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‘Unqualified’ pilot diverts plane at last minute
An Alaska Airlines flight had to make a last minute diversion, with the pilot telling passengers he was not qualified to land at the intended airport.
The ‘weird’ intercom confession came as the flight was already in its descent into Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The pilot was forced to divert the plane, which departed from San Francisco, to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jackson Hole is a high altitude airport within mountainous terrain.
The flight was operated by Alaska Air’s regional partner SkyWest.
One passenger said the Embraer jet stood on the tarmac at Salt Lake City while a qualified replacement pilot was found.
The plane eventually touched down at Jackson Hole three hours late.
“Hey, I’m really sorry folks but due to me not having the proper qualification, we need to divert to Salt Lake City Utah,” the passenger posted on Reddit, citing the pilot’s message.
“We then landed in Salt Lake City, waited on the tarmac for about 1.5 hours, and a new pilot from Salt Lake City got on the plane and we flew into Jackson.”
Due to the timing of the diversion, it may have been a weather related issue rather than simply a rostering problem.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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