733667-001-018-0006

PILOT REPORT

AI Summary

This document is a personnel statement from Erland D. Stephens, an Air Traffic Control Specialist at the Anchorage ARTCC, detailing the incident involving Japan Airlines Flight 1628 on November 18, 1986, where the flight reported an unidentified object in close proximity.

Key Findings

- Japan Airlines Flight 1628 reported an unidentified object at FL 350. - The object was described as having a white and yellow strobe light. - Intermittent radar returns were noted in the area of the reported traffic. - Visual contact with the unidentified object was lost by JL1628. - Information was relayed to U.S. Customs regarding the potential for a lost aircraft.

OCR Text

PERSONNEL STATEMENT FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center January 9, 1987 The following is a report concerning the incident to Japan Airlines Flight 1628 (JL1628) north of Fairbanks, Alaska on November 18, 1986 at 0218 UTC. My name is Erland D. Stephens (AS). I am employed as an Air Traffic Control Specialist by the Federal Aviation Administration at the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), Anchorage, Alaska. During the period of 0100 UTC, November 18, 1986, to 0900 UTC, November 18, 1986, I was on duty in the Anchorage ARTCC. I was working the Area Manager in Charge position from 0100 UTC, November 18, 1986, to 0900 UTC, November 18, 1986. At 0221 UTC I was notified by Joe Rollins, Area B Supervisor, that JL1628, had reported traffic at his altitude (FL 350), distance one (1) mile with a white and yellow strobe light. I notified the Alaska Regional Operations Center (ROC) and the Elmendorf Regional Operational Control Center (ROCC) about this observed traffic. At 0233 UTC, after Mr. Rollins advised me that JL1628 had reported the traffic to be paralleling his route and that Sector R15 radar and ROCC had intermittent radar returns in the area of JL1628s observed traffic I notified the U.S. Customs office at Anchorage International Airport about the possibility of a lost aircraft following JL1628 to Anchorage. At 0245 UTC, Mr. Rollins advised me that JL1628 had lost visual contact with the unknown traffic at 0257 UTC. Mr. Rollins advised me that ROCC had lost radar contact with the unknown traffic. At 0423 UTC I gave this information to the Washington D.C. ROC. 14 Erland D. StegKens Air Traffic Control Specialist Anchorage ARTCC

Metadata

Agency
Classification
UNCLASSIFIED
Department
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence85
Credibility90

NARA Source

NAID
733667
File
733667-001-018-0006.jpg
Type
image/jpeg

No machine-readable OCR text for this asset. Photographs without captions may have no extractable text.

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