Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight bound for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were miffed last week after the pilot explained 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 accounts, as Alaska Airlines/SkyWest flight 3491 made its approach into Jackson on Thursday, the pilot reported from the cockpit that he was unable to land.
“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 pilot explained.
Data from FlightAware shows the SkyWest flight took off from San Francisco on schedule (actually, eight minutes early). The aircraft then made a standard approach to JAC — entering airport airspace from the southwest, swinging around to the north for the preferred landing orientation.
But the twin jet Embraer ERJ 175 never reduced speed or altitude and went immediately into a holding pattern over the airport, according to FlightAware.
After completing one oval circuit, the plane then headed for the Salt Lake City airport, where it landed without incident.
Once at Salt Lake, passengers reportedly remained on board about 90 minutes until a replacement pilot could be found. The flight then continued on to Jackson Hole, landing at 2:55 p.m. local time for a flight scheduled to arrive at 11:44 a.m.
Unscheduled Stop In Salt Lake
Reddit user Jon Weiss posted about the incident a day after it happened under the title “Something VERY weird happened on our Alaska flight yesterday: our pilot was unqualified to land??”
After the flight diversion to Salt Lake, the Reddit poster said the pilot offered no further explanation and simply left the plane.
“[T]he pilot got off the plane (in a walk of shame since his bag was in the overhead in the back of the plane lol) and then a new pilot from Salt Lake City got on the plane and we flew into Jackson,” the passenger posted.
Alaska Airlines Flight 3491 is a daily round-trip between San Francisco and Jackson Hole. It is operated by SkyWest Airlines. The regional carrier based in St. George, Utah, runs mainly West Coast shuttles in partnership with Alaska, American, Delta and United.
The big question is why would SkyWest put a captain aboard a flight to Jackson is was not qualified to land there?
“Is flying into Jackson like a Level 10 final boss sort of thing?” wondered Jon Weiss.
Actually, that is precisely the situation, according to several Airline Transport Pilot-certified pilots sharing their comments on the popular user-driven general interest forum.
SkyWest offered a somewhat convoluted explanation regarding the fight diversion, blaming the mix-up on a paperwork error.
“[Flight 3491] landed for a short time in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error related to the flight crew,” the airline stated. “The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was secured to operate the flight. All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft; the flight diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of abundance of caution.”
Frequent Flyer?
The most plausible explanation is the senior-most captain on the flight deck that Thursday was not senior enough to land in less-than-ideal conditions, which pilots refer to as ceiling and visibility unlimited CAVU.
Jackson Hole Airport Director Jim Elwood said each individual airline has its own training programs and pilot certification protocol.
The Jackson Hole Airport is at an elevation of over 6,451 feet and is framed by the Teton Range, soaring more than 13,000 feet in elevation. Experienced pilots report the approach as “tricky” because of frequent downdrafts and windshear, combined with a short runway.
The complexities of landing at JAC earn the airport a Special PIC (pilot in command) qualification for the airport — in place since 1990 — as well as a SAAT level 4 rating, requiring a more experienced line check airman sitting copilot.
Each individual airline has its own standards of training requiring varying minimum hours of flight time.
Many qualified captains with thousands of flight hours may not meet company minimums behind the wheel of a particular aircraft or flying into certain airports with ceiling and visibility minimum requirements.
Thunderstorm Scared Off Pilot?
In other words, it’s entirely possible, according to most of pilots commenting on the post, that SkyWest dispatched a pilot who had enough time in the saddle of a smaller ERJ 175 to land at Jackson Hole Airport, only in more favorable weather conditions.
Weather could have deteriorated in Jackson after takeoff or failed to clear up as forecasted. Weather in the Jackson area on Aug. 8 was partly cloudy with isolated storm cells.
FlightAware radar shows stormfronts in the vicinity of the airport during the scheduled landing of Flight 3491.
Ultimately, the pilot made the decision to err on the side of caution and let someone more qualified land the plane.
“Perhaps not being qualified wasn’t a formal statement as much as an expression that the captain didn’t feel confident at the controls in the particular wind scenario that later led to a bumpy landing,” wrote Gary Leff, author of industry trade View from the Wing.
The eventual landing in Jackson was reportedly “very bumpy,” lending to speculation that the diversion was, perhaps, weather-related.
Other commenters said communication to passengers could have been better, but most praised the pilot for making a safe decision.
“This really exemplifies the discipline, rigor and integrity of aviation professionals,” said one poster.
Pilots Few And Far Between
It’s no secret that commercial airline pilots are in heavy demand, and have been so since the lifting of COVID travel restrictions.
SkyWest chief executive Chip Childs told Flight Global back in February of this year that the airline is still about 2,000 pilots short of market demand.
Several passengers of Flight 3491 wondered if they were eligible for the Alaskan Airlines promise of a free meal for delays in excess of three hours.
"If, due to circumstances within our control, your flight is delayed by three hours or more, or canceled such that you must wait three hours or more for a new flight, we'll offer a reasonable meal to each ticketed guest at the airport,” states the airline.
No one has yet reported receiving any compensation for the delayed flight.
Jake Nichols can be reached at jake@cowboystatedaily.com.
