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National Archives UAP files

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) keeps the U.S. government's permanent records. The files this archive lists under the National Archives are UFO records that other agencies created and NARA now holds: the Air Force's Project Blue Book case file on Socorro, New Mexico, and six Federal Aviation Administration files on Japan Air Lines flight 1628 over Alaska.

The Socorro file comes from NARA's copies of the Blue Book case files, which a 1994 Air Force report says the Air Force had turned over to the National Archives. It covers police officer Lonnie Zamora's report of a landed object on 24 April 1964. The project record card carries the case as UNIDENTIFIED pending additional data, and the Air Force summary found no evidence that the object was extraterrestrial in origin or a threat to the security of the United States.

The JAL 1628 files come from an FAA series titled "Information Releases Relating to Unidentified Flying Object." They include Captain Kenju Terauchi's written statement, the transcript of an FAA interview with him on 2 January 1987, an Anchorage Center chronology and the FAA's news releases. On 5 March 1987 the FAA said it was unable to confirm the event; its Technical Center attributed a second radar target near the 747 to a split radar return from the aircraft itself.

Since the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, NARA also has a UFO role written into law. Section 1841 told the Archivist to begin building an "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection" within 60 days of enactment, made up of copies of all government records on the subject, to be opened for inspection and put online after transfer. A 2025 AARO paper says AARO is working with NARA to transfer UAP records for permanent storage and public access.

Where the lore differs: Roswell is often assumed to sit in the Project Blue Book files at the National Archives; the 1994 Air Force report says NARA told Congressman Schiff it was not part of them.

Sources in the archive

NARA-Blue-Book-Socorro-1964 — Project Blue Book case file: Socorro, New Mexico, April 1964 — p. 4: Blue Book record card: Socorro carried as UNIDENTIFIED
NARA-Blue-Book-Socorro-1964 — Project Blue Book case file: Socorro, New Mexico, April 1964 — p. 11: Air Force summary: no evidence of extraterrestrial origin
DOD-USAF-Roswell-Report-1994 — Report of Air Force Research Regarding the "Roswell Incident" (July 1994) — p. 3: Blue Book turned over to NARA; Roswell not in it
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-007 — JAL 1628: written statement by Capt. Terauchi (English translation by Sakoyo Mimoto) — p. 6: Terauchi's written statement
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-008 — JAL 1628: transcript of FAA interview with Capt. Terauchi by Dick Gordon (2 Jan 1987) — p. 11: FAA interview of Terauchi, 2 Jan 1987
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-024 — JAL 1628: FAA public affairs news releases — p. 3: FAA news release, 5 March 1987: unable to confirm
NARA-2024-NDAA-Public-Law-118-31 — 2024 National Defense Authorization Act — Public Law 118-31 — p. 564: NDAA Sec. 1841: UAP Records Collection at NARA
NARA-2024-NDAA-Public-Law-118-31 — 2024 National Defense Authorization Act — Public Law 118-31 — p. 565: Sec. 1841: contents and public disclosure
AARO Declassification Info Paper 2025 — p. 4: AARO transferring UAP records to NARA

7 declassified UAP files held by the U.S. National Archives (NARA): 7 PDFs. Incidents span 1964–1986.

What stands out

This batch is the paper trail around Japan Airlines Flight 1628's 1986 Alaskan UFO encounter, plus a classic 1964 Socorro case where the first guess was an overturned car. Expect FAA memos, translations, and a Project Blue Book file that reads like a 1960s sci-fi script.

NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-008 — JAL 1628: transcript of FAA interview with Capt. Terauchi by Dick Gordon (2 Jan 1987) — Full transcript of the FAA's 2 Jan 1987 interview with Capt. Terauchi, interpreter and all: the captain's account, question by question.
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-023 — JAL 1628: FAA explanation of the split beacon target — The FAA memo on the "split beacon" radar target: a normal electronic quirk, the agency says, where a plane's transponder reply and radar echo stop lining up.
NARA-Blue-Book-Socorro-1964 — Project Blue Book case file: Socorro, New Mexico, April 1964 — Lonnie Zamora's 1964 Socorro landing report in 168 pages, and the record card still says UNIDENTIFIED. Sixty years of paperwork, zero closure.
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-007 — JAL 1628: written statement by Capt. Terauchi (English translation by Sakoyo Mimoto) — Capt. Terauchi's own written account of the encounter, translated into English by the FAA's Sayoko Mimoto.
NARA-JAL1628-733667-001-025 — JAL 1628: record of communication with the FAA administrator and the U.S. Air Force — FAA notes of its calls to the Administrator and the U.S. Air Force about JAL 1628. The phone tree went all the way up.

AI-written from the file summaries

Files (7)

FAQ

What is National Archives?

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) keeps the U.S. government's permanent records.

How many declassified UFO files cover National Archives?

7 declassified files are collected on this page, each mirrored verbatim from its official government source with full text and a link to the original record.

Are these files official government records?

Yes. Every file on RealUFO is mirrored verbatim from an official source — the Pentagon's PURSUE releases at war.gov/UFO, AARO, the CIA, FBI, NASA or the National Archives — and each record page names its source agency.