Other Unclassified Complete

733667-001-003-0024

National Archives and Records Administration

Released
Published
Added to archive
Jun 16, 2026
Department
National Archives and Records Administration
Original size
2.7 MB
External ID
a8b2f6317d03f446a8d436eb96eacdbfa420981424a8d2c740016d39ebf0cb60
Confidence
85%
Credibility
80%

View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source

Intelligence summary

A correspondence from Philip J. Klass discussing the credibility of UFO sightings reported by Captain Terauchi of Japan Airlines, highlighting concerns about multiple sightings by the same individual and questioning the accuracy of flight path information.

Tags & topics

AviationCredibility of WitnessesUFO sightings Aviation SafetyUFOWitness Credibility

Locations referenced

LocationContextConfidenceSupporting text
Anchorage, AK Publication Location Unresolved PHILIP J. KLASS 404 "'N"' ST. SOUTHWEST H “a WASHINGTON, D.C. 20024 ? 1 fd 1p Q7 \ { | (202) 554-5901 RECESY 2 1987 Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer Fed.

Extracted timeline

Jun 15, 1987

Document Date (year hint)

Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-003-0024

Jun 16, 2026

Ingestion Date

Ingestion Date for 733667-001-003-0024

Jun 16, 2026

Document Record Date

Document Record Date for 733667-001-003-0024

Jun 16, 2026

Update Date

Update Date for 733667-001-003-0024

Entities mentioned

Full document text

2,060 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗

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PHILIP J. KLASS 404 "'N"' ST. SOUTHWEST H “a WASHINGTON, D.C. 20024 ? 1 fd 1p Q7 \ { | (202) 554-5901 RECESY 2 1987 Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer Fed. Aviation Admin. 701 "C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 Dear Paul: Your package of JAL-UFO goodies was waiting for me on my return from a ski vacation with friends in Switzerland, and [I found it most interesting. Especially that Capt. Terauchi had two previous UFO sight- ings, which makes him a "UFO Repeater" and which automatically makes any of his UFO reports suspect to an experienced UFO investigator--even many of the "believers". Multiple UFO sightings (by one person) are sort of like multiple divorces. One is OK. (Even Jimmy Carter had one which turned out to be Venus.) Two makes one a bit cautious. But three or more--as in baseball--you're "out." (And, as we both know, Terauchi reported two more UFO sightings on Jan. 11, Giving him a grand total of five--unless he has added to that figure since Jan. 11.) (And unless JAL has chastened him severe- ly, I would predict that Terauchi will see many, many more UFOs in the coming years, while most folks are not privileged to see even one.) A guestion: In fTerauchi's own report on the incident (Submitted to the FAA on Jan.2), he says that his original flight plan called for him to fly J-529 to Ft. Yukon, then J-125 Via Nenana, and on to Talkeetna. But Terauchi then says that “Anchorage ordered (authorized) us to fly direct to Talkeetna." This would seem logical because of the very light traffic Situation, and the fact that the JAL~747 was equipped with inertial nav systems and could save a little fuel by flying direct from Potat. However, the flight path you shown on your marked-up aero chart shows the original route via VOR airways. QUESTION: Which is the correct flight path? Incidentally, 20+ years experience in investigating UFO reports has shown that a witness observing one "trigger-mechan- ism," which disappears, can readily "glob" onto another light source and believe it to be the same "UFO."