Documents / Hearing transcript
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.
R. Gordon I get a copy of that Frank? Could we take a picture of that, I would certainly appreciate it. Yes. Alright. I think that's all, can you think of anything we need. K. Terauchi (unintelligible) R. Gordon Yes, please if I could have one. Oh one thing, this track K. Terauchi Oh yeah. This one is ah (unintelligible) so after this one is ah (unintelligible) this point ah ••• R. Gordon Okay, right about the K. Terauchi This point, so we contact Anchorage Center here, so ah two or three minutes, proceed right direct to Talkeetna, so we flew this distance • . • R. Gordon Okay from that point direct to Talkeetna and ah, and then some so you went about there you saw this thing. K. Terauchi Yes, yes, I saw from here . . . so ah . R. Gordon Okay, and then maybe five minutes later along here saying Anchorage do you have anything out there? K. Terauchi Oh yeah, yeah, yeah R. Gordon Okay I have it. To just about Talkeetna? K. Terauchi No no, disappear 75 miles north of Talkeetna R. Gordon Okay 75 miles north of Talkeetna • K. Terauchi Yeah, yeah R. Gordon • it went away. S. Mimoto The small one, not the mothership, were there many light? K. Terauchi Oh yes, there were numerous lights. The exhausts on the engine were lined up all the way, but when they were blasting recoil jets were so strong I could not see it because it was so bright. Once the recoil blast stopped, the speed was absolutely steady, not faster or slower, and I could see them very clearly. S . Mimoto Just one group? K. Terauchi See there were two, appeared in front of us. Right here and right here • both exactly the same. S. Mimoto Only two? K. Terauchi All I saw was two . 18
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.