Pilot Report
Unclassified Complete
733667-001-007-0007
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence
85%
Credibility
90%
View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source
Intelligence summary
This document contains a personal account from Capt. Kenju Terauchi regarding an encounter with unidentified aerial phenomena during JAL Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. The account describes the sudden appearance of multiple unidentified flying objects that moved in formation alongside the aircraft, causing communication difficulties.
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Jun 15, 1986
Document Date (year hint)
Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-007-0007
Jun 16, 2026
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Ingestion Date for 733667-001-007-0007
Jun 16, 2026
Document Record Date
Document Record Date for 733667-001-007-0007
Jun 16, 2026
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Update Date for 733667-001-007-0007
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Full document text
1,484 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗
-p 10°
moved so suddenly. We probably would have felt more in danger
and would have been prepared to escape if the spaceships were
shaking unsteadily or were unable to stop themselves. It is
impossible for any man-made machine to make a sudden appearance
in front of a jumbo jet that is flying 910 kilometers per hour
and to move along in a formation paralleling our aircraft. The
ships moved in formation for about three to five minutes, then
two ships moved forward in a line, again slightly higher in
altitude as we were, 40 degrees to our left. We did not report
this action to the Anchorage Center. Honestly, we were simply
breathtaken. The VHF communication, both in transmitting and
receiving were extremely difficult for ten or fifteen minutes
While the little ships came close to us and often interfered with
communication from the Anchorage Center; however, communication
conditions became just as good as soon as the ships left us.
There were no abnormalities in the equipment or the aircraft. I
have no idea why they came so close to us. :
Then again, there was a pale white flat light on the
direction where the ships flew away, moving in a line along with
us, in the same direction and same speed and in the same altitude
aS we were.
[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]