due to pilot’s shocking mid-air admission.
An Alaska Airlines flight had to be diverted recently after the pilot made a startling revelation mid-air. Flight 3491 operated by Skywest was approaching Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming when the pilot informed passengers he wasn’t qualified to land there.
As per a co-passengers Reddit account, flight attendants were preparing for landing when the pilot announced on the public address system that he didn’t have the required qualifications for Jackson Hole and the plane was diverting to Salt Lake City.
The ERJ 175 twin jet safely landed in Salt Lake City. It remained there for over an hour as a new pilot arrived. The replacement pilot then flew the delayed flight to Jackson Hole but encountered extreme turbulence during landing.
Skywest stated the initial diversion was due to a paperwork error regarding the flight crew. While pilots were qualified to fly, an internal administrative mistake led to avoiding Jackson Hole “out of the abundance of caution”.
The unscheduled halt and subsequent bumpy landing prolonged the journey by three hours, highlighting the importance of following the correct protocol for aviation safety.
