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Package compiled for FAA managers

FAA via National Archives / The Black Vault · 122 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

  • p. 12 …Steucke said, "The controllers were doing their job right because they have to work with what…
  • p. 17 …it, but one of the people that work for me, I'm the office manager over…
  • p. 24 …Terauchi Working good R. Gordon Good, (laughter) F. Fujii Now how about communications, naviagion, or interferring…
  • p. 67 …this period of time when you were working with ••• T. Tamefuji Oh yeah, hurnmm P. Beckner…
  • p. 80 …I was working the R/Dl5 position from 0156 UTC, November 18, 1986 to 0230 UTC…
  • p. 81 …I was working the Dl5 position f r om 0156 UTC, November 18, 1986 to 0230…
  • p. 83 …I was working the Dl5 position from 0230 UTC, November 18, 1986, to 0530 UTC, November…
  • p. 84 …I was working the El position from 0006 UTC, November 18, 1986 to 0425 UTC, November…
  • p. 85 …1986, to 0900 UTC, November 18, I was working the Area Manager 18, 1986, to 0900…
  • p. 92 INSPECTION AND SURVEILLANCE RECORD 1. WORK A CT IV ITY • 2. UNI 3. HOURS Ille 1…
  • p. 93 INSPECTION AND SURVEILLANCE RECORD I. WORK ACTIVITY 2. UHl T:i . HOURS 4. NAME ANO ADDRESS…
  • p. 96 INSPECTION AHO SURVEILLANCE RECORD 1. WORK ACTIVITY '·NAME AMO AOORESS 01" CARRIER, OPERATOR, AIRPORT, AGENCY, OR…
  • p. 105 …Position Logs. (Record of which employees were working each position at what time.) (2 pages) Anchorage…
  • p. 108 …Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group; Rebecca Osborne and Catherine Scott, IBM; Karen Griggs…
  • p. 109 …Creation of Raster Image Master Files Author Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative (FADGI) - Still Image Working Group…
  • p. 110 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 201 o Table of Contents SCOPE ............................................................................................................................ 2…
  • p. 111 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group -August 201 O Image Processing ....................................................................................................................................................... 47 Color Correction…
  • p. 112 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 2010 Meta-Metadata ....... ..... ............. ........... ..... ..... .... .... .. .... ........... ...... ........ ... ..... ... .. .... ......... .. ..... ...... ... ..... .......... ... ....... 76 Assessment ofMetadata Needs…
  • p. 113 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 201 o I. INTRODUCTION Context The Technical…
  • p. 114 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group -August 2010 ln general, master files have the…
  • p. 115 - Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group -August 2010 II. TECHNICAL OVERVIEW Raster Image Characteristics…
  • p. 116 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group -August 2010 printing images all render high-bit…
  • p. 117 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group -August 2010 Viewing Conditions A variety of factors…
  • p. 118 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 201 O temperature may also be necessary…
  • p. 119 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 2010 Future work of the Still Image…
  • p. 120 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 2010 r~ ·~~ .D Q) ~~ ~I Q) l…
  • p. 121 Federal Agencies Digitization Initiative Still Image Working Group - August 2010 - SIGNAL - "' SFR - Spatial Frequency Response - ( ISO…
  • p. 122 Federal Agencies Digitization In itiative Still Image Working Group -August 20 10 - NOISE- Engineering - Radiometric Distortion…
Paul Steucke
FAA Public Affairs
701 C Street, Box 14
Anch. AK 99513 ~·1 arch 5 , 1987
UNCORRELATED RADAR SIGNALS
Radar data received by the FAA and used to track Japan Airlines flight 1628
on the night of the November 17, 1986, was retained by FAA. Review of this
radar data by FAA experts using identical equipment at the FAA's research
technical center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, revealed that the radar system
was receiving what is called an "uncorrelated primary and beacon target".
This electronic phenomena is not unusual according to Steucke who said, "It
is unfortunate that the uncorrelated target phenomena occurred just when a
pilot was reporting seeing something outside his aircraft.
The controller's statements, released by the FAA, indicate that they thought
there might be another aircraft or object in the area of the JAL flight.
Steucke said, "The controllers were doing their job right because they have to
work with what is right there in front of them on the screen, especially when
you have a Captain that is reporting "other traffic" in his irmiediate area.
The .. radar data they had was one target, moving slowly across the radar screen.
They don't have the benefit of "monday morning quarterbacking" with multiple
radar images as was the case in regenerating the radar data." Review of the
radar data by FAA experts revealed the "uncorrelated target" phenomena.
FAA electronic technicians explained that an "uncorrelated primary and
beacon target" on the radar screen occurs when the radar energy that is sent up
toward the aircraft, (primary signal) returns to the radar receiver along with
the aircraft transponder (beacon) signal and the two do not match up as being
at the same exact location.
II

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 122 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.