Pilot Report
Unclassified Complete
733667-001-007-0003
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence
85%
Credibility
90%
View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source
Intelligence summary
This document details the personal account of Captain Kenju Terauchi regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed during Japan Airlines Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986, while flying over Alaska.
Tags & topics
Linked cases
Locations referenced
| Location | Context | Confidence | Supporting text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Sighting Location | Unresolved | This document details the personal account of Captain Kenju Terauchi regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed during Japan Airlines Flight 1628 on N |
Extracted timeline
Jun 15, 1986
Document Date (year hint)
Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-007-0003
Jun 16, 2026
Ingestion Date
Ingestion Date for 733667-001-007-0003
Jun 16, 2026
Document Record Date
Document Record Date for 733667-001-007-0003
Jun 16, 2026
Update Date
Update Date for 733667-001-007-0003
Entities mentioned
Full document text
1,396 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗
~p 6°
Anchorage Center when we _ reach above Pottat(sp?) where Alaska
Territorial Air begins. Pottat locates approximately 480 miles,
approximately 890 kilometers, North-northeast of Anchorage, 67
degrees 56 minutes North Latitude, 141 degrees West Longitude.
We began the communication with the Anchorage Center about
5:05 p.m. The flight course we had acknowledged was Jet 529,
direct to Ft. Yukon and Jet 125 via Nenana, Talkeetna, Chaiger
(sp?), and to Anchorage. The Anchorage Center ordered us to fly
direct to Talkeetna, provided us transponder codes and placed us
on a radar scope at the same time. The strange phenomenon
happened immediately after we began left rotation, following the
order of taking the direct flight course.
There was an unidentifiable light ahead of the rotation. We
set the course toward Talkeetna and began level flight. Then we
saw lights that looked like aircraft lights, 30 degrees left
front, 2,000 feet (600 meters) below us, moving exactly in the
same direction and with the same speed as we were. We were at
the altitude of 35,000 feet (10,600 meters), flying speed was
900 kilometer per hour to 910 kilometer per hour.
[Personal statement concerning JAL Flight 1628 sighting of
unidentified air traffic, Nov. 17, 1986. Written by Capt.
Kenju Terauchi; translated by Sayoko Mimoto, FAA Alaskan
Region, Airway Facilities Division. Received by FAA 1/2/87]