Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Alaska UFO Encounter (1986)

📅 Overview

On November 17, 1986, between 17:11~17:39 (local time), Japan Airlines Cargo Flight 1628 (Boeing 747-200F) was accompanied by a massive unidentified flying object for ~30 minutes over Alaska. Captain Kenju Terauchi + co-pilot + flight engineer (3 consistent witnesses) + FAA radar tracking — making this one of the best-documented civilian aviation UFO cases.

🔍 Incident Timeline

Flight path: Paris → Reykjavik → Anchorage (cargo)

17:11 (Alaska time):

• Cruising at 35,000 ft near Fort Yukon, Alaska
• Capt. Terauchi observed 2 lights left + below the aircraft
• Initial assumption: military aircraft → Anchorage ATC confirmed no nearby aircraft

Observation pattern:

• 2 luminous objects accompanied the 747
• After 5-7 minutes, a massive vehicle appeared between the two lights
• Description (Terauchi's drawing):
  • Walnut/ball-shaped
  • Diameter 4x Boeing 747 (240m)
  • Central glow + dark metallic outline
• FAA radar + aircraft radar simultaneous tracking

17:39:

• Massive craft disappeared
• Small lights also vanished
• Safe arrival at Anchorage

🛂 FAA + U.S. Military Handling

FAA investigation:

• Immediate report 1986-11-17
• John Callahan (FAA Accidents/Investigations Division) led the case
• Aircraft + FAA radar imagery + audio recordings retained
• 1987-01 U.S. CIA interview with Callahan
• Later declassified (2001~)

📺 Significance

• One of the best-documented civilian aviation UFO encounters
• Japanese aircraft + US airspace + FAA multilayered evidence = international case
• 2001 partial declassification
• Reference material in both Japanese + US UFO research