JAL 1628
On the night of 17 November 1986, Japan Air Lines cargo flight JL1628 — a Boeing 747-200F freighter en route Reykjavík → Anchorage → Tokyo — was paced for approximately 50 minutes by an unidentified luminous object over interior Alaska. Captain Kenju Terauchi, a former JASDF fighter pilot with ~10,000 hours in command, reported two smaller objects flying in formation ahead of the aircraft followed by a far larger object — described as "twice the size of an aircraft carrier" — pacing the 747 in the same direction. The FAA's Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) confirmed correlating primary-radar returns; NORAD Elmendorf conducted concurrent monitoring. The complete FAA file — including Terauchi's deposition, the ARTCC radar tape, the NORAD logs, and the FAA's formal "unidentified" finding — was released in March 1987. The case is referenced in AARO's 2024 Historical Record Vol. I as a pre-2008 multi-sensor commercial-aviation reference case.
The radar correlation
FAA Anchorage ARTCC controller Carl Henley, on shift that night, observed an unidentified primary-radar target approximately 5–8 nautical miles behind JL1628 throughout the encounter. The FAA released the radar tape (recording number SE-187) to the public on 5 January 1987 at a Washington D.C. press conference led by FAA security division chief John Callahan. Callahan, after a 1986 internal FAA review meeting attended by FBI, CIA, and President Reagan's science adviser Dr. John Marsh, stated for the record that the meeting concluded the events were "a real UFO". The radar tape is held by the FAA Office of Aviation Safety in Washington.
Terauchi's account (verbatim, FAA deposition Jan 1987)
"For seven or eight minutes, the two ships were following our airplane in formation. They were emitting yellowish-white and pale, blinking lights. Suddenly two spaceships stopped in front of our face, shooting off lights which were so bright… When the bright lights disappeared, I felt a very strong heat… Then a gigantic spaceship — twice the size of an aircraft carrier — silhouetted against the city lights of Fairbanks, was following us. We diverted course several times to confirm."
— Capt. Kenju Terauchi, FAA Form 8020, deposition January 1987
FAA finding + Callahan disclosure
After review by FAA Air Traffic, FAA Security, and the Department of Transportation, the FAA's official finding was: "Unable to identify the target." The disposition was unprecedented for a U.S. civil aviation incident involving a commercial cargo flight + multi-sensor corroboration. Callahan, who managed the FAA review, gave a sworn statement to the National Press Club 2 May 2001 stating that the FAA had been instructed by CIA personnel attending the 1986 meeting that the meeting "never took place" — but that Callahan had personally preserved the radar tape and a 30-page FAA briefing file in his home office.
The voice on the tape
Timeline
JL1628 departs Reykjavík for Anchorage. Cruise FL350.
Terauchi observes two small luminous objects ahead of the aircraft over interior Alaska.
Two objects shift to formation off the 747's left wing; flames + heat sensation reported by crew.
Larger third object — 'mothership' — appears behind the 747. Anchorage ARTCC controller Henley confirms unidentified primary-radar return.
Object disengages near Fairbanks. JL1628 continues to Anchorage.
JL1628 lands at Anchorage. Terauchi briefs FAA + JAL officials.
FAA internal review led by John Callahan. Multi-agency meeting attended by FBI, CIA, Reagan science adviser.
FAA press conference releases radar tape SE-187 + Terauchi deposition. Disposition: 'Unable to identify the target.'
John Callahan gives sworn National Press Club statement on FAA finding + CIA pressure.
AARO Historical Record Vol. I references JL1628 as a pre-2008 multi-sensor commercial-aviation reference case.
Linked evidence in this archive
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Anchorage ARTCC radar tape — JL1628 transit, 17 Nov 1986
FAA radar tape recording number SE-187. Released January 1987 at Washington press conference led by FAA Security Division Chief John Callahan.
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Capt. Kenju Terauchi — FAA pilot deposition, January 1987
Full Terauchi statement to FAA Office of Aviation Safety. Includes hand-drawn sketches of all three objects and flight-path overlay.
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John Callahan — sworn affidavit on FAA review, 2 May 2001
Sworn statement by retired FAA Security Division Chief who managed the JL1628 review. Documents 1986 multi-agency meeting + CIA gag instruction.
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Historical Record Report Vol. I — commercial aviation references
AARO 2024 historical record cites JL1628 as a pre-2008 multi-sensor commercial-aviation reference case alongside the November 2004 Nimitz cluster.
Why this case still matters
JL1628 is the first U.S. civil aviation case where the FAA itself — not the military — both confirmed multi-sensor data and issued a formal "unable to identify" disposition. Captain Terauchi's IFR-rated 10,000-hour cockpit + the simultaneous Anchorage ARTCC radar correlation make this the cleanest commercial-aviation multi-sensor case in the pre-2008 record. AARO's modern reporting framework — which now requires both military and civil-aviation channels to forward UAP reports — descends institutionally from the JL1628 FAA precedent.
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