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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.S Deportmenf of Tronsporta!ion Federal AvkJtlon Administration Dr. Richa rd F. Haines Research Consultant 325 Langt on Avenue Los Altos, CA 94022 Dear Dr. Haines: 7 0 1 C S1r ee 1. Bo x 14 An c hor a ge, Al a si-a 9 95 13 March 18, 1987 St eve Hayes, Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs in our Washington, D.C. off ice has forwarded your letter of February 16, 1987, to me for reply. Most of t he material you requested in your letter, ie JAL 1628 voice transcripts, etc. have been sent and you should have received the material by now. This also includes our file on the Alaska Airlines report which occurred on January 29, 1987. The or ig inal recorded radar tape of JAL flight 1628, November 17, 1986, is kept in a secure vault at our Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage. I don't know if t he FAA Technical research center in Atlantic City has a copy or not. Normally we do not keep these tapes after an investigation or inquiry has been completed, however we do plan on keeping this one into the foreseeable future. Ther e was no radar coverage in the area of the Alaska Airlines report. You mentioned visiting the FAA office in D.C. with the intent of reviewing the r adar tape. This, as you now realize, is not possible as they do not have the t ape. The only place that this tape can be replayed in live time is at the FAA Tec hn ical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. No one else has the equipment. The Anchor age Center can put it back up on a screen by hand typing the computer codes f r om the radar tape. This is a laborious, time consuming task that no one i s anxious or interested i n doin g again. Ther e ar e t wo related items however which might be helpful. 1). Enclosed is a copy of t he r adar computer printout for the JAL 1628 flight. You may have alrea dy r ece ived a copy. This printout sets forth the radar data returns in chronol ogical order. This is very i mport an t if one is to make legitimate comparisons of t he radar returns . It clearly shows the uncorrelated returns and the f act that the data was not returning to the Center at the same time. This accounts f or t he uncorrelated target ret urns and the distance between them (as the aircraf t conti nued to move). The second item 2). is an i nvitation to you to visit the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center and watc h the same radar system (out of Fairbanks) as it tracks aircraft. I di d t his a fe w weeks ago when I was out there, and it produces the sa me kind of uncorrelated target returns. Hope we get t o meet sometime. Best re gards. ~U~Paul Steucke
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