News Article
Unclassified Complete
733667-02-001-0018
National Archives and Records Administration
Confidence
85%
Credibility
90%
View original document ↗ hosted at the official government source
Intelligence summary
The FAA has reopened its investigation into unidentified flying objects (UFOs) reported by a Japan Air Lines crew over Alaska on November 17, 1986. The inquiry aims to identify an unknown object that appeared on radar and was seen by the crew, which was initially dismissed as 'random clutter.'
Tags & topics
Linked cases
Locations referenced
| Location | Context | Confidence | Supporting text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmendorf Air Force Base | Military Location | Unresolved | …he eve- ning of Nov. 17, 1986, when an ur explained bilp ‘appeared on radar ° : screens as the JAL crew reported seeing mysterious lights.” radar screens monit |
| Alaska | Sighting Location | Unresolved | …he'Fed- | tho FAA, Steucke said, .. eral Aviation Administration Has ree An unknown objéct appeared on opened its inquiry into what hap- pened the night a Japa |
| Alaska on November | Sighting Location | Unresolved | The FAA has reopened its investigation into unidentified flying objects (UFOs) reported by a Japan Air Lines crew over Alaska on November 17, 1986. The inquiry |
Extracted timeline
Jun 15, 1987
Document Date (year hint)
Document Date (year hint) for 733667-02-001-0018
Jun 16, 2026
Ingestion Date
Ingestion Date for 733667-02-001-0018
Jun 16, 2026
Document Record Date
Document Record Date for 733667-02-001-0018
Jun 16, 2026
Update Date
Update Date for 733667-02-001-0018
Entities mentioned
Full document text
1,941 characters, transcribed via OCR. Errors reflect the source scan. Compare with the original ↗
Che Washington Post;
SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 1987 AS
—+ =.
FAA Reopens,
Its Inquiry «
Into UFOs -
Objects. Violated.
"Alaskan Airspace -
ren a “the decision to reopen the inquiry
United Presi iterate! "1 was made by the regional director of
ANCHORAGE, Jun. 3—The'Fed- | tho FAA, Steucke said, ..
eral Aviation Administration Has ree An unknown objéct appeared on
opened its inquiry into what hap-
pened the night a Japan Air Lines
Boelng 747 cargo crew reported
seeing unidentified flying objects
(UFOs) over Alaska, an FAA spokes
man said today.
FAA favessigaters Interviewed
Capt. Kenju Terauchi, the pilot, for a
second time Friday and are reviews
ing all radar records from the eve-
ning of Nov. 17, 1986, when an ur
explained bilp ‘appeared on radar ° :
screens as the JAL crew reported
seeing mysterious lights.”
radar screens monitored ia the An-
| chorage Air Route Traffic Control
Center, the Alaska Air Command at
Elmendorf Air Force Base and ir the
cockpit of the JAL plans, «:
the unidentified blip as “random elute
ter,” but Staucke said the FAA’s ra-
thiskind of elutter, ¢ 7s '
"The reason we're exploring it 4
that it was a violation of airapace,”.
FAA apokeaman ‘Paul Steucke sald.
“That may sound etrange, but that’s
what It was.
When the tncldent firet came ti.
light last week, the FAA reported .
that it was no longer investigating -
end considered the matter an unex-
However, a thorough review of
available data in the case began Fri- -
day and will continue this week, -
Steucke sald, noting that he is call-
ig na: fgnlry, pot) Kisetiga: ©
tothe object of the ‘thquiry—of
collecting all the data and interviews
ing people—Is to identify the object, -
if possible,” Steucke enld,
. “However, considering the type of :
data we have available, no one con-
siders it realistic that we can ety ;
the object,” he added.
_ Air Force officials have darned’
dar system ia deaigned to remove ©
as