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Klass and Haines inquiries and FAA responses

FAA via National Archives / The Black Vault · 41 pages · text from the file's own layer

This FAA file, released through The Black Vault, collects correspondence and memos about the Japan Air Lines flight 1628 UFO report over Alaska on November 17, 1986. It includes Philip J. Klass's 1987 Skeptical Inquirer article, which attributes the sighting to Jupiter, Mars and moonlit ice clouds, and FAA Alaskan Region public affairs memos on the premature release of investigation material. It also contains Richard F. Haines's request for the case file and Paul Steucke's reply explaining the radar returns as uncorrelated targets.

U.$ Deportment
of Transportation
Federal Aviation
Administration
M mor n u
Subiect ACTION: Release of accident investigation
material, data, information - JL #1628
Date February 2, 1987
From
To
Public Affairs Officer, AAL-5
Deputy Director, AAL-2
Manager, Flight Standards Division, AAL-200
Reply to
Attn . o f
Attached is an article aoout the JAL flight #1628, ( UFD), which appeared on
the wire service, and in the January 30, 1987, Anchorage Daily News.
In the article, a Mr . Phillip J. Klass, editor with the "Aviation Week and
Space Technology" magazine, is reported as saying, "According to Klass, who
reviewed a canplete copy of the transcript ... "
The investigation of this incident has not been canpleted to date and
release of information or material prior to the canpletion of an
investigation is not in keeping with existing policy. Mr. Klass used this
reference to substantiate a position regarding his theory aoout the
sighting.
As a result of this published reference we received several telephone calls
fran correspondents throughout the nation wanting to kncM why they did not
get a canplete copy of the transcript as pranised when Mr. Klass was able
to obtain a copy. We told them we had not released the material to date.
Has the Flight Standards Division provided anyone, other than AAL-5, with a
copy of the transcript, or other materials included in the investigation,
fran the ARTCC, RCX:::C or pilot?
If copies have been provided to others I 'M'.:>uld like to have the names,
titles and routing codes.
cc: AAL- 1
AAL-500

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 41 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.