Alaska Airlines flight makes sudden diversion after pilot says he's not certified to land: report

An Alaska Airlines flight being operated by Skywest was forced to divert from its intended destination of Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) in Wyoming last week after the pilot admitted he was not certified to land the plane in Jackson, according to reports.

Alaska Airlines/SkyWest flight 3491 was approaching JAC on Thursday when the pilot reported from the cockpit that he was unable to land, the Cowboy State Daily reports, citing a Reddit user who claimed to be on the flight.

The plane, a twin jet Embraer ERJ 175, then diverted to Salt Lake City, where it landed safely, according to FlightAware. Another pilot then replaced the unqualified pilot before taking off and landing in Jackson Hole at 2:55 p.m., more than three hours later than its scheduled landing time of 11:44 a.m. The flight originated in San Francisco.

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Alaska Airlines flight makes sudden diversion after pilot says he's not certified to land: report

An Alaska Airlines flight operated by SkyWest was forced to make a sudden diversion from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Salt Lake City after the pilot said he was not certified to land the plane, reports said.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[1LoverofGod]

This is disturbing

 

[Margery]

I wonder if this is what happens when you force pilots into retirement or into the vax, then a bunch of vaxxed pilots die of heart trouble leaving a huge vacancy and a crisis level of new and barely qualified pilots.

Actions have consequences.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I thought when pilots, navigators, and other airline crew members were slotted for runs, that required certifications, licenses, passports, visas, health cards, etc. were automatically checked by the airlines so this kind of thing wouldn't happen. In this era of computerized everything, there's really no excuse.

And why couldn't the copilot do it?

I wonder if something else was going on that the plane couldn't land at Jackson Hole, but TPTB aren't telling.

 

[1LoverofGod]

I wonder if this is what happens when you force pilots into retirement or into the vax, then a bunch of vaxxed pilots die of heart trouble leaving a huge vacancy and a crisis level of new and barely qualified pilots.

Actions have consequences.

Diversion Equity and Inclusion
Oops did I say Diversion?
I mean Diversity

 

[Margery]

Odd how those letters also spell DIE!

 

[1LoverofGod]

Odd how those letters also spell DIE!

Just wait until they replace human pilots with Robots, like how they are now doing in medical and dental procedures, and then the Robot goes berserk like that Robot that hurled itself down the stairs in South Korea for some unknown reason, and nosedives the plane because it's confused. Now that would keep me off a plane permanently.

 

[Margery]

Just wait until they replace human pilots with Robots, like how they are now doing in medical and dental procedures, and then the Robot goes berserk like that Robot that hurled itself down the stairs in South Korea for some unknown reason, and nosedives the plane because it's confused. Now that would keep me off a plane permanently.

As the proud owner of a robot vacuum who loses it's tiny brain regularly, I think that would scare the living daylights out of me.

 

[3Nails4Given]

No problem the pilot probably had a outstanding DUI warrant in Jackson Hole

 

[Andiamo]

Why wouldn’t he be certified to land there? Did it have to do with the terrain? If so I’m thinking he was going to try to do it anyway until he saw the terrain and realized he shouldn’t try.

 

[Tall Timbers]

Why wouldn’t he be certified to land there? Did it have to do with the terrain? If so I’m thinking he was going to try to do it anyway until he saw the terrain and realized he shouldn’t try.

I've been wondering the same. Here's what I found: Jackson Hole Airport is a notoriously tricky airport to land at due to its mountainous elevation, short runway and wind shear conditions which all mean it has extra requirements for pilots. Some pilots may only have the clearance to land in ceiling and visibility unlimited conditions, known as CAVU.

He probably could have landed there if the conditions were unlimited visibility and maybe the forecast before they took off made it look like there wouldn't be a problem, but when they got near the conditions were such that this particular pilot wasn't qualified.

In the Air Force if cross winds exceeded 25 Nautical Miles we'd divert, except in cases where there was no place to divert to. One of our aircraft crashed and burned while trying to land at Shemya Air Base some decades ago.

Airports tend to have two separate air strips going in different directions so that strong crosswinds can be avoided.

 

[Andiamo]

I've been wondering the same. Here's what I found: Jackson Hole Airport is a notoriously tricky airport to land at due to its mountainous elevation, short runway and wind shear conditions which all mean it has extra requirements for pilots. Some pilots may only have the clearance to land in ceiling and visibility unlimited conditions, known as CAVU.

He probably could have landed there if the conditions were unlimited visibility and maybe the forecast before they took off made it look like there wouldn't be a problem, but when they got near the conditions were such that this particular pilot wasn't qualified.

In the Air Force if cross winds exceeded 25 Nautical Miles we'd divert, except in cases where there was no place to divert to. One of our aircraft crashed and burned while trying to land at Shemya Air Base some decades ago.

Airports tend to have two separate air strips going in different directions so that strong crosswinds can be avoided.

Wow. Well that was not good, whomever scheduled him for that. Seeing as weather forecasts are not something we can count on with any certainty.

 

[Andiamo]

I haven’t been on a plane in many years. Never been too crazy about it but every year I find more reasons not to get on a plane. If it isn’t a drunk pilot or a part falling off or big flames shooting out the engine, it’s some nut case that the passengers have to beat up
and duct tape to the floor. Think I’ll drive.