An Alaska Airlines pilot reportedly admitted to passengers mid-flight that he was not qualified to land the plane at their destination, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and had to divert the jet to Utah to change pilots.

Alaska Airlines/SkyWest flight 3491 -- which originated in San Francisco -- was nearing Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) on Aug. 8 when the pilot made the announcement from the cockpit, the Cowboy State Daily reported, citing a Reddit user who claimed to be on the flight.

"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 user -- identified by the outlet as Jon Weiss -- quoted the pilot as saying in a Reddit post.

The pilot then landed the plane, a Skywest-operated twin-jet Embraer ERJ 175, at the Salt Lake City airport, where passengers had to wait an hour and a half for a replacement pilot.

The pilot apologized to the passengers but offered no other explanation beyond apparently being unqualified to land the jet at their destination.

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This picture taken on May 28, 2021 shows a view of (front to back) an Avcon Jet Cessna Citation X, a Canadair Challenger 850, an EasyJet Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus' southern coastal city. Amir Makar/AFP via Getty Images

According to the Reddit user, the unnamed pilot did a "walk of shame" before a colleague who was certified to land the plane in Jackson Hole took over.

The flight's passengers reportedly did not make it to Jackson Hole until 2:55 p.m. local time -- more than three hours after their original arrival time.

However, the Reddit user claimed that their landing in Jackson Hole was "perhaps the bumpiest" he'd ever experienced before sharing some of his unanswered questions.

"First, why [the f**k] would they have a pilot not qualified to land in Jackson take off in the first place? Were they lying to cover something else, or is that just something that happens?" he wrote.

"Second, is flying into Jackson like a Level 10 final boss sort of thing?" the user continued. "And again, why [the f**k] would they have this unqualified pilot take off?"

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An interior view of an American Airlines B737 MAX airplane is seen at Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas on December 2, 2020. Getty Images

In a statement to Cowboy State Daily, SkyWest confirmed that the flight was indeed "diverted" and blamed the incident on a "paperwork error."

"[Flight 3491] landed for a short time in Salt Lake City to correct a paperwork error related to the flight crew," the airline said.

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It continued, "The flight continued to Jackson Hole after a delay while a new pilot was secured to operate the flight. All pilots involved were qualified to fly and land the aircraft; the flight diverted from Jackson Hole due to an internal administrative error and out of abundance of caution."

JAC director Jim Elwood also told the outlet that each airline "has its own training programs and pilot certification protocol."

Landing at Jackson Hole's airport is considered "tricky" by even experienced pilots due to its runway elevation of over 6,451 feet and the area's frequently changing weather.