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Official reports, hearing transcripts, case files and releases: the paper behind the cases. 2,872 documents, 2,610 mirrored with their text, 53,529 pages indexed, so a search reads inside them and lands on the page.
New in the library The PURSUE files The Department of War's UAP release, mirrored in full: the videos, recordings and images, each beside its case file.Documents33 records
This FAA release from the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center contains personnel statements dated November 1986 and January 1987 about Japan Airlines Flight 1628 north of Fairbanks, Alaska, on November 18, 1986. Controllers Henley, Rich and Aarnink describe the pilot reporting traffic with white and yellow lights and say they saw intermittent radar returns that the military ROCC also reported. Supervisor Rollins and specialists Keller and Wylie say reviews of the recorded radar data found no target information near the reported traffic.
This FAA daily record of facility operation (Form 7230-4) comes from the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZAN) and is dated 11-17-86. It was released through The Black Vault. Most entries cover routine operations, including SIGMETs, radar outages and NOTAMs for the Mt. Pavlof eruption. The log also records that JL1628, a 747 bound for Anchorage, reported traffic at FL350 with white and yellow strobes that appeared to pace it. Controllers had intermittent radar contact but identified no known traffic, and the Washington ROC was briefed.
This handwritten Japanese statement with sketches, released by the FAA and republished by The Black Vault, is Captain Terauchi's first-hand account of Japan Air Lines cargo flight JL1628 on 17 November 1986. It tells how the Boeing 747 left Keflavik, Iceland, on a special wine cargo flight and, over Alaska, was accompanied for about 50 minutes by two small spaceships and one huge mothership. It describes the lights, the onboard weather radar return, Anchorage Center's exchanges and a United Airlines flight's attempt to see the object.
This Federal Aviation Administration memorandum from the Air Traffic Manager of Anchorage ARTCC, dated December 18, 1986, forwards a chronology of Japan Airlines Flight 1628's reported sightings of unidentified traffic on November 18, 1986. The chronology records the pilot's reports of lights and the course changes that followed, along with contacts with the military ROCC, Fairbanks Approach and a United flight. It concludes that Anchorage Center radar data did not confirm any traffic near the aircraft.
This FAA compilation, released through the National Archives and The Black Vault, covers Japan Airlines Flight 628's sighting over Alaska on January 11, 1987. It includes an FAA incident report dated February 1987, a chronology of the communications between the crew and Anchorage ARTCC, and statements from controllers and a meteorologist. Radar showed no traffic near the aircraft apart from weather clutter. The report says Captain Terauchi later believed the lights were village lights distorted by ice crystals.
This FAA compilation, released through The Black Vault, covers an incident on January 29, 1987 involving Alaska Airlines Flight 53. The Boeing 737 was flying from Nome to Anchorage when its crew saw a fast-moving target on their weather radar about 60 miles west of McGrath, Alaska. The file includes an incident record, a certified controller transcript, the FAA's crew interview statement and a news release. Anchorage Center's radar data showed no such aircraft, and the USAF reported no military traffic in the area.
This Federal Aviation Administration file, released through The Black Vault, collects FAA Alaskan Region records on the UFO sighting reported by Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. It includes a February 1987 FOIA route slip, an alert report to the Administrator, handwritten notes on calls with the Air Force, a duty officer checklist and a table of contents. According to the records, the crew followed lighted traffic for over 350 miles, while the Air Force treated its radar returns as clutter or spurious signals.
This FAA release, obtained through The Black Vault, contains Air Transportation Security interview notes on FAA Form 1600-32. They cover the November 17, 1986 interview in Anchorage, Alaska, of the crew of JAL Flight 1628. Captain Kenju Terauchi and his crew reported yellow, amber and green lights ahead of and beside their Boeing 747, and the object also showed on the onboard radar. The notes add that Anchorage center and NORAD had radar targets, and that the only system problem was VHF static.
This is an English translation of Captain Kenju Terauchi's personal statement about the November 17, 1986 sighting by Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 over Alaska. Sayoko Mimoto of the FAA Alaskan Region translated it, and the FAA received it on January 2, 1987. Terauchi describes two lights pacing the Boeing 747 cargo jet, square spaceships stopping in front of the aircraft, a green object on the plane's weather radar, and a gigantic mothership seen near Fairbanks. He says the encounter lasted about 50 minutes and ended north of Talkeetna.
This FAA Form 8020-5 aircraft incident record, filed by Jerry Paterson of FAA office AAL-207 and dated January 26, 1987, covers Japan Airlines Flight 1628. The all-cargo Boeing 747 was flying from Keflavik, Iceland to Anchorage, Alaska on November 17, 1986, near Fort Yukon. The captain reported unidentified traffic at his altitude that stayed near the aircraft through a descent and turns. The traffic was seen on weather radar and at times by Anchorage Center and military radar. The attachments include crew interview transcripts, Captain Terauchi's drawing and ATC tapes.
This set of Federal Aviation Administration Alaskan Region news releases and notes, dated December 1986 to March 1987, covers the Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 sighting of November 17, 1986. It includes interview notes with Captain Kenjyu Terauchi's crew. The FAA said it could not confirm the event and attributed the second radar target to a split radar return from the 747. The releases also describe an Alaska Airlines weather radar sighting and Terauchi's January 1987 lights, which were attributed to ice crystals.
This FAA record of interview documents a session held January 5, 1987, at the Federal Building in Anchorage, Alaska. Inspector Peter E. Beckner of AAL-207 questioned JAL First Officer Takanori Tamefuji, with interpreter Sayoko Mimoto, about the November 17, 1986 sighting. Tamefuji said he saw very bright, multicolored lights resembling head-on traffic for about five to ten minutes, along with a large green echo on the airborne radar. His seat position kept him from seeing it after that. He rejected reflection and weather explanations and said he was certain he saw something.
This FAA interview transcript, released through the National Archives and The Black Vault, records Pete Beckner of the FAA questioning JAL flight engineer Yoshie Tsukuba on January 15, 1987, with Sayoko Mimoto interpreting. The subject is the UFO that Captain Terauchi reported on November 17, 1986. Tsukuba says he saw clusters of white or amber lights ahead of the aircraft for about ten minutes, plus a fainter second light and a return on the weather radar. He adds that he was still unsure whether it was a UFO.
This undated chart, released through The Black Vault, is a radar flight path chart prepared at the FAA's Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center. The surviving text is its legend. The legend defines radar return categories: beacon with merged primary, beacon with offset primary, split primary returns and split beacon returns. It lists the chart's preparers as cartographer Phil Shutt, automation specialist Manfred F. Keller and quality assurance specialist Anthony M. Wylie. The text reaches no conclusions and does not name any incident.
This FAA memorandum from Quentin J. Gates, Air Traffic Manager at the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center, is dated January 9, 1987. It certifies a transcript of radio and interphone communications about Japan Airlines Flight 1628 on November 18, 1986, from 0214 to 0259 UTC. The crew reports unidentified traffic nearby. Military radar notes intermittent primary returns. United Airlines Flight 69 and a military C-130 are vectored to look, but neither sees any other aircraft near the 747.
This FAA Inspection and Surveillance Record, Form 3112, is dated 11/17/86 and comes from the Anchorage district office AAC-ASDO-63. Inspector Jack Wright wrote it after interviewing the crew of JAL Boeing 747 cargo Flight 1628 from Iceland to Anchorage. Captain Terauchi reported an object with lights that was bigger than the 747 and followed the aircraft for about 55 minutes after it crossed the Canadian-Alaskan border. The crew also saw it on weather radar. The inspector described the crew as shaken but professional and noted that tapes were requested to be saved.
This file is an inventory of audio cassettes attributed to the FAA and released through the National Archives and The Black Vault. It has no date. The extracted text holds only The Black Vault's cover page, which says John Greenewald, Jr. made the document available through FOIA declassification research. None of the inventory itself or any case details came through in the extracted text.
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.
This FAA Alaskan Region compilation, released through the National Archives and The Black Vault, collects the media inquiries about the November 17, 1986 sighting reported by the crew of Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 over Alaska. It includes call logs, a tally of newspaper articles, a public affairs management report citing 101 inquiries, and press releases. The FAA's March 5, 1987 release concluded that the second radar target was a split return from the JAL Boeing 747 and said no further investigation was planned.
This FAA Alaskan Region file, released through The Black Vault, collects public affairs material on the November 17, 1986 sighting by the crew of Japan Airlines flight 1628. It includes a 1987 Alaska PRSA Aurora Award entry and Paul Steucke's January 5, 1987 memo, which planned a single release of all data at a March 5, 1987 press conference. It also contains UFO group contact sheets, a Phenomena Research Report newsletter and Anchorage Times clippings, including one attributing a flash over Alaska to Soviet rocket fuel.
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.
This package was compiled by the FAA Alaskan Region Public Affairs Office in Anchorage and sent to FAA managers with a memo from Paul Steucke dated March 5, 1987. It gathers material on the November 17, 1986 sighting by the crew of Japan Air Lines flight 1628: a news release, pilot and controller transcripts, crew interviews and radar analysis. The FAA concluded that it could not confirm the event. It attributed the second radar target to a split, uncorrelated return from the JAL Boeing 747 and planned no further investigation.
This release from the Federal Aviation Administration, made public through The Black Vault, is a set of FAA Form 7230-10 position logs from the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center dated November 17, 1986, with a November 18, 1986 stamp. The handwritten forms show controller initials and the times they signed on and off sectors such as Sector 15. Codes mark whether a controller, a supervisor or a trainee held each position. The logs contain no narrative or conclusions.
This FAA Alaskan Region folder, released via the National Archives and The Black Vault, collects public letters written in early 1987 about the November 17, 1986 sighting reported by JAL Captain Kenjyu Terauchi. Many writers ask for the FAA form summarizing the sighting, price lists, radar photos or transcripts, and FAA staff reply with order forms. A San Francisco Chronicle clipping in the folder describes the FAA's $194.30 mail-order package and Philip Klass's conclusion that the pilot saw Jupiter and possibly Mars.
This Black Vault release reproduces a folder of public letters sent to the FAA Alaskan Region in Anchorage, mostly from March 1987 with a few from 1988 and 1989. Many writers say they heard about the materials on Paul Harvey's radio newscast. They ask for tapes, radar images, drawings and summary reports on the November 17, 1986 sighting by the crew of JAL Flight 1628 over Alaska. Several letters mention the FAA's mail-order kit of 20 items and ask about prices.
This FAA Alaskan Region Public Affairs Office release, dated March 5, 1987, is a computer printout of recorded FAA radar data for Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. It covers 38 minutes of computer time and lists 105 radar returns. Of these, 86 are usable and 19 are uncorrelated primary returns. The printout records when the pilot first asked about other traffic and when he said he could not see the UFO. It also explains that uncorrelated returns occur when the primary and beacon signals do not match in position.
This Black Vault release contains FAA Alaskan Region correspondence and an order form for records on the Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 unidentified traffic sighting of November 17, 1986. A May 14, 1987 letter points requesters to an NTIS report, and a February 21, 1987 letter from Public Affairs Officer Paul Steucke introduces the itemized list. That list covers crew interview transcripts, Captain Terauchi's statements and drawings, air traffic control transcripts and tapes, radar data, and news releases.
This FAA document, labeled AAL-5 and dated February 4, 1987, gives selected portions of the air traffic control transcripts for Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 on November 18, 1986 (UTC). It records the crew reporting unidentified traffic with navigation and strobe lights near Fort Yukon and Fairbanks. Anchorage Center, Fairbanks approach and military ROCC radar discuss intermittent primary returns. A United flight and a military C-130 are brought in to look, and neither sees any other aircraft.
This undated FAA document, released through the National Archives and The Black Vault, contains five captioned radar display simulations reconstructing the track of Japan Air Lines flight JL1628 on 11/18/86. The captions describe plotted positions between Fort Yukon and Fairbanks, the pilot's report of an object descending in formation with the aircraft, a 360 degree turn past Fairbanks, and a United flight near Nenana that reported JL1628 in sight around 0250Z.
This FAA package, released through The Black Vault, covers regenerated radar data for Japan Airlines flight 1628 over Alaska on November 17, 1986. It contains photographs of the regenerated radar image taken by Paul Steucke on January 7, 1987, and a chart of the flight track. It also includes a March 5, 1987 public affairs release, a February 27, 1987 Airway Facilities memo and Dennis Simantel's analysis. These attribute the radar returns to uncorrelated primary and beacon targets, which they call normal for the area.
This FAA release, obtained through The Black Vault, collects material on the radar data from Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 over Alaska on November 17, 1986. It includes a March 5, 1987 explanation by FAA public affairs officer Paul Steucke, a February 1987 Airway Facilities memo, and Dennis Simantel's analysis attributing the returns to uncorrelated primary and beacon targets, considered normal. It also contains regenerated radar image photos and a Philadelphia Inquirer magazine article on the sighting and the FAA's inconclusive review.
This FAA release, dated February and March 1987, covers the radar data from Japan Airlines flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. It includes a statement and drawing by Paul Steucke of FAA Public Affairs in Anchorage, a memo from the Airway Facilities Division, and an analysis by Dennis Simantel. They conclude that the radar showed an uncorrelated primary and beacon target, which they describe as a normal timing effect and not an unknown object.
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.