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Terauchi interview transcript, Dick Gordon, 2 Jan 1987

FAA via National Archives / The Black Vault · 20 pages · text from the file's own layer

This FAA record of interview documents a January 2, 1987 session in Anchorage, Alaska, in which Inspector Richard O. Gordon of FSDO-63 questioned JAL Captain Kenju Terauchi about his crew's November 17, 1986 sighting. Terauchi describes two small craft with exhaust-like lights that flew near his aircraft and a much larger mothership, and says the target appeared green on his onboard radar. He also reports VHF interference and says the objects matched his 360-degree turn and his descent.

F. Fujii (Japanese) No ah magnetic
K. Terauchi No ah no •
R. Gordon No gages, or the instruments or the RMI on everything stayed
okay, no magnetic disturbances? Okay. Ah, did the intensity of
the objects lights change? I think he just explained that didn't
he on that ah • • •
S. Mimoto (unintelligible) you mean intensity of light?
R. Gordon No on this object here, did the, did the intensity of these
lights change, and I think he just explained that, ah
F. Fujii You mean by distance, right?
R. Gordon No the intensity, the brightness of the, ah . . .
s. Mimoto (unintelligible)
F. Fujii Did the intensity of lights change?
K. Terauchi No, it did not change.
R. Gordon They didn't change, huh?
K. Terauchi Steady, steady.
R. Gordon Okay, the intensity was steady?
K. Terauchi Yes
K. Terauchi Visibility ah, more clear, all the way clear, clear sky.
R. Gordon Okay • • •
K. Terauchi Clear sky
R. Gordon How about visibilty? What would you estimate, you know when
you're coming down from up there where we enter over Alaska where
you come off the sea and hit Alaska, you come up a ways and then
you can see Fairbanks out here, no problems seeing Fairbanks?
K. Terauchi When flying over Fort Yukon • • •
R. Gordon Fort Yukon, yeah.
K. Terauchi We can see ah Fairbanks and Eilsen Air Base.
R. Gordon Okay, yes, good, that's real clear, that's that's fine.
Shinbashi It was near full moon wasn't it?
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Hearing transcript, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 20 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.