Pilot's Admission of Qualification Error Leads to Aircraft Diversion

A pilot admitted from the cockpit that he was not qualified to land the aircraft, leading to an abrupt detour on Thursday, August 15. The incident occurred as the Alaska Airlines/Skywest flight was approaching Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming.

As a result of the pilot's admission, the aircraft was rerouted to Salt Lake City, Utah, where it safely landed. A new pilot then took over, and the flight continued on its scheduled course to Jackson Hole.

Skywest later clarified the situation, explaining that the flight was diverted due to incorrect paperwork. In a statement to Cowboy State Daily, the airline said, "Flight 3491 landed for a short time in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error related to the flight crew."

The airline further assured passengers that "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 an abundance of caution."

A Reddit user, "babecityrecords," who was on the flight with his girlfriend, recounted the experience. The user shared, "We then landed in Salt Lake City, they again apologized and gave us no other info, waited on the tarmac for about 1.5 hours, and then the 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."