733667-001-003-0028

OTHER

AI Summary

This document is a correspondence from Philip J. Klass addressing questions related to a flight path and a potential UFO sighting by a pilot. It discusses the timing of a flight maneuver and the accuracy of the pilot's memory regarding his flight route.

Key Findings

- Discussion of a flight path and timing of maneuvers. - Questions about the accuracy of air traffic controller reports. - Mention of a pilot's potential misidentification of an object as a UFO. - Reference to a bright celestial object (Jupiter) that could be mistaken for a UFO.

OCR Text

Mr. Paul Steucke: -2- Apr. 8, 1987 Dis The 360 turn should have required roughly two minutes (using standard 180 deg./min. turn rate) and been completed at approxi- mately 0238:57 Approximately one minute later, at 0240:10, JAL then was cleared direct to Talkeetna. 6. QUESTION: At 0231:40, Controller R15 reported JAL is "one two miles southeast of the Alpha (unintelligible)..." Where/what is the Alpha f£1x?? (I have an aero chart for the region but cannot find an Alpha.) And did controller mean "one to two miles" or did he mean "12 miles"? 7 . If your original flight path is correct, then Capt. Ter- auchi's memory was flawed when he claimed in his detailed account (submitted to FAA on Jan. 2) that immediately after his first contact with Anchorage he was cleared "to fly direct to Talk- eetna." He refers to making a "left rotation" (turn) which would be required to fly the direct route to Talkeetna from his Alaska entry location. I have numbered the paragraphs above for your convenience in replying. Sincerely, SS LEO Philip J. Klass P.os I can appreciate your official position on the question of UFOs. Hopefully, controllers in the Alaskan Region have learned, the hard way, that even experienced pilots can sometimes mistake prosaic objects for UFOs. Recently heard from a Northwest Airlines pilot who flew into Anchorage on Nov. 22 who told me "Jupiter was positively brilliant--like a beacon in the sky."

Metadata

Agency
—
Classification
UNCLASSIFIED
Department
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence85
Credibility80

NARA Source

NAID
733667
File
733667-001-003-0028.jpg
Type
image/jpeg

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