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A Skywest pilot informed passengers that he was not qualified to land the E175 aircraft at Jackson Hole, resulting in a diversion to Salt Lake City. The flight, operating as Alaska Airlines Flight 3491, departed from San Francisco as scheduled but spent several hours on the ground in Salt Lake City while another pilot was arranged to complete the journey.
The incident was reported on Reddit, where a post quoted the pilot addressing passengers over the PA system: "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 airline has yet to confirm the unusual occurrence; however, FlightAware data corroborates the diversion of the Aug. 8 flight. Jackson Hole is known for challenging weather conditions, and it is possible that specific training requirements are mandated for pilots landing there under non-CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) conditions.
