Pilot Report Unclassified Complete

733667-001-011-0047

National Archives and Records Administration

Released
Published
Added to archive
Jun 16, 2026
Department
National Archives and Records Administration
Original size
2.8 MB
External ID
affb683b212e631c76db8d17dc1864fb92353cd34014b91a46244d4563e0af4e
Confidence
85%
Credibility
90%

View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source

Intelligence summary

This document details a personal account from Captain Kenju Terauchi regarding the sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) while piloting Japan Airlines Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. The account describes interactions with a United Airlines flight and air traffic control regarding the UFO's presence.

Tags & topics

Air traffic controlAviationUFO Sighting Aviation SafetyPilot TestimonyUAPUFO

Linked cases

Extracted timeline

Jun 15, 1986

Document Date (year hint)

Document Date (year hint) for 733667-001-011-0047

Jun 16, 2026

Ingestion Date

Ingestion Date for 733667-001-011-0047

Jun 16, 2026

Document Record Date

Document Record Date for 733667-001-011-0047

Jun 16, 2026

Update Date

Update Date for 733667-001-011-0047

Entities mentioned

Full document text

1,639 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗

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-p 15° I knew that in the past there was a U.S. military fighter called the mustang that had flown up high for a confirmation and a tragedy had happened to it. Even the F-15 with the newest technology had no guarantee of safety against the creature with an unknown degree of scientific technology. We flew toward Talkeetna at an altitude of 3,100 feet. The spaceship was still following us, not leaving us at all. About the same time a United Airline passenger aircraft which left Anchorage to Fairbanks flew into the same air zone and began communicating with the Anchorage Center. We heard them transmitting that there was an object near JL 1628 and requesting for confirmation. . We heard that the Anchorage Center was saying to the United Airline aircraft that JL 1628 was at an altitude of 3,100 feet, therefore, United Airline should maintain an altitude of 3,300 feet. It sounded as if Anchorage Center had the United Airline aircraft fly above the spaceship. We were flying the East side of Mt. McKinley. The United Airline aircraft came close to us. The United Airline aircraft requested us to flash landing lights for visual confirmation and we both confirmed our positions visually. The United Airline aircraft was coming close to us. We knew that they were watching us. When the United plane came by our side, the spaceship disappeared suddenly and there was nothing but the light of moon. [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]