{"id":68262,"date":"2024-08-11T20:08:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T14:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=68262"},"modified":"2024-08-11T20:08:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T14:38:17","slug":"alaska-airlines-pilot-not-qualified-to-land-at-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/11\/alaska-airlines-pilot-not-qualified-to-land-at-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Wierd: Alaska Airlines Pilot Not Qualified to Land at Destined Airport, Diverts to Another"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>SALT LAKE CITY-<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?s=Alaska+Airlines\">Alaska Airlines (AS)<\/a> flight AS3491 from San Francisco (SFO) to Jackson Hole (JAC), Wyoming, operated by regional partner Skywest (OO), encountered an unusual situation on August 8, forcing a diversion to Salt Lake City (SLC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The incident occurred when the pilot announced he lacked the necessary qualifications to land at the destination airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-29.png\" alt=\"Wierd: Alaska Airlines Pilot Not Qualified to Land at Destined Airport, Diverts to Another\" class=\"wp-image-52622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-29.png 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-29-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-29-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-29-750x500.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: Ian Abbott | Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-alaska-airlines-pilot-not-qualified-to-land\">Alaska Airlines Pilot Not Qualified to Land<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a passenger&#8217;s account on Reddit, the flight attendants were preparing for landing when the pilot made an unexpected announcement over the public address system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Hey, I&#8217;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&#8217;ll keep you posted on the next steps.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Embraer jet landed in Salt Lake City, where passengers waited on the tarmac for approximately 1.5 hours. The original pilot disembarked, described by the passenger as a &#8220;walk of shame since his bag was in the overhead in the back of the plane,&#8221; and a replacement pilot took over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"reddit-embed-bq\" style=\"height:316px\" data-embed-height=\"316\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AlaskaAirlines\/comments\/1eo2jgu\/something_very_weird_happened_on_our_alaska\/\">Something VERY weird happened on our Alaska flight yesterday: our pilot was unqualified to land??<\/a><br> by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/babecityrecords\/\">u\/babecityrecords<\/a> in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AlaskaAirlines\/\">AlaskaAirlines<\/a><\/blockquote><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.reddit.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reddit user, &#8216;<em>babecityrecords<\/em>&#8216;, further detailed: &#8220;We then landed in Jackson, but it was perhaps the bumpiest landing in the descent I&#8217;ve ever experienced. Overall we landed about 3 hours later than we were supposed to, because of an unqualified pilot?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The flight was operated by a 9.2-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?s=Embraer\">Embraer <\/a>E175LR, registered as N170SY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"Alaska Airlines Pilot\" class=\"wp-image-68265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-50x28.webp 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-1600x900.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-450x253.webp 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq-1200x675.webp 1200w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0c46s8rq.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: Alaska Airlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-this-can-happen\">How this can Happen?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jackson Hole airport presents unique challenges due to its high elevation (over 6,500 feet above sea level) and location within the Teton Mountains. The airport&#8217;s valley setting contributes to variable weather conditions, leading aviation authorities to set strict &#8220;minimums&#8221; for landing approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These &#8220;minimums&#8221; refer to the lowest altitude a pilot can descend during an instrument approach without visual contact with the runway. Airlines and regulators often impose &#8220;high minimums&#8221; on newer pilots or those lacking specific training for challenging airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The diversion likely occurred because deteriorating weather conditions at Jackson Hole exceeded the captain&#8217;s authorized minimums. This scenario explains why a replacement pilot was necessary and why the eventual landing was described as &#8220;bumpy&#8221; by passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Industry expert Gary Leff suggests that a scheduling error is unlikely to be the cause. He states, &#8220;Even if the airline made a mistake, along the lines of when American Airlines flew a plane to Hawaii that wasn&#8217;t qualified for overwater operations, I fully imagine that the pilot would reject the assignment.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leff proposes an alternative explanation: &#8220;Perhaps not being qualified wasn&#8217;t a formal statement, as much as an expression that the captain didn&#8217;t feel confident at the controls in the particular wind scenario that later led to a bumpy landing.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"Wierd: Alaska Airlines Pilot Not Qualified to Land at Destined Airport, Diverts to Another\" class=\"wp-image-39630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-50x28.jpg 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831-450x254.jpg 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1200px-HorizonAirEmbraerE175N633QX_YYCNovember2018-e1719932868831.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: By Johnnyw3 &#8211; Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=74714583<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bottom-line\">Bottom Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?s=FAA\">Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)<\/a> has not formally reported this incident on its Aviation Accidents and Incidents page. Hope they investigate and find out the actual reason for the diversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, Alaska Pilots are in the news following past incidents, including a pilot who attempted to shut down one of the engines and tried to crash the aircraft as he was going through mental issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are your thoughts on the Alaska Airlines Pilot incident? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/s\/aviationa2z\" rel=\"nofollow\">Telegram Group&nbsp;<\/a>for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMPLdrgsw_-jGAw?hl=en-IN&amp;gl=IN&amp;ceid=IN%3Aen\">Google News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-aviation-a-2-z wp-block-embed-aviation-a-2-z\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"dZUpvgKkqM\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/29\/alaska-airlines-pilot-incident-calls-faa-for-new-mental-health-reform\/\">Alaska Airlines Pilot Incident Calls FAA for the New Mental Health Reform<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Alaska Airlines Pilot Incident Calls FAA for the New Mental Health Reform&#8221; &#8212; Aviation A2Z\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/29\/alaska-airlines-pilot-incident-calls-faa-for-new-mental-health-reform\/embed\/#?secret=S9jsXMxonD#?secret=dZUpvgKkqM\" data-secret=\"dZUpvgKkqM\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alaska Airlines (AS) flight AS3491 from San Francisco (SFO) to Jackson Hole (JAC), Wyoming, operated by regional partner Skywest (OO), encountered an unusual situation on August 8, forcing a diversion to Salt Lake City (SLC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8577,6761,7308],"tags":[190,17311,19124,15707,14611,20260,3082,3557,19655],"class_list":{"0":"post-68262","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-aviation-incident","8":"category-news","9":"category-us-airlines-news","10":"tag-alaska-airlines","11":"tag-alaska-airlines-737","12":"tag-alaska-airlines-737-cockpit-door","13":"tag-alaska-airlines-pilot","14":"tag-alaska-airlines-pilot-incident","15":"tag-alaska-airlines-pilot-salary","16":"tag-salt-lake-city","17":"tag-san-francisco-airport","18":"tag-skywest"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68262"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68267,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68262\/revisions\/68267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}