A United Airlines flight from LAX to Denver lost a wheel during takeoff Monday morning, the airline confirmed.
An Alaska Airlines flight operated by Skywest had to be diverted from its scheduled destination, Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), last week after the pilot admitted he did not have clearance to land the plane in Jackson, reports said.
Alaska Airlines/SkyWest Flight 3491 was approaching JAC in Wyoming on Thursday when the pilot reported from the cockpit that he could not land, the Cowboy State Daily reports, citing a Reddit user who claimed to have been on board the flight.
The plane, a twin-engine Embraer ERJ 175, was 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 the scheduled landing time of 11:44 a.m. The flight originated in San Francisco.
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An Alaska SkyWest Embraer E175LR aircraft takes off from Los Angeles International Airport for San Francisco on May 5, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Regional airline SkyWest told Cowboy State Daily that the flight was indeed diverted, citing a lack of “correct documentation” as the reason.
“(Flight 3491) briefly landed in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error regarding the flight crew,” the airline’s statement said. “The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was sought for the flight. All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft; the flight was diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of an abundance of caution.”
SkyWest is a contracted carrier for Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. FOX Business has reached out to SkyWest for comment but has not immediately received a response.
A Reddit user who goes by the username “babecityrecords” posted about the incident in a thread on the chat site, sparking a heated debate about what exactly happened. The thread is titled: “Something VERY strange happened on our Alaska flight yesterday: our pilot was not qualified to land??”
The user said passengers were not informed of the diversion until after they were told to prepare for descent.
“Hey, I’m really sorry guys, but since I’m not qualified to land in Jackson Hole, we’re going to have to divert to Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ll keep you updated on next steps,” the pilot said, according to the Reddit user, who said he and his girlfriend were already nervous flyers.
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Private jets are parked at Jackson Hole Airport in Jackson, Wyoming. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We then landed in Salt Lake City, they apologized again and gave us no further information. We waited on the tarmac for about an hour and a half and then the pilot got off the plane (on a walk of shame since his bag was in the overhead bin at the back of the plane lol) and then a new pilot from Salt Lake City got on the plane and we flew to Jackson,” the user continued.
The Reddit user said the landing in Jackson Hole was possibly “the bumpiest descent landing I’ve ever experienced,” leading some users who identify themselves as pilots to speculate that poor landing conditions may have been the reason for the initial diversion.
Located at an elevation of just under 6,500 feet, Jackson Hole Airport has a Special PIC (Pilot in Command) qualification and a Level 4 SAAT rating, which requires a more experienced line check airman as copilot, according to the Cowboy State Daily, which classifies the approach as “difficult” according to experienced pilots due to frequent downdrafts and wind shear combined with a short runway.
The pilot may not have been experienced enough to land in difficult conditions that pilots call “Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited” (CAVU), which would explain the Reddit user’s description of the bumpy landing.
Jim Elwood, director of Jackson Hole Airport, told the outlet that each individual airline has its own training programs and pilot certification protocols.
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An American flag flies in the wind as an Alaska SkyWest Embraer 175LR aircraft departs San Diego International Airport for San Francisco on June 28, 2024 in San Diego. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
“I suspect that the pilots had recently qualified to land at JAC (because otherwise they would not have been allowed to fly the route – regulations would have required a crew swap), but felt they did not have the experience/confidence to handle the wind or other conditions that day,” said another user.
“For this reason, the pilots decided to abort the landing and play it safe. This shows that the system of controls and communication with air traffic control is working. This should make you less nervous when you fly in the future. Your quote (about the bumpy landing) … would confirm my suspicions.”
