Alaska Airlines Flight In-Air Emergency: Pilot Announces ‘I’m Not Qualified to Land This Flight’

There is a lot of bad news surrounding the airline industry lately. With rates jacked up, planes suffering gear issues and some airlines still trying to get back to normal after a major data outage, it hasn't been fun to think about flying.

But the last thing you want to think about is your pilot not being properly equipped to fly your aircraft.

On a recent Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco to Wyoming, passengers experienced an unexpected diversion that really startled them when their pilot announced he was not "qualified" to land their flight, View From the Wing reports.

Here's what happened:

The flight left from San Francisco for Jackson Hole, Wyo., but had to land in Salt Lake City instead. Imagine how passengers must have felt hearing this over the intercom:

"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," their pilot said, dropping this shocker: "I'm not qualified to land this flight. We’ll keep you posted on the next steps."

After a bumpy landing in Utah, the plane sat on the tarmac for about an hour-and-a-half before a new pilot arrived to take over.

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Perhaps View From the Wing nailed the reason in explaining that at an elevation of more than 6,500 ft. — it's surrounded by the Teton Mountains — landing in SLC is "tricky."

Alaska Airlines has not made an official statement on the incident, and passengers did arrive at their destination, just three hours behind schedule.