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News clippings

FAA via National Archives / The Black Vault · 51 pages · text from the file's own layer

This FAA file, released through the National Archives and The Black Vault, collects 1987 newspaper clippings about Japan Air Lines Flight 1628. Capt. Kenju Terauchi reported that lights and a huge walnut-shaped object followed his 747 cargo jet over Alaska on November 17, 1986. The articles quote FAA spokesman Paul Steucke saying the radar returns were a split image and military clutter, and report Philip Klass's explanation that Terauchi saw Jupiter and Mars. Terauchi's second sighting in January was attributed to village lights reflecting off ice crystals.

FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS MINER - DATE__^^^J^^_j3_J9QjZ.
-ByJIMFAIN '
. WASHINGTON—Flying saucers
are as pure a blessing as fresh air
and snowflakes, but—in our chp-
lish way—we insist on thinking
they're out to get us.
The record proves these celestial
sprites never harm a soul, though
some humans do them^lves in by
chasingthemtoofar, toohighor too
fast. Saucers are friendly, inquisi
tive, fun-loving. Only pointy-head
bureaucrats call them UFOs.
When a Japanese cargo pilot
spotted a giant walnut of a saucer,
"two times bigger than an aircraft^
carrier," flyingformation with hun
over the Arctic recently, he reacted
with characteristic humanoid skit-
tishness. He got FAApermission to
take evasive maneuvers.
Silly, boy. NoMy evades a sauc
er; To these fun-loving visitors
h'om outer space, a plane's darting
away is an invitation to dance.L <
I've followed''saucers since their
debut in 1947..Ih the late '50s, as an
Air Force reservist, I had a desk in
an intelligenceshopnexttothe I^o-
ject Blue Book officer who resear-
ched'all saucer sightings;-
^ He found the saucers curious abh
out everyttiing oh earth, especially •
junk food. Agentleman in^e Mid
west once came uponseveral extra-
territorials picnicking by a parked
saucer.He sent in a sample of what
they had been eating. Chemical
analysis showed it to be pancake
mix.
Any student of p^chographics
knows flapjack eat^ arelaidback-
and mellow^ If saucer crews were,
mean-spirited ideologues like Patrs
rick Buchanan^ they would not eat
flapjacks. They woudd breakfast on.
All-Bran and fried eggs like other:
curmudgeons.
Saucers contribute to the gross.
national product, providing weekly
articles for the tabloids supermar-
kets s^. These frequently deal.
with food; as when a saucer several
years'ago hijacked a truck load'of
peanutbutter. It was returned after.
tasting, much as a magician hand^
ba<^ your tie after appearing^: to
mangle it; Though saucers-are^
corrigibliynu^hievdusi that's not
a^ mean-pr^fmendacibusibonerin
them.V: " -
The curirtnt W^kly World News:
features a sketch of a female space'
alien under, a: headline; -^UFO,.
Crasir.SurvivbrV om the Loose;"v
ThiS'lady wi
crashed in i
escaped, froij
and may be 01
the tabloid sa
invariably dc
harmconiin^
tra-tenesteia
Fb^et it, j
Earthlings gi
brim with gu
not germs.
Why dopeo
saucers are I
cause we mal
our owh'ima
ridden to gras
fultoapprecu
we lack the
absurdity of I
thing out to b
By SUE CROSS
Associated Aess Writer
JUNEAU^Alaska officials have
been trumpeting stopover,
bitsinesss at the Anchorage and.
Fairbanks international airports
asa bigplus for thestateeconomy,^
but they're worried about losing'
that advantage because of new
aviation'technology and competi
tion.
Several travelpromotion groups
and nearly all of the Alaska Senate
want to offset the changes with an
aggressive maiketiog plan for ther
airports..' •
"If.wedon't do that,,we'rego to
have an international air^rt sys-
teinthat,instead ofmaking money
as it does today, will lose money.
When it starts, losing money, the
landing fees and fueling fees for
domestic flights will go upandallof
us will be hurt," says Dale Fox,,
director of the Alaska Visitors
'Association.' Fmc Was in Juneau tOr'.
day to ask state officials to boost
their airpbri marketing efforts. ''
Aresolution (SCR5) aski^ tbe
Cowper adniiidstration tocomeup'
' with a promotionalplan for the air^
ports was introducedWednesday in^
the Alaska Settate.-It was-drafted
by Sen. Arliss Sturgulewski; R-
Anchorage, and co-sponsored by 18
other senators.
. A.major.angle of state^touririn'.
effbrtshas been toget international'
passengers from flights-refueling
inAlaska bfftheirplmi^tovisit the
state enroute to their finnj destiha^
tions.
In addition, cargo flijghts make
up 60percent of tte airports' busi*
ness, and they must not be lost to;
.ottier states; Fox said: , T
But according totheImposedre-
Mltitibn; ^Alaska; airpG^' success^
in winning' stb^ver. business; iSi
behig jeopardized by development::
of new-aircraft capable'of flying .
nonstop, between ^irope'aiul the"
OrioitL-f'-V; 'V-
Ofiierairpdrts'aroumlthePaciflci
Rim ateo are prpmotfiig them- ^
selv^'to- g^'a.gceat^'share-of''
markets-for trims-Pacific Iljghts,F
international hairism' azidair car-1
go,Sturgulew^-said;\^ -f! '..rJ
;.Fox said such promotionsTiuive-^
long^been run byttie SeattteVNew.-
Yoriq^L^ Angel^ anH bth^ major
about'theencc*-
airports
cities asj
tinginta
"And
advant^
<ff'its id
than its j
said;:'
lySturgul
tolow ^
atedlast
and:Fair
cqmecaii
vdiues:-]
. "Goodi
is good
said.

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 51 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.