733667-001-003

.-· viation eek & Space Technology Philip J. Klass Dear Paul Steucke: June 10, 1987 Here is the final, published version of my analysis of the now farrous JAL UFO incident for your files Although "Skeptical Inquirer" is a copyrighted publication, you have my pennission to make a few additional copies if you wish. Cordially, Q F'HILIP J KLASS 404 N S T sou rt-tWES r WASHING T O N . D C 2 0 0 2 4 Special Reports FAA Data Sheds New Light On JAL Pilot's UFO Report Philip J. Klass T H E UFO MOVEMENT, suffering from an extended drought of excit- ing new UFO incidents to attract media and public interest, got a sorely needed shot in the arm in early January, when it was disclosed that the pilot of a Japan Air Lines 747 cargo airliner had reported an encounter with a giant UFO over Alaska on November 17, while flying to Anchorage from France. The incident had occurred in twilight conditions, starting about 6: 15 P.M. local time, with the sun abo ut 11 degrees below the horizon. According to initial press reports, the incident seemed a classic. The principal witness was an experienced captain, Kenju Terauchi, whose reported visual observations seemingly were confirmed by a USAF/ Federal Aviation Admini- stration radar. Additionally, th e UFO seemingly paced the JAL 747 for more than 40 minutes, offering an extended period for observation by two other crew members of the cargo aircraft loaded with French wine destined for Japan. Important new insights into the inci- dent have since emerged as a result of t he FAA's wise decision to offer a com- plete data package to the public at modest cost. The available data includes a ver- bat im transcript of the JAL pilot's tape- re cord cd radio communications with 322 FAA controllers during the incident, tape recordings and transcripts of FAA inter- views with thc·three JAL crew members in early January, about six weeks after the incident occurred, and a copy of the revealing report that Captain Terauchi submitted to the FAA, also in early January. In releasing all available data on the incident, the FAA's Alaskan Region pub- lic affairs officer, Paul Steucke, noted that his agency "does not have the re- sources or the Congressional mandate to investigate sightings of unidentified flying objects. We have not tried to determine what the crew of Japan Air Lines flight 111628 saw based on scientific analysis of the stars, planets, magnetic fields, angle of view, etc." During the initial phase of the November 17 UFO iricident, a Jong-range USAF/FAA radar sporadically seemed to show a singl e blip in the vicinity of the 747's radar blip-at a time when the pilot was reporting seeing several UFOs. Fortunately, the FAA records radar data (for subsequent analysis in event of a mid-air collision or a near-miss), and it was sent to the FAA's technical center near Atlantic City for analysis by rada r specialists, to determine if the Jong-range USAF/FAA radar had indeed detected THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Vol. 11 an unidentified object in the vicinity of the JAL 747. This analy sis showed that the sporadic second blip was due to a phenomenon known as "uncorrelated primary and bea- con target," which can occur if the radar energy bouncing off an aircraft does not arrive at precisely the same instant as the signal transmitted back by the aircraft's radar transponder. According to FAA specialist Dennis R. Simantcl, who ana- . Iyzed the data, "these uncorrelated pri- mary returns arc not uncommon due to the critical timing associated with the delay adjustments in the aircraft tran- sponder . .. and the target correlation circuitry within the radar equipment." The FAA data package reveals Terauchi to be a "UFO repeater," with two other UFO sightings prior to November. 17, and two more this past January, which normally raises a "caution flag" for exporienced UFO investigators. The JAL pilot is convinced that UFOs are extraterrestrial and when describing the Jight(s) Terauchi often used the term spaceship or mothership. During his January 2 interview with FAA officials, Terauchi said that he be- lieved the "mothership" intentionally positioned itself in the "darkest [easterly] side" of the sky because "I think they did not want to be seen.'·' This enabled the UFO to sec the 74 7 "in front of the sunset and visible for any movement we make." In his report to the FAA, he expressed the hope that "we humans will meet them in the near future." Terauchi, who was based in Anchor- age at the time but has since been trans- ferred back to Japan, noted in his report that his flights over Alaska "generally (are] in the daytime and it is confusing to identify the kind of lights" in darkness. As an example, he described seeing lights from an Alaskan pipeline pumping sta- tion reflecting off snow-covered moun- tains, which initially puzzled him. (On January 11, a few days after Terauchi gave FAA officials his recollec- tion of the November 17 incident, he 323 again reported spotting unusual lights in roughly the same area while on a repea t flight from Paris to Anchorage. The JAL captain, who has a limited verbal facility in English, asked to record his description of the January I I UFO in Japanese. Its translation, included in the FAA's data package, resembled Terauchi's description of the UFO initially sighted on November J 7: "We see irregular pulsating lights just there is a large black chunk [sic] just in front of us. Distance is five miles. It seems to be a ·spaceship, ah UFO." The pilot reported a similar sighting a few minutes later. But when the USAF/FAA radar failed to confirm the presence of any object, he and the FAA later agreed that these January 11 UFOs were merely lights from small villages being diffused by thin clouds of ice crystals.) Captain Terauchi, who quickly be- came an international media celebrity, provided colorful accounts of the inci- dent. But he always failed to mention that two other aircraft in the area that were vectored into the vicinity of the JAL 747 to try to spot the UFO he had been reporting were una ble to see any such object. This is revealed in the transcript of radio communications between Terauchi and FAA traffic controlle rs and their communications with the flight crews of United Airlines flight 1169 and a USAF C-130 transport. United 1169 was headed north from Anchorage to Fairbanks at the time that JAL #1628 was headed in th e opposite direction along a parallel airway t o Anchorage. The FAA asked the United pilot if it could vector him slightly to the left of his intended path, to bring him within several miles of JAL 111628, to see if he could spot and possibly identify the "UFO." As United 1169 approached, Terauchi reported the bright light to be at his "nine o'clock" position-roughly broadside and to the left at a n estimated distance of about ten miles. The United captain agreed, and Terauchi was asked to turn ·his la nding lights on briefly to help the United crew Summer 1987 UFO sighting by pilot confirmed h ruclnr • locate th e JAL airliner. The United crew, l ooking ahead a nd to its left, readily spotted JAL, silhoue tted aga inst a still faintly lig ht s ky, but could not see any luminous objec t in its vicinity. Shortly before t he two a ircra ft p a ssed, Terauchi was asked again to give the UFO's posi- lion, a nd he reported tha t it was "just a head of United"-which would place the bright lig ht to the southeast. Despite the f act that t h e bright light seemed to Terauchi t o be directly ahead of the United jet liner, it s crew sa w nothing. In the southeaste rly direction, where T erauchi was the n looking, was the very bright (-2.6 m agnitude) pla net Jupiter, w hich was lo w in the s k y (about 12 Jegrees) at an azimuth of about 14 3 degrees re lative to t r ue north. From ferauchi's va ntage point , Jupiter would appear t o be jus t ahead of United #69. But the bright p lanet would have been ta r to the right o f United's flight path, a nd its crew would have been looking to : heir left at JAL # 1628. Never once d id r erauchi report the " U F O's" position relative to a "very b righ t star," i.e., J upiter. Also in the area a t t he time was a USAF C- 130 transport a ircraft that was westbound for Elmendorf AFB, flying south of JAL #1628. When the C-130 pilot overheard the FAA communications with JAL, he too offered to try to spot the reported UFO when the USAF a ir- craft passed near the 747. The USAF crew readily spotted the JAL 747 but reported seeing no other object in its vicinity. The C-130 crew would not have noticed Jupiter, whic h was to their far left, because they were looking at the JAL 747 to their right. While it is commendable that the FAA's Alaskan Region decided to con- duct tape-recorded interviews with the three JAL crew members in early J anu- ary, following inquiries by Japanese news media in late D ecember, in retrospect it is regrettable that the FAA did not think to ta pe-record discussions with the cre w immedia tely afte r flight # 1628 landed in Anchora ge on November 17, when recol- lecti ons were still fresh. However, whe n cre w memb ers were interviewed separ- . a tely in J anuary, some significant differ- ences emerged , providing useful insights. F or exam p le, it now appears that the N o vember 17 incid e nt involved two dif- ferent "types of UFOs," o r trigger- mechanisms. As described by flight engineer Yoshio Tsukuba (through an interpreter) during his January 15 inter- view with FAA officials, the initial UFO was observed for about five to ten minutes al roughly an 11 o'clock position before it disappeared. This is confirmed by the FAA radio communications tran- script, which shows the pilot reported the UFO disappearance at 0223: 13 GMT, roughly four minutes after it was first reported. Crew members had been ob- serving it for several minutes prior to the initial report. The second UFO, which Tsukuba characterized as "absolutely different" was visible much further to the left ("nine o'clock") for about 30 or 40 minutes. Tsukuba described the initial UFO as a "cluster of lights ... undulating," which were "different from town lights." Unlike the pilot, Tsukuba said he was una ble to describe any particular shape for either UFO. The flight engineer said that, when he was first interviewed by the FAA immediately following the incident, he "wa s not sure whether the object was a UFO or not. My mind has not cha nged since then." During FAA interviews in Janua ry, copilot Takanori Tamefuji, who was fly- ing the 747 at the time of the initial sight- ing, confirmed the flight engineer's recol- lections that the UFO first sighted was "completely different" from the one later seen further to the left. Tamefuji described what at first appeared to be "two small aircraft" slightly below his own altitude. Whe n the copilot was asked if he could distinguish these lights "as being different" from a star, he re plied : "No." (The pl a net Ma rs would have been visible to th e cre w about 19 d egrees to the right of Jupite r, but it would not have bee n nearly as brig ht.) When a s ketc h ma d e by C apta in Terauchi, showin g a g ia nt waln ut-sha ped U FO, was shown t o the copilot and he wa s a s ked if this was w h at he had seen, he re plied : " I don't see a nything like this but . . . if we can c o n nect these lights it [would] be a big objec t, but ah ... " There are a number of ambiguities in the report that Captain Terauchi sub- mitted to the FAA on January 2, and in his subsequent interview with an FAA representative, despite the presence of an interpreter. Terauchi generally character- ized the initial amber-white lights as re- sembling the e xhaust of jet or rocket engines. In his report, written in Japa nese and later translated, Terauchi said that a few minutes after first observing the lights ahead and to the left, "most unex pectedly two spaceships stopped in front of our face, shooting off lights. The inside cock- pit shined [sic] brightly and I felt warm in the face." Neither of the other crew members reported such effects. All three crew members a g reed that the 747's weather rada r displayed an echo at a bearing that roughly corresponded to that of the initia l lig hts at a range of about eight miles. The radar display uses color to show the strength of the echo to alert the crew to the potential intensity of thunderstorm turbulence a head . A red-colored echo indica tes an especially strong radar echo and a green color shows the weakest. All three crew mem- bers agree that th e "UFO blip" wa s green. This is especia lly curious if the visua l UFO was a gi a nt craft only a few miles a head, which should have produced an extremely strong (red) return. Flight engineer Tsukuba characterized it as "not a dot, but strea mlike." This is confirmed by a sketch drawn by the pilot afte r la nd- ing on November 17. It suggests th a t th e g re en "blip/stream" wa s a n echo from thin clouds of ice c rystals-like those that prompted T e rauchi to mista ke village lights for U F O s on J a nuary 11. On the night of November 17, there wa s a nearl y full moon tha t would have been approxima tely 12 degrees above t he h orizon a t the time of the initia l UFO sig ht ing and almost d irectly behind the JAL 747's direction of fli g ht. T his raises t he possibility t ha t bright moonl ight re- flecting off turbulent clouds of ice crystals could have generated the undulating flame-colored lights that Terauchi described. It would also explain why the undu- la ting lights would periodically and sud- denly disappear and then reappear as cloud conditions ahead changed. When the aircraft finally outf1ew the ice clouds and the initial "UFO" disappeared for good, Terauchi would search the sky for it, spot Jupiter further to the left, and conclude it was the original UFO. This case is likely to become a classic in the UFO inventory because many peo- ple assume tha t a senior airline captain could never mistake a bright planet or other prosa ic object for a UFO. Yet when the la te Dr. J . Allen Hynek re-analyzed UF O reports in the USAF files, he found tha t pilots were as readily misled by prosaic objects as persons in other pro- fessions. Numerous air-accident-investi- gation reports by the Nationa l Trunspor- tation Safety Board confirm th a t even experienced pilots are not infallible. I am indebted to astronomers Nick Sanduleak and C. B. Stephenson, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, for their valuable assistance in computing positions and bearings of bright celestial bodies relative to the JAL 747 airliner at the time of the November 17 incident. • Philip J. Klass, who was a senior editor with Aviation Week & Space Tech- nology magazine for nearly 35 years until Iris partial retirement in June 1986, has been investigating famous UFO cases as a hobby for more than 20 years. His most recent book is UFOs: The Public Deceived, published by Prometheus Books. Help Further the Cause of Skepticism Mention CSI COP in Your Will LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT Your support for the work of C SICOP can contin ue after your dea th. You can leave all or part of your libra ry to CSICOP or make a bequest in your will. For further information , please contact Mark Plummer, E xecutive Director, CSICOP, Box 229, Buffa lo, NY 14215--0229. The Unmasking o f Psychic Jason Mic haels Richard Busch I n the early months of 1986, Jason Michaels, of Grove City, Pennsyl- vania, had reached his psychic peak. He had made the most of the nationwide publicity resulting from his apparent ability to predict the future. His most notable supposed predictions were the DC-8 Gander, Newfoundland, air tragedy the previous December, which killed 248 American soldiers, and the Challenger space shutlle disaster in January, in which the cre w of seven died. While any performer is expected to appear on stage and entertain, Michaels was claiming rea l powers and doing so from TV and radio newsrooms and through the wire services. Our Paranormal Investigating Committee of Pittsburgh (PICP) in fact first hea rd of Micha els on the KDKA-TV news. While we believed that such precognition might be possible, we wondered if Michaels was employing physical or psy- chological deception. Would he agree to be tested? And what, if anything, would be proved? When I re a ched Michaels by phone, the first question I asked him was, "Are you a true psychic or do you entertain with trickery?" His answer then and in subsequent signed statements was firm and clear: His psychic powers were real despite any showma nship used on stage to entertain. Yes, he wa nted to be tested by u s, althoug h he waived a ny rig hts to PICP's offer of $10,000 for validation of a psychic feat u nder controlled condi- tions, cl a iming he could easily win any such prize if he wa nt ed to. We b elieve tha t a letler of scie nt ific valida tion from our Committee members would be worth much more tha n $!0,000 in publicity and c redibility. Mic hae ls agreed, i n writing, never to consider the Committee an audience and never to use showmanship. He would "not engage in trickery, magic tricks, or deception of any kind in any ma nner, not even once, for any reason" in his work with PICP. His psychic power, he asserted, was "not dependent at a ll, in any way, on magical techniques or a ny d e ception or trick." He would never "cheat in any way for any reason in order to achieve a positive result." Everyth ing done would be "real." He also agreed that the Committee's presence in th e test- ing areas would not inhibit hi s abilities or create any nega tive vibrations. Thus Jason Michaels, who, in his words, wanted " worldwide fame" a nd to be "bigger tha n Uri Geller," began his ca mpaign to convince us of his cl a ims. According to Michae ls, he ha d already be en tested and va lida ted by Berthold E. Schwarz, a psychia trist and psychic re- se archer in Vero Beach, Florida. Our testing of Michaels was ess e n- ti a lly accomplished in three par ts: a pre- liminary interview in the office of Dona ld McBurney, a University of P ittsburg h psycholog ist; a forma l taping session in psycholog is t Mar k Stra uss's in fant- d evelopme nt laboratory a t the university; and doze ns of phone conversatio ns be- t wee n Mich aels and m e. It seems he found me " comforta ble" to be around. He sa id he could work with m e more easily than with a lmos t a nyone h e had ever met in his life. He invited us to con- sult a loca l magician to verify his h onesty a nd even agreed to pay $5,000 to any magicia n to duplicate wha t he does u nder i dentical conditions. He d id ins ist, h ow- ever, t ha t James Ra ndi be kept a way. Michaels was evidently quite pleased wit h his work with PICP. He mentioned us not only t o others in the field around the country but to reporte rs a s well. He ')')') US Department of Tronsponation Federal Aviation Administration Memori ndu Sub 1 ect nFORi·iATION: Release of Incidenc. Infor1;1ation re. JAL 1628 (UFJ) Date Director's Response From Pub.iic f-1ffairs Jfficer Reoiy to Attn of To FL.e On March 12, 1987, 1 :30 pm, I ~et at the request of the Director and Deputy to discuss the co~munication prob.iems tnat existed between AAL- 5 and AAL- 500 (AAL- 500 was in attendance also), resulting from AAL-500's refusal to continue providing FOIA materials on the JAL 1628 UFO flight, statements made by AAL-500 in the Director's staff 1neeting re L.he "marketing" of UFO rr.aterial by AAL- 5, and tne .subsequent vior~load placed upon .H.f..L- 500, and tr1e questioning of AAL- 5 authority to request FOIA materials based on a news media verbal request C-i.Sayles). Result of t~is dialo~ue was that AAL- 5 would henceforth preface requests witn a statement L.o determine the workload/response possibility of AAL- 500 prior to making requests for AAL- 500 services, ie FOIA. AAL- 500 and AAL- 5 agreed to cease hosti~e dialogue. In a related but separate action, t he Director responded to my memoranciu~ of March 10 , 1987, documenting the pre- reiea3e of JAL 1628 investigation ~aterial by Wasnington D.C. FAA staff (via infor~ation provided by AAL- 500), by stating tnat 1 ). t he release of the material mignt have taken to long, 2). you cannot expect t he system in FAA to ~eep material confidentiai, and tnat 3). ne would take care of ti·i::..s in a personal manner L.he next t.iilie he visits the ',Jasnington, D. C. office. I infor111ed the Director/Deputy tr.ac. considering their res;:ion3e and tne systeffi' s inability to protect FAA invescigation ~ateri3l (wnile in progress) that in nindsigi1t I u:ight not in the future r espond to e1:12rgency infor mation situations in the same manner. ! agreed not to pursue this matter any further. US Deportment of Tron~tatio<l F&derol Aviation Administration su~ec 1 ACTION: Release of Incident Information re. JAL 1625 (UFO) From PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, AAL-5 10 DIRECTOR, AAL-1, CC: AAL-500 Me or n Date March 10, 1987 Repty to A11n 0 1 Attached for your review and information is correspondence and records of telephone conversations which docurr~nt my inquiry into the source of an unauthorized and premature release of investigative information by someone in the Washington, D.C. FAA office. The material they released was created by the Alaskan Region Air Traffic Division as part of the JAL 1628 (UFO) investigation. Premature release of this ma~erial, as cited by Mr. Klass in the attached news article, was embarrassing to me and the agency, as several hundred other news correspondents had been told that they could not review or receive the material until it was officially distributed by the Alaskan Region Flight Standards Division and the Public Affairs Office. A considerable amount of effort went into the planned release of this material which if leaked to the press, or released to "selected" news sources, would create t he impression that the agency is not to be trusted. The unauthorized and premature rel ease of investigative materials relative to the f l ight of Japan Air Lines 1626, (UFO) as reported by a Mr. Philip K~ass i n the Anchor age Da i l y J~e~s wire service story,(dated January 30 , 1987), appears to be attributabl e to a Mr . John Callahan, ( AAT-F3 ) in Washington, D.C., who probabl y received access to the materi a l frorr, one of the two FAA employees who r eceived the material fro~ t he Al aska n Region Air Traffi c Divi s i on . I am not certain by what authority t he Air Traffi c Division releas ed the material when the inci dent was still unde r investigation by the Alaskan Region Flight Standards Office. It seems that if such authority is policy that it should, as set forth by the attached example, be ex amined for its possible negative cons equences to the agency. co ntinued ... u - 2-Pre~ature release of JAL 1628 I have drafted a letter to Messrs Harvey B. Safeer, ATS-1, and David F. Tho~as, ASF-120 , informing t hem of this prematur e release of infor1i~tion and asking t hem to provide me with t he names of persons who t he y might have shared the information with p r i or t o our release date. I may have t o purs ue t his to another l ower l evel t o locate the leak and t he a uthority. I did not want to cross out of our regional jurisdiction without your knowledge or approval . I have not c oordinated this with Steve Hayes, APA-1, pending your r eview and corrment. The f ollowing material s are attached: A. Draft letter to Safeer, and Thomas. B. Article citing Mr. Klass, "Anchorage Daily ei-.'s" C. P~L-5 request of Februa r y 2, 1987 to AAL-500 for information . D. AAL- 500 response of February 6, 1987 to AAL- 5 request. E. AJ..L-5 request of February 2, 1987 to AAL-200 and AA.L-2 for information . F. AAL-200 response of March 3, 1987 G. AAL-2 response of March 2, 1987. H. Record of tel ephone conversation, 2/18/87, Steucke and Klass. I . Recor d of tel ephone conversation , 2/20/87 , SLeucke and Maccabee. ~·~ ~. \ .~ Pau~ Steucke ACTION: Releas e of Incident In f o rmation , JAL1628 PUBLIC AFFAI RS OFFICER, AAL-5 HARVEY B. SAFEER, ATS-1 Manager, Poiicy and Recommendation Branch FAA, Washingt on , D.C. March 11 , 1987 A Mr. Phillip Klass, in a nationwide wire service news story dat ed January 30, 1987, has stated that he reviewed a co mplete copy of t he transcript for the above flight, even t hough the investigation of this incident had not been co mpleted and none of the information had been released to the public or media. The pr emature and unauthorize d viewing and release of this material wit h its subsequent publishing pl aced the agency in t he embar rassing position of having released information whic h was being withhel d from hundreds of ot her news media correspondents. This t ype of release pl aces the agencies integrit y i n questi on and make s it extremely awkward for t he public affairs office to respond t o those correspondents who were deni ed the mater ial. A I spoke to Mr. Klass on February 18 , 1987, regarding this subject and he informed me that he had "a chance to see a transcript, a certified transcript" of the voice transcriptions between the flight crew and the controllers at the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Com:,rol Center. When I asked hi m who provided him that opportunity he said " a good coresponden~ never reveals his sources, I'm sure you under stand that." This conversation was on a speaker tel ephone and was overheard by several people in our office. On February 20, 1987, I was called by Mr. Bruce Maccabee, Nav al Sur face Weapons Center, Silver Spring, Maryland, requesting the status of the J AL1628 investigation and the release of materials. He also informed me that he "and several other people had been invited by Mr. John Callahan (FA.A.-AAT-63) to see t he (UFO Air Traffic) material." This occu rred, he thought in late January , 1987 . He said the material i,.;as "thick , contained the transcript, color photos of the radar screen, interview of Captain Terauchi , c ontrolle r statements, some r.iaps and other material." He also sai d that Mr. Callahan told him about the C130 (SAC Mi litary flight) and Alaska Airlines sighting of unidentified air traffic that occurred on January 29, 1987. He did not say if the revelation about the C130 occurred at the same time as t he review of the JAL1628 material. A regional inquiry by this office has revealed that the only investigative material forwarded out of this region prior to the completion of the investigation and the coordinated release of materials by t he public affairs office, was the material sent to Mr. Harvey B. Safeer, (ATS-1), and Mr. David F. Thomas (ASF-120) by the Al askan Region Air Traffic Division. Although embarrassing, this particular breach of policy was not as da11aging to tl1e agency becaus e it was related to the sighting of an "uniden~ified flying object 11 • If t his had been an aviation accident involving a major a i r carrier with fatalities it woul d have creat ed monumental problems for the public affairs office. I would appreciate your informing me of who else had access to the investigative materials that were sent to you, and what controls are in place to prevent the pre~rature and unauth orized release of agency investigative materials which are a part of your authority. Paul Steucke , I . ,..) . Anchorage Daily News Friday, January 30, 1987 e ert s s was Jupiter Editor Philip Klass beli.eves planet~ were in the sight line of JAL pilot...: 05 .. . .. OUv News staff and wire services a 360-deiree turn are contradicted by Claims of the Paranormal in BuUalQ, ., · NEW YORK -A Japan Air Lines what he told flight controllers at the N.Y .. an organization of scientuts who .... pilot who claimed to have seen an uni-time. investi£ate claims of UFO slghtina, ESt' ~ dentified fiyin& object alongside his air-John Leyden, a spokesman for the occurrences and other ao-a.ll~<l p~Ql'- plane in the skies above Alaska last Federal Aviation AdnUnistration in mal phenomena. · • .. November was actually seeing an unusu-Waspington, quoted froin a summary of Klass, who heads the or~~tion'fi.,. ally bright image Qf the planet Jupiter conversations between th.e pilot and UFO subcommittee, is the author of.~ and po&&ibly Mani, an investigator said ground controllers in which the pilot "UFOs: The Public Deceived." He ,has ... Tuesday. reported losing sight ot the opject atier been investigating UFO si~tin&s f9r ; Philip J. K.lasa aaid astronomical cal-completing his tum. more than 20 years. · . ~ culatlona ibow that on Nov. 17, when the The object reappeared a few moments "Jupiter was only 10 degrees above~ pilot, Capt. Kenju Terauchi, claimed to later, according to the, FAA SUDUlUU'Y the hortzon, making it appear to the pilot , have seen the UFO, Jupiter was extreme-quoted by Leyden. . to be tou&hly at }μB . own 35,000-foot ly bright and wu visible precisely where · Terauchi wa.s over Alaska enroute altitude," said Klass in bis report. Mars~ the pilot reported th.at be saw the UFO. from Europe, via Iceland, to Tokyo when was visible closer to the horizon anQ te> • Mars wu just below and to the right he reported sighting the object. the rliht of Jupiter, but was nQt .~ • of Jupiter, and may explain the pilot's Paul Steucke, a spokesman for the bright, the report said. , 1, .• , initial report that he saw two lights, FAA in Anchorage, s~id that Terauchi . "This ii not the finlt time Uiat u. Klus said. told FAA officials in an interview that · experieI)Ced pilot hu mis~k~ a priOt: Terauchi Wednesday rejected Klass's the object stayed with him as he turned. celestial body for a UFO, nor will lt ~ · explanation. Terauchi, in a Wednesc\ay interview, ~aid ·the last," Klass said. · "It was not a weather phenomena," be did lose sight of the object during part A United Airlines flight and an Air·; Terauchi aaid. "Not a star. It moved with of the tum. Force C-130 cargo plane that wem 41 • you." Steucke said the FJ\A would be releas-Terauchi's vicinity at the ti.me of the· Terauchi said he did see Jupiter during ing the results of its own investigatio~ in claimed sightin,r were asked to look for ... ht. fiight, but he said the planet was not mid-February. the object, and neither repQrted s~ it. - the UFO. ~ According to Klass, who reviewed a] "I th.ink that the Japaoese pilot @.e>uld · Kla.u, an editor with the magazine complete copy of the transcript, the pilot have been a little more skeptical when· Aviation Week and Space Technology never reported seeing Jupiter or Mars, the U~ted airliner and the Air Force and a loo.a-time investigator ot claimed even though ttiey were-clearly visible. plane reported ~ing nothing,'' Kla~: UFO s.l&htings, said the pilot's claims Klass's report wa.s issued by the Com-said Tuesday ill a telephone interview· that the object followed him as he made mit\~ for tl\e Scientific Investigation of from Colorado. - \ . . ' Sub1e c t From U.S Deportment o f Transportation Federal Aviation Admini stration ACTION: Release of Accident investigation material, data, information. JL # 1628 PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, AAL-5 M m Date· Reply to Attn ol um February ~ 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. Ha s 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 h ave been provided to others I would like to have the names, titles and routing codes. cc:AAL-1 c US Departmenl of Transpona11on Federal Aviation Administration M Sub1ect INFORMATION: Release of Incident Information JAL1628 From Manager, Air Traffic Division, ML-500 To Public Affairs Officer, AAL-5 Date . Reply to Attn of o~ FEB n um This is in reply to your letter dated February 2, 1987, on the release of accident investigation rraterial, data, and inforrn.:;tion on JAL1628. The Air Traffic Division has given a complete air traffic package to the Director of Air Traffic Evaluations and Analysis, Harvey B. Safeer, ATS-1; and the Manager of Policy and Recomrrendation Branch, David F. Thomas, ASF- 120. ATS-1 is responsible on a national level for the investigation of air traffic accidents and incidents, and they have a need to know and to have copies of information concerning accidents and incidents as soon as possible. David Thomas received an AT package because of a congressional which he is/was working on, however, a copy was not sent until we had coordinated with Alaskan Region Flight Standards. AAL-1 and AAL-2 had a copy of the tape and prepared a transcript. AAL-1 sent several pieces of information to Mr. Engen's special assistant, and also authorized Major Jim Johnson from Elrrendorf AFB to obtain a cassette tape recording and a transcript. A copy of the transcript dated January 6, 1987 was rapid-faxed to ATS-1, attention Dick Wise, on January 7, 1987, by AAL-515. The only other copies, that the Air Traffic Division are aware of, are the ones in reply to the Freedom of I nformation requests, which are in the possession of Ivy Moore, AAL-5, and the copy given to you on January 30, 1987 in the AT package. The Air Traffic Division i s very cognizant of the :policy on release of inforITBtion and does not give investigative data and rraterial out to other than need-to-know parties. We have no further control on the handling of inforITBtion after it has been released from our off ice. Perhaps i t woul d be beneficial to cont act Mr. Klas s and ask him where he ob tai ned his transcript. If we can be of further a ssistance, please contact Bobby Lamkin, 271-5889. 1:k4~ Henry A. Elias 2 U.$ Deportment of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration M mor n u Subiect ACTION: Release of accident investigation material, data, information -JL #1628 Date February 2, 1987 From To Public Affairs Officer, AAL-5 Deputy Director, AAL-2 Manager, Flight Standards Division, AAL-200 Reply to Attn. o f Attached is an article aoout the JAL flight #1628, ( UFD), 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 canplete copy of the transcript ... " The investigation of this incident has not been canpleted to date and release of information or material prior to the canpletion of an investigation is not in keeping with existing policy. Mr. Klass used this reference to substantiate a position regarding his theory aoout the sighting. As a result of this published reference we received several telephone calls fran correspondents throughout the nation wanting to kncM why they did not get a canplete copy of the transcript as pranised when Mr. Klass was able to obtain a copy. We told them we had not released the material to date. Has the Flight Standards Division provided anyone, other than AAL-5, with a copy of the transcript, or other materials included in the investigation, fran the ARTCC, RCX:::C or pilot? If copies have been provided to others I 'M'.:>uld like to have the names, titles and routing codes. cc: AAL- 1 AAL-500 Sub1ect From US Departmenl o f Transporto110n Federal Aviation Administration I NFORMATION: Release of Accident Investi- gation Material, data, information -JL #1628; your memo of 2/2/87 Manager, Flight Standards Division, AAL-200 Date. Reply to Attn of Beckner:5520 To Public Affairs Officer, AAL-5 This division has not released any information, transcripts, or other materials relating to the investigation of Japan Airlines Flight #1628 of November 17, 1986 to anyone, except your office. u f U.S Department of TranspCTtation Federal Aviation Administration M mor n Subiect INFORMATION: Release of ace ident investigation material, data, information -JL #1628 Date MAR - 2 1987 From Deputy Director, AAL- 2 To Public Affairs Officer, AAL- 5 In response to your memorandum dated f M released any tra n scripts or a n y part II Reply to Atln . o 1 February 2, 1987, I have not fi¥l of a,., transcript to anyone, including Phillip J. Klass of "Aviation Week and Space Technology . " u G . r / TIME RECORD OF 0 VISIT 0 COHFEREHCE OR [i) TELEPHONE CALL 1 :00 pr NAME (•) OF PERSON(•) CONTACTED OR IN CONFERENCE AND LOCATION Mr. Phillip Klass, Writer/Journalist, 404 "N" Street, NW, Wash. DC H 'l()()?/ . -"' -- SUB JECT JAL 1628, UFO and his article of January 30, 1987 re UFO FAA report. D IGEST I called Mr. Klass to see if he wanted to be on our mailing list to receive the FAA materials re the above JAL flight, which we will be releasing to the media on March 5th .• and to find out the source of the "complete transcript" that he quoted in the article, implying it was the complete FAA transcript, controller to pilots, ARTCC. He said yes he would like the opportunity to obtain additional materials. He also said when I asked him, that he would not reveal the source of his being able to read the transcript. 0 When I finally had a chance to see a transcript I thought the controllers did a fine job." "I had a chance to see a transcript, a certified transcript." (He also made reference to the UAL flight). His conversation was on the telephone speaker-phone and was also overheard by the AAL-5 staff Writer/Editor, Ms. Gloria Moody. CONCLUSION, A CTION T"KEN. O R REOUIRED AAL-5 is documenting the available sources for possible followup re Agency policy. DATE Tl TLE <~';?"~~ Feb. 19, 1987 Public Affairs Officer FAA. Form 1360-33 14-751 FORMERLY F"" FORM 1522 1" U 5 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 197 7-77 2 -0 I 9 TIME D"TE RECORD OF D VISIT 0 COHFEREHCE OR ~ TELEPHOHE CALL 10:00 am 2/20/87 . \ ._..a.ME(&) OF PERSON(•JCONT-'CTED O R IN CONFERENCE .a.ND LOCATION ROUTING S Y MBOL II'<! T l ALS Ca l l ed by Mr . Bruc e Macca b ee, Naval Surface Weapons Center, Code R42, Silver Spring, MD 20903-5000 SU6JECT JAL 1628 , UFO, Material DIGEST Mr . Macca bee called requesting the status of available materials from the JAL 1628 UFO flight , Nov. 17, 1987. I told him about the order form iust fini~hPd ;:inrl 'he sai d send him one. He also ask ed specific questions about the more c -vno .... c-iuc items , a nd if the U.S.Navv would have to nav . I SUQQf'~ted h<> t.1<ii t-f,.....,. t'ho 1.; ct. ***** He also i n forme d me that he " and several other neonlP had been invited by Mr. John Callahan (AAT-63/FAA:D.C.) to see the (UFO AirTr<>ffir) m<it-cri<>l " This occured, he thought in lat e Jan or earlv Feb. Re sai rl t-'hc --t-,,.,..; ..,, •• ...,C' "thick, contained the transcript, color photos of the radar screen, interview of Captain . controller saatrwents . Terauch1,/some maps an o er m~terial." He also said that Mr. Callahan told him abou t the Cl 30 (SAC Military flight) and the Alaska Airlines sighting of unidentifie d air t raffic. - CONCLUSI O N , ACTION T.a.KE N . O R REOUIRE D AAL-5 is investigating this unauthori zed disclosure of material. I. DATE TITLE .-'p·10~ 2/20/ 8 7 Public Affairs Officer IP'. ' · - Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer FAA Alaskan Region 701 "C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 Dear Paul Steucke: PHILIP J . KLASS '0' ""N"" ST SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. D . C 2002~ 1202> ee~.1"io1 Feb. 2 4, 19 8 7 Enclosed is my check for $15.85 for the JAL/UFO incident materials indicated on the order form. My compliments to you and those responsible for offering such a full spectrum of data, including especially both the tape recordings and transcript of same. Having spent more than 20 years in the "strange land of UFOria," I know all too well the harsh charges typically levelled against the U.S. Government, the U.S. Air Force and and CIA of trying to "cover-up the truth about UFOs"--a charge that I consider to be demonstrably false. By offering both a transcript (which is the most useful) and a copy of the voice tapes to allow the "conspiracy-mongers" to verify the accuracy of the transcript, you should spare FAA and yourself such "coverup" criticism. But don't be surprised if such charges are later made if the hard-core "UFO-believers" are unable to find a ''smoking gun." Cordially, : '"' ... /' us Depornnen! o f TransportatlOll Federal Aviation Administration April 1, 1987 Mr. Philip J. Klass 404 N Street Southwest Washington, D.C. 20024 Dear Mr. Klass: A la s k an Re~llo (907) 271-5296 -01 C S1re e1. E u Y 14 A:-irho r o;JE . f-l<:~r a 9Sl51 3 In answer to your question regarding the correct flight path of JAL Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986, the path marked on the aero chart is the correct flight path. Our Air Traffic Division evaluation specialists assure me that the flight path was charted from the recorded radar data. Also, the transcription of communication between the air traffic controller and the pilot shows that the controller (after JAL 1628 had changed altitude and had done a 360° turn) said: "Japan Air sixteen twenty eight heavy roger at your discretion proceed direct Talkeetna Jay one two five Anchorage" While we appreciate your offer to speak to our air traffic controllers on the subject of UFO issues, the FAA in not concerned with UFO's per se. The FAA's primary concern in all cases is the safety of the airspace. The controller is expected to maintain separation of air traffic and to determine whether any unauthorized aircraft is in the area. That is just what the controllers did at the time of the JAL flight 1628 sighting. The enclosed statement, "Lack of 'Scientific' Investigation," explains our position on the matter. Sincerely, .:id ~ /JlμV-; -~l Steucke ~ ~~~lie Affairs Officer Enclosure Paul Steucke FAA, Public Affairs Officer Alaskan Region 701 C Street, Box 14 Anchorage, Al aska 99513 1·1arch 5, 1987 LACK CF "SCIENTIFIC" INVESTIGATION The Federal Aviation Administration has a number of employees who do scientific research with regard to aircraft, aviation, and reiated electronic equipment. The FAA does not have the resources or the Congressional mandate to investigate sightings of unidentified flying objects. We have not tried to determine what the crew of Japan Airlines flight 1628 saw based on scientific analysis of the stars, planets, magnetic fields, angle of view, etc. We have received letters from several persons suggesting that we ask the crew and others a variety of detailed questions from a scientific viewpoint. This we have not done and do not intend to do. We reviewed the data t hat was created by our systems, the interviews that were done by FAA to detennine the status of the crew and the aircraft, and have provided that i nformation to the public. The FAA has completed its investigation of JAL flight 1628, and does not intend to pursue it any further." II Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer Fed. Aviation Admin. PHILIP J. KLASS 404 "N" ' ST. SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. D . C . 20024 C202l 15!54·15901 701 "C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 Dear Paul: R ~+-c.lh. -2L, 1987 t L t. I \ r .. 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 question: In Terauchi'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 the n says that "Anchorage orde r e d (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 a ero chart sho ws the original route via VOR airways. QUESTION: Which is the correct flight path? Incidentally, 20+ y ears exp erience in investigating UFO reports has shown tha t a witness observing one "trigger-mechan- ism," which disappears, can readily "glob" onto anothe r light sourc e an d believe it to be the same "UFO." Philip J. Klass Technical Journalist Paul Steucke: -2- May 21, 1987 While I am convinced that Jupiter was the "UFO" for the latter portion of the flight from Nenana south, I no longer think it was the "culprit" for the earlier portion of the flight but have another candidate which I am now exploring, and which explains why I nee d clarification of the precise flight path Finally, there is a goo d chance that I may be flying to Seattle on/about May 7 to appear on a TV show there dealing with UFOs. I would be delighted to fly from Seattle to Anchorage to give my standard UFO lecture to your controllers, to provide them with a better understanding of the issues. Most of the lecture deals with incidents involving airline and military pilots and demonstrates how easily they can mistake prosaic objects for mysterious UFOs--even in broad daylight. If there is any interest controllers, I'd be delighted transportation from Seattle and will underwrite my travel costs in such a lecture to come up if FAA can back to Seattle. (The from D.C. to Seattle.) among your underwrite TV station Would appreciate a prompt response to my flight path question. Cordially, Philip J. Klass Contributing Avionics Editor: Av1a t1on Week & Space Technology High T echnology 4 0 4 " N " St. Southwest Washington , D.C. 200 24 (202) 554-5901 US Deportment of TransportatlOfl Federal Aviation A dministration April 17 , 1 987 Mr. Philip J. Klass Contributing Editor Aviation Week & Space Teclmoiogy 404 "!~" Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20024 Dear Mr. Klass: f , I ,; ~ .1n R L u 1:. r . . : 1 C S 111 · < · : • I' r · i ~ Thank you for your recent correspondence which included your analysis of the JAL flight 1628 UFO sighting that occurred in Aiasl<a on l~ovember 17, 1986. It is very interesting. I would like to be able to share this with others at sane time but will withhold doing that until you have had sufficient tir.ie to publish your findings and have granted me permission. There is no rush. Your series of questions regarding the actual course of the aircraft are both pertinent and interesting . Enclosed is a detailed map that has plotted on it the actual radar returns. This was in the original air traffic material (folded) that was sent in response to persons ~ho ordered item 1110 from the Order Forrr .. The copy most people received, having been duplicated, is difficult to read and track, hence we have obtained and special second generation copy for your use. I know the actual route is very important to your calculations and I wanted to be sure you received a legible copy. Your kind col11lilents about our intent to provide everytt1ing on tnis sighting to the public have been most helpful. s~~e colieagues would like to have FAA "wash its hands" of the whole affair and your earlier letter was most hel pfui in reaching oy goal of ful l disclosure. Sincerel y, ~ \ . 0\~\ _ _,_-- Paul Steucke Public Af f a i r s Offi cer - PHILIP J. KLASS 404 "N" ST. SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. D . C . 20024 (202> 15154.15901 April 8, 1987 - Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer FAA Alaskan Region 701 " C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Ala. 99513 Dear Paul: ~-· I' I I must again ask you to recheck the question of JAL-1628's f light path on the basis of the following: Your marked flight path shows VOR, then J-120 to the Fairbanks single 45 deg. turn to the right Talkneetna. JAL flying J-529 to Ft. Yukon VOR, followed by a (roughly) to Nenana VOR, then J-125 to This is in conflict with the transcript of pilot-radio communications where two heading changes were requested and both were approved withaut pilot withdrawing first request. 0223:37 Yukon." 0230:23 0230:31 0234:56 0235:02 Controller reports JAL is about "40 miles south of Ft. JAL asks to change to mag heading of 240. Controller approves change to heading of 240 JAL asks to change to mag heading of 210. Approval granted. 1. The foregoing implies that JAL made a right turn of roughly 57 deg. (240 -183) shortly after 0230:31. And that roughly five minutes later, JAL turned 30 deg. to its left, to a heading of 210 deg. 2. Yet your reconstructed flight path shows only a single right turn of roughly 45 deg. to a heading of roughly 210 deg. 3. Further, at 0235:30, Controller D-15 (communicating with Fairbanks approach control) says that JAL was "about five miles north of Fairbanks VOR." Your reconstructed flight path shows JAL passing directly over the Fairbanks VOR. 4. Your reconstruction shows JAL making its 360-deg. turn over Fairbanks . But approval to make the turn was not given until 0236:47--more than one minute after JAL was reported 5 miles north of Fairbanks--during which time the aircraft would have travelled a distance of roughly 10 miles. Mr. Paul Steucke: -2- Apr. 8, 19 8 7 5. The standard mately then was 360 turn should have required roughly two minutes (using 180 deg./min. turn rate) and been completed at approxi- 0238:57 Approximately one minute later, at 0240:10, JAL cleared direct to Talkeetna. 6. QUESTION: At 0231:40, Controller Rl5 reported JAL is "one two miles southeast of the Alpha (unintelligible) ... " Where/what is the Alpha fix?? (I have an aero chart for the r egion 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, ~~\~ Philip J. Klass P.S. 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." Mr . Paul Steucke Public Affairs Officer FAA Alaskan Region 701 "C" St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 Dear Paul Steucke: PHILIP J . KLASS 404 "N" ST. SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. D . C . 20024 <202> 15154.15go1 Feb. 2 4 , 19 8 7 Enclosed is my check for $15.85 for the JAL/UFO incident materials indicated on the order form. My compliments to you and those responsible for offering such a full spectrum of data, including especially both the tape recordings and transcript of same. Having spent more than 20 years in the "strange land of UFOria," I know all too well the harsh charges typically levelled against the U.S. Government, the U.S. Air Force and and CIA of trying to "cover-up the truth about UFOs"--a charge that I consider to be demonstrably false. By offering both a transcript (which is the most useful) and a copy of the voice tapes to allow the "conspiracy-mongers" to verify the accuracy of the transcript, you should spare FAA and yourself such "coverup" criticism. But don' t be surprised if such charges are later made if the hard-core "UFO-believers" are unable to find a "smoking gun." Cordially, :; J /\ I 3 J 3 >:J .... L I Mr. Paul Steucke Public Affairs Off ice FAA Alaskan Region 701 C St., Box 14 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 Dear Paul: PHILIP J. KLASS 404 "N" ST. SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. D. C. 20024 C202> !SIS4·15'101 May 2, 1987 Thank you for the JAL1628 radar plot data provided with your letter of April 17. It has been most useful in enabling me to plot the JAL flight path on an aeronautical chart for the region and to show the approximate position of the aircraft, the relative bearings to Jupiter, Mars and the full Moon at key points in the flight, as well as "highlight" remarks by the pilot on the approximate position of the reported "UFO." I enclose a copy of it to any interested parties ially). An extra copy is noted and it can be returned my plot and invite you to submit who might wish to comment (unoff ic- enclosed so that any errors can be to me. Because the arrow-head used to show aircraft location is roughly 10 nautical miles in length in terms of the aero-chart scale-factor, the JAL1628 and UA69 positions necessarily are only approximate. And I am not seeking comment on the bearings shown to Jupiter, Mars or the Moon. That info comes from Cleveland astronomer Nick Sanduleak who, incidentally, discovered the star "Sanduleak" which recently exploded to produce a Supernova. (How would you like to discover a star, have it named in your honor- --only to have it explode and disappear a few years later??) Reference the "highlight report" sent to you earlier, you do have my permission to share it with anyone in the FAA who might be interested. As indicated therein, the data accumulated and released by the Alaskan Region has been invaluable in analyzing this incident and in finding a prosaic explanation. You have my permission to use my favorable comments on your procedure in any way you think appropriate. Cordially, ~~ I \ I I I (Umiat) 266 541 EVANSVILLE EAV 391 69° TALKEETNA TKA 116.2 JAL-1628: \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 1-. "' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 JAL UFO INCIDENT: Summary White Paper, by Philip J. Klass In early January, 1987, extensive news media coverage was given to a UFO incident involving a Japan Air Lines 747 crew that had occurred on the evening of Nov. 17, 1986, while flying over Alaska, enroute from France to Anchorage. Initial media accounts, understandably, were based largely on the six-week old recollections of the JAL pilot, Capt. Kenju Terauchi. In early March, the Alaskan Region of the Federal Aviation Administration released, and offered to the public at modest cost, a detailed data package. It included a transcript of all communications between FAA controllers and the JAL pilot, as well as with two other aircraft in the vicinity .of ·the- JAL airliner. Also included are transcripts of tape-recorded interviews with the JAL pilot, copilot (first officer) and flight engineer, conducted by the FAA in early January. Also the results of an analysis of original radar ·data, recorded at the time of the incident, performed by radar specialists at the FAA's Technical Center, near Atlantic City, N.J. Analysis of the FAA data provi~es new insights into the incident which will be published in the Summer issue of The Skeptical Inquirer. Highlights of that analysis include: 1. The JAL pilot is a five-time "UFO repeater," having reported two UFO sightings prior to the Nov. 17 incident, and two others afterwards, on Jan. 11, 1987. After landing and conferring with the FAA, Terauchi agreed with the FAA that both Jan. 11 "UFO" sightings probably were caused by village lights reflecting off clouds of ice crystals. Reports from "UFO repeaters" are viewed with extreme caution by most experienced UFO investigators. 2. At the time of the initial sighting on Nov. 17, when the pilot was reporting seeing multiple lights, FAA controllers noted a single unidentified blip which appeared intermittently in close proximity to the JAL radar blip. Subsequent analysis of the recorded radar data by FAA Technical Center specialist showed that this was due to a not infrequent radar anomaly that can occur if the echo from an aircraft does not arrive back at the radar at precisely the same instant as the signal transmitted back by the aircraft's radar transponder. 3. Independent evidence that shows that the intermittent radar blip was not generated by a UFO can be found in FAA transcript of pilot-controller communications on Nov. 17. At approximately 6:35 p.m., as JAL was nearing Fairbanks, the FAA's enroute control center in Anchorage called to ask a Fairbanks controller if there were any unknown blips near JAL on the Fairbanks airport radar. (The Anchorage center was using a different, longer-range radar.) The Fairbanks controller checked and 2 promptly reported that his radar showed only the JAL airliner. 4. The flight crew's description of the white-amber lights first seen slightly to the left (south) shortly after sunset as the JAL 747 crossed into northeastern Alaska, and the single UFO, further to the left, reported as the aircraft approached Fair- banks, indicate that they looked significantly different. The initial UFO was observed for roughly 10 minutes while the second was in view for about 30 minutes. 5. The recently released FAA data confirm's CSICOP's earlier report on the incident which first revealed that two'other aircraft (United Airlines flight #69, and a .USAF C-130) that were in the area, searched for a UFO as they passed near ·the JAL airliner. The United flight, headed north from Anchorage to Fairbanks while JAL was headed south to Anchorage on a parallel airway, passed within several miles of JAL. Shortly before the two airliners passed, the JAL pilot--looking to the southeast--reported that the UFO was "just ahead of United," but the United crew saw not~ing. At the time, the JAL pilot was looking in the direction of a very bright planet Jupiter, then low on the horizon. The United crew would not have noticed Jupiter because it was to their far right while they were looking ahead and to their left for something near the JAL 747. A short time later the US~C-130, heading west, passed to the south of JAL and also failed to see any bright light. The C-130 .crew would not have seen Jupiter, which was far to its left because they were looking at JAL to their right. 6. The initial "UFO(s)" of Nov. 17 were described by the pilot as resembling the exhaust of jet/rocket engines, and he later described and sketched a giant UFO shaped like a walnut. But when the FAA later showed the pilot's sketches to the copilot, he responded: "I don't see anything like this." All he reported seeing were "like landing lights" of an aircraft. 7. Based on the pilot's report at the time of the Nov. 17 incident, confirmed by flight crew interviews, it is evident that there were thin, spotty clouds at about or slightly below the JAL flight altitude of 31,000 ft.--at roughly the same altitude as that reported for the UFO. On Nov. 17 the moon was almost full and at the time of the initial sighting and almost directly behind the 747, low in the sky •• This suggests that the amber-white lights observed by the crew were caused by bright moonlight reflecting off spotty clouds of ice crystals. (Village light reflecting off such clouds on Jan. 11 prompted Capt. Terauchi to report UFOs, and his Jan. 11 description resembled that of Nov. 17.) 8. If overflew this the hypothesis region of is correct, when the JAL airliner spotty clouds, the initial UFO would 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 a.'nd at a distance of about eight miles--in roughly the location that the amber-white lights were visible •. The flight engineer described this airbotne 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 w~ather 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 from a 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. 11. 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 Paul Ste u c k e FAA -AAL5 701C Street Box 14 Anc h o rage, Alaska 99513 D ear Paul: 325 Langton Avenue Los Altos, CA 94022 January 18, 1987 T nis is to pass on some further inforlJ1ation c oncerning the unusual visual/ radar sighting of Noven:ber j 7, 1986 by the JAL crew of flight 1628. By n o w your office is probably caln:.ing dow n a bit. l\1y work load has been consistently high since getting i nvol ved in thi s particular incident. I have h a d an e xcellent opportunity to talk with Capt. Terauchi and both flight crew on United Flight 69. I am still a waitin g son.e details on the winds aloft and satellite photographs. For your information, this JAL flight originated in New York. The JAL crew boarded the B-747 in Paris with a gross take-off weight of about 770, 000 pounds which explains why they had to refuel in Keflavik, Iceland (not Reykjevik) and again in Anchorage. When asked specifically about seeing a ny green lights associated with the unknown, Capt. Terauchi steadfastly sai d "no. " He also said that the t wo rectangular lighted patches seemed t o wobble a little while seeming to nove together through the air ..• as if they s h ared a common center of mass. His X-band on-board radar was on the 20 D.ile scale. I still am trying to determine the hull number for this aircraft through JAL contacts at SFO. I am also n:aking arrangements to interview the other t wo JAL crewmen. Capt. Terauchi said that all of the lights on the "object" went off together and completely, rather than in some random sequence. For the human eye to perceive a complete "OFF" of such lights they likely would h av e had to stay off for from 100 -200 milliseconds. Tungsten light sources probably couldn't do this so these lights were more probably gas discharge (or other} sources of luminous radiation. His use of the term "amber" and r ocke t nozzle yellowish-white strongly suggests a broad spectrun: source with i1.any different wavelengths rather than s o - called line spectra like mercur y or x e n on (etc.) sources. Regarding the VHF radio static, my sources indicate that this really isn't that unusual in that vicinity (on 120. 6 & 133. l l\.af ) , however, Capt. Terauchi said that he had never heard this t y pe z of stati c before in h i s aviation career? Tnis is puzzling. Due to the angular elevatio n of the lights above the local horizon it is quite unlikely that they were reflectio n s from g round lights, particularly considering the exceptional clarity of the &ir that eve ning . My preliminary calculations show the sun to be about 8 -10 below t h e norizon 0216Z (6:16 p m local) with Venus below the horizon, l.V • .ars very dim Cl.Var = o. 2) in the ESE, and Jupiter very intense (l\"'v = - 2.1) i n the SE at 8. 5 above the local horizon. I woul d greatly appreciate a favor if it is possib l e . I am trying to obtai n a copy of the tape (vo ice) transcript between JAL/ 16 28 and Anchorage end I or Fairbanks ATC o n the night in questio n . It would great ly clarify m y flight- ! -1 , F. Steucke -2 - January 18, 1987 path reconstruction. Could you help? In a similar vein, could you perhaps find me a copy of the official weather that night (+/-6 hrs) for NE Alaska down to Anchorage? Of particular value would be a pr4ssure and temperature sounding as a function of altitude, a so-called lapse rate diagran,, also known as a Struve Diagram. The winds aloft along the flight path of the aircraft would also be very useful. I imagine that your meteorology division has that type of information. Thanks in advance for anything you can find. As I learn more I will pass it along to you. Until later I remain Ve~erely ~rs, I /~:·/~~~/,..C-­ _.Richard F. Haines, Pn. D. Research Consultant cc: files r , S. Give my regards to Jim Derry. You may want to share this letter with him. St e v e Hayes Public Affairs Office FAA -Headquarters Washington, D. C. Dear N.ir. Hayes: 325 Langton Avenue Los Altos, CA 94022 February 16, 1987 Before I explain my reason for writing to you let me explain that I am a full time NASA scientist (now in management) at Ames R.esearch Center and have worked with the FAA on several projects including head-up display (Flight Standards, Hqs. ). I am also a rr;errber of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators and have served on an FAA investigation (for the NTSB) of the China airlines (flt. 007) son,e time ago. "}./iy ongoing personal hobby is that of uniden- t ified aerial phenomena; my specialty is that of sightings by pilots. My files now number over 3, 000 cases. I believe that a colleague af mine, Dr. Bruce :N.iaccabee spoke with you recently concerning the Japan Airlines flight 1628 incident of 17 November 1986 over Alaska. He filled Ire in on a number of radar track details which are very useful in my flight path reconstruction. He also indicated that the FAA may release the voice tape transcript of that incident and the full file. I am now writing to obtain a copy of this voice transcript for my further study and the entire case file. Of course I will be glad to pay for all copying charges. While I can imagine that you would rather just get on with your other work and forget this incident, I imagine that you would be interested in reading my case report when it is finished. Of course I will be pleased to send you a copy. Thanks for anything you may be willing to share with me. On another related matter, I understand that c entral Alaska experienced another strange sighting by an Air Force crew and the crew of an Alaskan Airlines com- mercial flight in January or early February 1987. What do you know about this later incident? A colleage at Stanford University is helping to obtain satellite c overage for the November 17, 1986 incident and I would like to save time and ex- pense by also ordering it for the second incident if possible. Another professional rr,eteo rologist is doing a weather reconstruction so I can recalrulate the JAL flight path, etc. I spent about 3 hours by phone with Capt. Terauchi and he was v ery cooperative, considering my long list of technical quest ions. Apparently he is now back in Tokyo and doesn 1 t want to talk anyn,ore, which I can fully understand. :N1y phone has also been very busy on this matter. Finally, does the FAA plan to keep the radar tape of the November 17th incident? How about the nore recent incident'? I plan to be i n \flashington on NASA business in l'llarch or early April and w ould very much like to come by to see it myself, just to clear up some unresolved questions. Thanks for your consideration of my questions and requests. I will look for ward to hearing from you. ~~ Richard F. Haines, Ph.D. Research Cons ultant U.S Deportmenf of Tronsporta!ion Federal AvkJtlon Administration Dr. Richar d F. Haines R esearch Consultant 325 Langton Avenue Los Altos, CA 94022 Dea r Dr. Haines: 7 0 1 C S1ree1. Box 14 Anchorage, Ala s i-a 99513 March 18, 1987 St eve Hayes, Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs in our Washington, D.C. office has forwarded your letter of February 16, 1987, to me for reply. Most of t he material you requested in your letter, ie JAL 1628 voice transcripts, etc. have been sent and you should have received the material by now. This also includes our file on the Alaska Airlines report which occurred on January 29, 1987. The original recorded radar tape of JAL flight 1628, November 17, 1986, is kept in a secure vault at our Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage. I don't know if t he FAA Technical research center in Atlantic City has a copy or not. Normally we do not keep these tapes after an investigation or inquiry has been co mpleted, however we do plan on keeping this one into the foreseeable future. Ther e was no radar coverage in the area of the Alaska Airlines report. You mentioned visiting the FAA office in D.C. with the intent of reviewing the r adar tape. This, as you now realize, is not possible as they do not have the t ape. The only place that this tape can be replayed in live time is at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. No one else has the equipment. The Anchor age Center can put it back up on a screen by hand typing the computer cod es f r om the radar tape. This is a laborious, time consuming task that no one i s anxious or interested i n doing again. The r e ar e two related items however which might be helpful. 1). Enclosed is a copy of t he r adar computer printout for the JAL 1628 flight. You may have already r eceived a copy. This printout sets forth the radar data returns in chronol ogical order. This is very i mportant if one is to make legitimate comparisons of t he radar returns. It clearly shows the uncorrelated returns and the fact that the data was not returning to the Center at the same time. This accounts f or t he uncorrelated target ret urns and the distance between them (as the aircraf t continued to move). The second item 2). is an invitation to you to visit the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center and watch the same radar system (out of Fairbanks) as it tracks aircraft. I di d this a few wee ks ago when I was out there, and it produces the same kind of uncorrelated target returns. Hope we ge t to meet sometime. Best regards. ~U~ Paul Steucke Subjec t From US Department of Transportation F.deral Aviation Administration ACTION: Release of Accident investigation material, data, information. JL f/1628 PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, AAL-5 Memorandum Date: Reply to Attn of February 2, 1987 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 o f 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 . . cc:AAL-1 t .... Anchorage Daily News Friday, January 30, 1987 B5 UFO expert says it was u .. • .. • .. Editor Philip Klass believes planet& were in the sight line of JAL pilot .· f· I Daiy News staff and wire 88IVices NEW YORK -A Japan Air Lines pilot who claimed to have seen an uni- dentified flying object alongside his air- plane in the skies above Alaska last November was actually seeing an unusu- ally bright image of the planet Jupiter and poaaibly Man, an investigator said Tuesday. Philip J. Kl.au said astronomical cal- culations show that on Nov. 17, when the pilot, Capt. Kenju Terauchi, claimed to have seen the UFO, Jupiter was extreme- ly bright and was visible precisely where the pilot reported that he saw the UFO. Man1 was just below and to the right of Jupiter, and may explain the pilot's initial report that he saw two lights, Klass aaid. Terauchi WednetdaY rejected Klass's explanation. "It wu not a weather phenomena," Tuauchi said. "Not a star. It moved with you." Terauchi said he did see Jupiter during hil flight, but he said the planet was not the UFO. Kl.au, an editor with the magazine Aviation Wilek and Space Technology and a 10111-time investigator of claimed UFO liahtin&s, said the pilot's claims that the object followed him as he made a 360-degree turn are contradicted by Claims of the Paranormal in Buffalo, v what he told flight controllers at the N.Y., an organization of scientists who .... time. investigate claims of UFO sightings, ESP • John Leyden, a spokesman for the occurrences and other ao-called paranor- Federal Aviation Administration in mal phenomena. Washington, quoted from a summary of Klass, who heads the organization's- conversations between the pilot and UFO subcommittee, is the author of~ ground controllers in which the pilot "UFOs: The Public Deceived." He has ... reported losing sight of the object after been investigating UFO si&htlnas for ; completing his tum. more than 20 years. · The object reappeared a few moments "Jupiter was only 10 degrees above - · later, according to the~ FAA summary the horizon, making it appear to the pilot ' quoted by Leyden. to be roughly at his own 35,000-foot · Terauchi was over Alaska enroute ' altitude," said Klass in his report. Mars: from Europe, via lcela.nd, to Tokyo when · was visible closer to the horizon an4 to • he reported sighting the object. the right of Jupiter, but was not u • Paul Steucke, a spokesman for the bright, the report said. , FAA in Anchorage, said that Terauchi .. . ''This is not the tlrlt time that an. told FAA officials in an interview that : experienced pilot has mistaken a briaht: the object stayed with him as he turned. : • celestial body for a UFO, nor will it be ' Terauchi, in a Wednesday interview, said the last," Klass said. he did lose sight of the object during part A United Airlines fll&ht and an Afr·~ of the tum. Force C-130 cargo plane that were in• Steucke said the FJ\A would be releas-Terauchi's vicinity at the time of the~ ing the results of its own investigation in claimed sightin~ were asked to look for~ mid-February. . the object, and neither reported seetna· it. - According to Klass, who reviewed a . "I think that the Japanese pilot ehould · complete copy of the transcript, the pilot have been a little more skeptical when • never reported seeing Jupiter or Mars, the United airliner and the Air Force even though t~ey were-clearly visible. plane reported seeing nothing," Kl~~ ~ass's report was lsaued by the Com-said Tuesday in a telephone interview~ mit*ee for the Scientific Investigation of from Colorado.