Other Unclassified Complete

733667-001-003-0034

National Archives and Records Administration

Released

—

Published

—

Added to archive

Jun 16, 2026

Department

National Archives and Records Administration

Original size

3.1 MB

External ID

52ecccbc41463d308cd500cd0072c0a27e0108f6dfa3a0cd9fc0f8356b3b0ecd

Confidence

85%

Credibility

90%

View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source

Intelligence summary

This document discusses a UFO sighting reported by the crew of a Japan Airlines flight on November 17, 1986. The pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer observed a stream-like radar target that was interpreted as a UFO, which was later suggested to be an echo from ice crystals. The FAA made data regarding the incident available, countering claims of government cover-ups.

Tags & topics

Linked cases

Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 UFO Incident

Unverified

Locations referenced

Location	Context	Confidence	Supporting text
Anchorage, AK	Incident Location	Medium	…this was not the first Sighting of an unidentified aircraft by Capt. Terauchi." Persons interested in obtaining some or all elements of the FAA data pack can c

Extracted timeline

Jun 15, 1986

Document Date (year hint)

Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-003-0034

Jun 16, 2026

Ingestion Date

Ingestion Date for 733667-001-003-0034

Jun 16, 2026

Document Record Date

Document Record Date for 733667-001-003-0034

Jun 16, 2026

Update Date

Update Date for 733667-001-003-0034

Entities mentioned

Japan Airlines FAA Capt. Terauchi Philip J. Klass

Full document text

2,049 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗

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3 disappear--as reported by the pilot. When the pilot searched the skies: for the UFO and spotted the very bright Jupiter, further to the left of the original "UFOs," he could easily conclude it was the same UFO, even though the copilot and flight engineer would later tell the FAA that it looked distinctly different. 9. During the initial sighting, the 747's weather radar detected and displayed a "target" slightly to the left and ata distance of about eight miles--in roughly the location that the amber-white lights were visible. .The flight engineer described this airborne radar target as "not a dot, but stream-like." And his description is confirmed by a sketch drawn by the pilot for the FAA shortly after JAL landed at Anchorage. The 747's weather radar is equipped with a color display to alert the pilot to the strength of the radar echo, with the strongest echoes shown in red and the weakest in green. All three crew members agree that the "UFO" stream-like blip was green--which would be appropriate for an echo from thin clouds of ice crystals. The echo froma giant craft only eight miles distant would certainly be very strong and would have been displayed in red. 10. Claims made by some UFOlogists that the U.S. Government tries to withhold or cover-up information about UFOs and UFO Sightings is denied by the action of the FAA in making available, at modest cost, all data in its possession involving the Nov. 17, 1986, JAL "UFO" incident. li. The FAA even included in its data pack a brief note by one of its officials which says: "Through a confidential source at Japan Airlines, it was stated to me that this was not the first Sighting of an unidentified aircraft by Capt. Terauchi." Persons interested in obtaining some or all elements of the FAA data pack can contact: Paul Steucke, Public Affairs Officer FAA Alaskan Region | 701 "C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 (907) 271-5296 Philip J. Klass, Chairman CSICOP UFO Subcommittee 404 "N" St. Southwest Washington D.C. 20024 (202) 554-5901 March 27, 1987