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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. 4 …As part of the inquiry, Steucke said, radar data of the JAL flight track was reviewed…
  • p. 10 …we really haven't got a good track on him ever. If you want we've…
  • p. 12 …1987 UNCORRELATED RADAR SIGNALS Radar data received by the FAA and used to track Japan Airlines…
  • p. 80 …radar targets which showed up as a (-) symbols~ I saw (+) symbols that indicate radar only tracks…
  • p. 86 …The radar track appeared to be normal and consistent with other tracking data I have reviewed…
  • p. 105 …Center computer printout of Continuous Data Recordings (radar tracking data) (15 1 pages) - mo r e-
Tsukuba: Alpha 7,000. It is made by Minoruta.
is called in America. I wonderwhat it
Beckner: Have you seen this kind of thing before? Was this the
first time anything of this nature has happened to you?
Tsukuba: Yes, this was the first tima.
Beckner: Who first sighted the object?
Tsukuba: I do not know which person picked it up first. I was
making a landing data. The Captain told us tc sea if
there is a some kind cf object outsid•.
Beckner: Did you see the radar?
Tsukuba: Whan the Captain told ma ta look, I could se• th•
radar.
Beckner: Were you able to see it on radar? What did you sea on
th• radar?
Tsukuba: Yes, a green dot like, not exactly like a dot. It was
not a dot, but stream like, I think the rang• was about
10 miles. I do not think it was the
same lights as the one I saw in front of us.
Beckner: How was the intensity of the lights? Did th• intensity
of the objects' lights change?
Tsukuba: Basically th• same. I cannot d•5criba it. Not even in
Japanese. Th• first one did not change. Tha second
light was vary difficult to see. It was so vagua.
Beckner: Was any other target picked up on radar?
Tsukuba1 I cannot ram•mber.
difficult to see.
Tha tilt angle of th• radar was
Beckn•r: Difficult to ramamber, on the radar, did you have to
lock for tha object?
Tsukuba: I identified immediately th• one in front of us •
Becknar: At the time of sighting, how were the lighting
conditions outside?
2

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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.