News Article Unclassified Complete

733667-02-001-0018

National Archives and Records Administration

Released
Published
Added to archive
Jun 16, 2026
Department
National Archives and Records Administration
Original size
751 KB
External ID
98364036d2e1aba50de2047861886124dab8a764c6804a3f6f67e9df3a9a4540
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

Airspace ViolationFAA InvestigationUFOs AlaskaFAAInvestigationJapan Air LinesUFO

Linked cases

Locations referenced

LocationContextConfidenceSupporting 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 ↗

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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