Fbi Memo
Unclassified Complete
733667-001-003-0013
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence
85%
Credibility
90%
View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source
Intelligence summary
This memorandum from the FAA discusses the ongoing investigation into the JAL flight #1628 UFO incident and addresses concerns regarding the release of investigation materials to the public, particularly in light of comments made by Phillip J. Klass.
Tags & topics
Extracted timeline
Jun 15, 1987
Document Date (year hint)
Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-003-0013
Jun 16, 2026
Ingestion Date
Ingestion Date for 733667-001-003-0013
Jun 16, 2026
Document Record Date
Document Record Date for 733667-001-003-0013
Jun 16, 2026
Update Date
Update Date for 733667-001-003-0013
Entities mentioned
Full document text
1,567 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗
Q
US Department
Of Transportation
Federal Aviation
Administration
Memorandum
sublect" ACTION: Release of Accident investigation Date
material, data, information. February 2
JL #1628
Reply to
From Attn. of
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, AAL-5
To MANAGER, AIR TRAFFIC DIVISION, AAL-500
HENRY ELIAS
Attached is an article about the JAL flight #1628, (UFO), which
appeared on the wire service, and in the January 30, 1987, Anchorage
Daily News.
In the article, a Mr. Phillip J. Klass, Editor with the "Aviation Week
and Space Technology" magazine, is reported as saying, "According to Klass,
who reviewed a complete copy of the transcript..."
The investigation of this incident has not been completed to date and
release of information or material prior to the completion of an
investigation is not in keeping with existing policy. Mr. Klass used
this reference to substantiate a position regarding his theory about the
Sighting.
As a result of this published reference we received several telephone
calls from correspondents throughout the Nation wanting to know why
they did not get a complete copy of the transcript as promised when
Mr. Klass was able to obtain a copy. We told them we had not released
the material to date.
Has the AAL-500 division provided anyone, other than AAL-5 and AAL-200,
with a copy of the transcript, or other materials included in the
investigation, from the ARTCC, ROCC, or pilot?
If copies have been provided to others I would like to have the
names, titles and routing codes.
ae
S - _ af ee ————$—$$—$ $$$
Paul Steucke
cc: AAL-1