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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 …They determined that a second radar target near the JAL flight at the time of the…
  • p. 5 AAL-5, FAA February 4, 1987 SELEX:TED PORI'IONS OF TRANSCRIPI'IOO ~ THE INCIDENI' INVOLVING…
  • p. 7 …Approach center (Fairbanks FAA tower) on the sixty one line. Approach. Look at your radar. We…
  • p. 8 …Sir, the military radar advises they do have a primary target in trail of you at…
  • p. 10 …see the traffic any long-er. Affinnative. Okay sir, we're searchi.rXJ this time, we…
  • p. 15 …Th ese uncorrelated primary returns are not uncommon, due critical timing associated with the delay adjustments…
  • p. 17 …Terauchi No, third time. R. Gordon This is the third time that ah that you've…
  • p. 18 …Terauchi Big Ship - yes and the second time ah, the, in my home I saw a…
  • p. 19 …Terauchi I think it was the first time. F. Fujii Who was the first person who…
  • p. 20 …Fujii From the forward you could see the flame and the exhaust and flame were surrounding…
  • p. 21 …This one and this one, the same logic, this point and this point are the same…
  • p. 23 …Fujii When did you pick it up, the radar? K. Terauchi Time? Time? F. Fujii Time…
  • p. 24 …Autopilot stayed on all the time. K. Terauchi Yeah • R. Gordon Okay K. Terauchi Working good…
  • p. 27 …Terauchi See this is the jumbo jet. 1.5, two times this light. R. Gordon Okay…
  • p. 28 …Gordon Yeah, let's see what would you estimate the size of the small ships to…
  • p. 33 …Gordon Yes, yes, you could probably explain that with the thing you have drawn here. Now…
  • p. 35 …See if they were stacked together at the beginning, one must have returned to the mothership…
  • p. 38 Meeting the Future by Kenju Terauchi M~ ,...,. ~ L. '1\ ti;f,) !ST .$, /Y11"'1ol"O Page…
  • p. 39 MEETING THE FUTURE .. Page 5 .. We took a flight course Southeast of Greenland direct to Chule…
  • p. 40 …the same time. The strange phenomenon happened immediately.after we began left rotation, following the order…
  • p. 41 …the ground radar did not show any aircraft but us. They also asked us several times…
  • p. 42 …I changed auto- focus to manual-focus and pressed the shutter but this time the shutter…
  • p. 47 …lone time before we received When we checked our rear there was still the ship!iI…
  • p. 48 …About the same time a United Airline passenger aircraft which left Anchorage to Fairbanks flew into…
  • p. 49 …About the same time a United Airline passenger aircraft which left Anchorage to Fairbanks flew into…
  • p. 50 ~Page 16~ The strange encounter ended at 75 miles North of Talkeetna, 150 miles (Approximately 276…
  • p. 51 …The following is a record of the interview: P. Beckner ? P. Beckner Conducted at this time…
  • p. 53 …clear • And you could distinguish this lights as being different from the star . . ?.. NNNooo . . . • from the…
  • p. 54 …Tamefuji ••• so maybe he couldn't see at that time, but the Captain and me (unintelligible…
  • p. 57 …Mimoto The physical requires him to wear glasses. P. Beckner Okay , how ' bout - how 'bout the…
  • p. 58 …Now - the time of the incident, when - when you guys first saw the objects, ah what…
  • p. 60 …long did you see this total, the length of time that you saw it? T. Tamefuji…
  • p. 66 …Beckner By the engineer table? T. Tamefuji Yes, I - when I saw, but ah, cockpit was…
  • p. 67 …the trip? He felt that, er, er, was it just during this period of time when…
  • p. 68 …Beckner First saw the object? T. Tamefuj1 Hummm , I thi nk ah , at the same time…
  • p. 69 …So pretty much at the same time you both saw it? T ~ Tamefuji Right P. Beckner…
  • p. 70 …Beckner ••• or were they pretty much the same intensity for the time that you saw them…
  • p. 72 …And tha - so that was the last time you saw it, was prior to the turn…
  • p. 74 …after I sighted it the first time. The reason is because the Captain wanted to take…
  • p. 75 …At the time of sighting, how were the lighting conditions outside? 2
  • p. 78 …When I was interviewed here at the first time by FAA personnel, I was not sure…
  • p. 80 PERSONNEL STATEMENT FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center January 6, 1987 The following…
  • p. 81 …ROCC did have primary ta r get in the same position JL1628 reported. Several times I…
  • p. 84 …During the time period p~ior to this incident all operations were normal. I had assigned…
  • p. 88 …They stated that all they oould see were the lights and at no time could they…
  • p. 100 …At no time did either crewmember see anything outside the aircraft. The area is not within…
  • p. 101 …directly over the town of Arctic Village, Alaska, at the time of the first sighting and…
  • p. 103 …Department of TransportctiOn Federal Aviation Administration (The event occurred Ofhce of Public Affus Alaskan Region 701…
  • p. 104 …18, 1986 UTC (The event occurred on November 17, 1986 Alaska Standard Time) PLE ASE MARK…
  • p. 114 …as derivatives and duplicates) • Document the image at the time of scanning, not what it may…
  • p. 115 …adjustments to the tone distribution and/or color balance. However, at this time, monitors for viewing…
  • p. 116 …benefits, at this time we feel that RGB files produced to the color and tone reproduction…
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PERSONNEL STATEMENT
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center
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The following is a report concerning the incident to aircraft JL1628 on
November 18 , 1986 at 0230 UTC.
My name is Carl E. Henley (HC) I am employed as an Air Traffic Control
Specialist by the Federal Aviation Administration at the Anchorage Air Route
Traffic Control Center, Anchorage, Alaska.
During the period of 2030 UTC, November 17, 1986, to 0430 UTC, November 18,
1986 I was on duty in the Anchorage ARTCC. I was working the Dl5 position
f r om 0156 UTC, November 18, 1986 to 0230 UTC, November 18, 1986.
At approximately 0225Z while monitoring JL1628 on Sector 15 radar, the
aircraft requested traffic information. I advised no traffic in his
vicinity. The aircraft advised he had traffic 12 o'clock same altitude. I
asked JL1628 if he would like higher/lower altitude and the pilot replied,
negative. I checked with ROCC to see if they had military traffic in the area
and to see if they had primary targets in the area. ROCC did have primary
ta r get in the same position JL1628 reported. Several times I had single
primary returns where JL1628 reported traffic. JL1628 later requested a turn
to heading 210°, I approved JL1628 to make deviations as necessary for
traffic. The traffic stayed with JL1628 through turns and decent in the
vi cinity of FAI I requested JL1628 to make a right 3600 turn to see if he
could identify the aircraft, he lost contact momentarily, at which time I
observed a primary target in the 6 o'clock position 5 miles. I then vectored
UA69 northbound to FAI from ANC with his approval to see if he could identify
t he aircraft , he had contact with the JL1628 flight but reported no other
traffic , by this time Jll628 had lost contact with the traffic. Also a
military C-130 southbound to EDF from EIL advised he had plenty of fuel and
wou l d take a look, I vectored him toward the flight and climbed him to FL240,
he also had no contact.
Note : I requested JL1628 to identify the type or markings of the aircraft.
He could not identify but reported white and yellow strobes. I requested the
JL1628 t? say flight conditions, he reported clear and no clouds.
November 19, 1986

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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.