Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Incident

The best-documented UFO sighting and one of the rarest, allegedly confirmed on radar data

Name	Japan Airline Flight 1628
Occurred on	November 17, 1986
Seen by	Captain Kenju Terauchi First Officer Takanori Tamefuji Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuba
Investigated by	FAA, John Callahan

Pilots have the highest likelihood of experiencing the UFO phenomenon, but crews are expected to rarely report encounters for fear of professional consequences. Captain Kenju Terauchi, one of the key witnesses of the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident, would attest to that.

The case remains unmatched in UFO history for its prolonged narrative and for radar corroborations—atypical for the phenomenon. The witnesses’ statements, combined with their credibility and the government’s interest, led to an investigation that unearthed a wealth of evidence, including radar data and radio transcripts.

Unfortunately, as with every other documented UFO sighting, the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident remains a mystery to this day. What happened that eventful night? Let’s look back.

What Is the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Incident?

On the evening of November 17, 1986, Japan Airlines was involved in one of the most compelling UFO encounters on record. It’s one of those sightings that gained notoriety due to its convincing evidence and even became embroiled in allegations of government secrecy.

A scheduled cargo flight by Japan Airlines, JAL 1628, was en route from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Anchorage late in the afternoon. It was carrying boxes of French wine, flying over Alaska.

Aboard it were three crew members:

• Captain Kenju Terauchi
• First Officer Takanori Tamefuji
• Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuba

It was 4:25 PM Alaska time when we reported our location to Edmonton Center from above Single Point, Canada. It had become pitch-dark because the moon was directly behind us, near the horizon.

Captain Kenju Terauchi recalled that they were peacefully cruising the darkening skies, communicating with air traffic control centers for any additional orders.

It was 5:05 PM when the Anchorage Air Traffic Control Center ordered them to turn and fly directly to Talkeetna Airport, north of Alaska. Despite flying at flight level (FL) 390 at 0.84 Mach, a group of unusual lights caught their attention.

Captain Terauchi claimed that the unidentified air traffic was first observed within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), and that the following events then occurred.

The Timeline of Events

The following timeline provides a chronology of the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident. The information below was gathered from an official FAA Memo, and the times listed are approximate UTC unless otherwise specified.

• 5:19 PM. Captain Terauchi requested traffic information after observing same-direction traffic 1 mile ahead. However, the controller advised there was none.
• 5:25 PM. JAL 1628 informed the air traffic controller that the traffic was then visible on their radar. It was at 11 o’clock, 8nm.
• 5:26 PM. The controller contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) to ask if they were receiving any radar returns near JAL 1628. To which the ROCC advised that they had a return at the plane’s 10 o’clock, 8nm.
• 5:27 PM. The ROCC updated that they no longer had any radar returns.
• 5:31 PM. JAL 1628 described that the air traffic was “quite big,” and requested a descent from FL350 to FL310, but the traffic was also descending “in formation.”
• 5:35 PM. The crafts were now in the Fairbanks region, and the controller asked Fairbanks Approach Control if they had any radar returns near JAL 1628. There was none.
• 5:36 PM. JAL 1628 was ordered a 360-degree turn.
• 5:38 PM. The ROCC confirmed a “flight of two” in JAL 1628’s position, but was soon informed that the traffic was no longer in sight.
• 5:44 PM. JAL 1628 reported seeing the traffic again, now at its 9 o’clock.
• 5:45 PM. The air controller ordered a 10-degree turn to a United Airlines flight.
• 5:48 PM. JAL 1628 told the air controller that the traffic was at its 7 o’clock, 8nm.
• 5:50 PM. The United Airlines flight reported they had Japan Airlines in sight but couldn’t see any other traffic.

Captain Terauchi placed the end of the encounter 120km north of Talkeetna at 6:20 PM, and estimated that the entire event lasted for about 50 minutes.

The Crew’s Description of the Craft

The JAL 1628’s crew detailed the craft’s behavior as flying at:

• An estimated altitude of 35,000 ft.
• About 660 mph in the exact direction of their plane

While Captain Terauchi claimed they could clearly see that the unidentified air traffic was as large as the JAL 1628, a Boeing 272, which is typically 153 ft, the radar display showed it was far from their craft.

From their perspective, the lights looked square-ish, but the pilot believed they were cylindrical and were seen from the side. He reported seeing a broad, vertical stripe down the center that sometimes “ejected a stream of lights,” likening it to the sparks from a charcoal fire.

These lights were split into two and reportedly shifted as a group, as though they shared a common center of gravity. Engr. Tsukuba described them as either white or amber and undulating.

The “Mothership”

The two groups of lights weren’t the only UAP the crew saw that night. Apparently, 15 minutes after the first UFOs came into view, the crew spotted a white, horizontally elongated light at the same position and speed as their plane.

JAL 1628 again advised the Anchorage center that they had radar returns at their 11 o’clock, but again, there was nothing. However, at certain points, the center reported hitting a return about 5 to 8 nm, prompting them to radio Elmendorf Air Force Base. The base also corroborated their statement, reporting that for a minute and a half, they also picked up a return.

Captain Terauchi described this “mothership” as a giant walnut-shaped UFO, with its top lit by silverish lights that flashed in an irregular pattern. He also claimed that he believed the mothership intentionally positioned itself in the dark because “they did not want to be seen.”

When shown the sketch, First Officer Tamefuji said, “I don’t see anything like this, but if we can connect these lights, it would be a big object.”

Were There Similar Incidents?

During his separate interviews, Captain Terauchi claimed to have witnessed similar events before and after the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident.

On January 2, 1987, Captain Terauchi was interviewed by Inspector Richard Gordon and a Japanese interpreter, Sayoko Mimoto. When asked if the JAL 1628 was his first sighting, he revealed that it was actually his third.

The following statements were revealed about his previous incidents:

• The first time allegedly happened five years ago, which he detailed, “This cargo flight I took off at 2 AM. When we start [to] climb, we saw [on the] left-hand side [a] big mothership. It was so weird, I ignored it.”
• The second time happened in his house, “We saw bright lights, I guess maybe 10,000 ft. The light continued for about 10 minutes.”

After this interview, Captain Terauchi would later claim that he had another encounter similar to the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident.

It happened on January 11, when he allegedly spotted unusual lights in the same area while flying from Paris to Anchorage. To better describe what he saw, he released a statement in Japanese, and the translation resembled the account of their November 17 encounter.

We see irregular pulsating lights and a large black chunk just in front of us. The distance is five miles. It seems to be a spaceship, a UFO.

However, after hearing his tales, the FAA was quick to label him as a UFO repeater, which damaged his credibility. It was believed he could be biased, given that he believed the lights were extraterrestrial and often used the terms “spaceship or mothership.”

After these incidents, Captain Terauchi then spent several years working a desk job. While Japan Airlines claimed this was a routine rotation, many believed the pilot was punished for his statement. He also stopped discussing the events and directed interested journalists to the airlines for inquiries, stating he didn’t want to repeat himself.

Who Investigated the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Incident?

By January 1987, the media got wind of the story, and it immediately gained significant attention. This forced the FAA to begin gathering documents, data, and recordings and to make them available to the public.

On January 4, the agency claimed that they had already:

• Interviewed the crew
• Reviewed radar data
• Obtained radar specialists’ reviews

The FAA’s Changing Statements

Over the course of its investigation, the FAA has reached several conclusions about what the visual or radar “blip” could have been. In its initial statement, while acknowledging the radar return, the agency was quick to dismiss any allegations that it was a UFO.

They sent the data to a radar specialist, Dennis R. Simantel, who claimed that the sporadic blip was due to a phenomenon known as “uncorrelated primary and beacon target.”

These uncorrelated primary returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing associated with the delay adjustments in the aircraft transponder and the target correlation circuitry within the radar equipment.⁶

However, by January 8, the FAA reopened the investigation, stating that it was only reopening it because the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident was an evident airspace violation, and nothing else. During this investigation, they reviewed all the data they had and retracted their initial statement, changing it to:

The FAA has concluded that the unidentified object on radar now appears to be an unexplained split image of the JAP Boeing 747 and not a separate object. The review of radar data indicates that no second object was present and represents a reversal of earlier FAA statements that a second object was confirmed on radar.

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The Radio Recording

Part of the data the FAA managed to gather and investigate was a radio recording between JAL 1628 and the air traffic controller.

Here’s the transcript of the radio recording:

This recording was submitted to the FAA administrator, Admiral Donald D. Engen. He immediately set up a briefing, which was presented by John Callahan and attended by the CIA, Ronald Reagan’s scientific team, and a few other individuals.

However, Callahan claimed that someone from the CIA ended the meeting by saying, “This event never happened. We were never here.” The recording was confiscated, and everyone in the briefing was sworn to secrecy.

The Radar Specialists’ Findings

What made the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident compelling was its array of evidence, particularly its radar data. Several air traffic control specialists and quality assurance specialists who were working on November 17 released statements about what they saw.

However, they also had contrasting claims.

Carl E. Henley, Air Traffic Control Specialist

I checked with ROCC to see if they had military traffic in the area and to see if they had primary targets in the area. ROCC did have primary target in the same position JAL 1628 reported. Several times, I had single primary returns where JAL 1628 reported traffic.

In a following statement, he made clarifications about his initial account, stating:

I stated in the paragraph that several times I had several primary returns where JAL 1628 reported traffic; in actuality, I observed three types of targets.

• I saw tentative radar targets which showed up as a (-) symbols.
• I saw (+) symbols that indicate radar only tracks.
• I also saw non-run-length targets which show up as a (.) symbols.

Samuel J. Rich, Air Traffic Control Specialist

The pilot of JAL 1628 reported that he had traffic at his altitude. He stated it was a big plane with yellow and white lights. We advised him we had no traffic in his position. We adjusted the radar PVD to approximately a 25-mile scale, and there was a radar return in the position the pilot had reported traffic. I called ROCC to ask if they had any military traffic operating near JAL 1628. The ROCC said they had no military traffic in the area.

John L. Aarnink, Air Traffic Control Specialist

I monitored the aircraft’s transmissions and observed data on the radar that coincided with information that the pilot of JAL 1628 reported. I coordinated with the ROCC on the BRAVO and CHARLIE lines. They confirmed they also saw data in the same location.

Anthony M. Wylie, Quality Assurance Specialist

I have reviewed the Continuous Data Recording of ZAN EARTS, radar data, and reference JAL 1628 alleged sightings. I could not find any target information in the vicinity of the reported traffic.

Manfred F. Keller, Automations Specialist

I interpreted the record data reference JAL 1628. I searched the specific areas where the pilot reportedly had traffic and could not find any indications of other target information.

What Was the Truth Behind the Incident?

After the FAA’s chaotic investigations and statements, several conclusions were drawn by both skeptics and believers.

Jupiter and Mars

Philip J. Klass was among the first to offer an explanation of the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident. In a press release on January 22, he suggested that the crew had seen an unusually bright reflection of Jupiter and possibly Mars.

In the southeasterly direction where Terauchi was then looking was the very bright (-2.6 magnitude) planet Jupiter, which was low in the sky (about 12 degrees) at an azimuth of about 143 degrees relative to true north.

Clouds of Ice Crystals

In March, Klass revised his first explanation and added that the nearly full moon that night could have reflected off turbulent clouds of ice crystals.

On the night of November 17, there was a nearly full moon that would have been approximately 12 degrees above the horizon at the time of the initial sighting and almost directly behind the JAL’s direction of flight. This raises the possibility that bright moonlight reflecting off turbulent clouds of ice crystals could have generated the undulating flame-colored lights. This would also explain why the lights would periodically appear and disappear as cloud conditions changed.

Another Case of Government Secrecy

While no researcher has explicitly claimed that the lack of concrete conclusions was due to government secrecy, several instances suggest such a conclusion.

For one, after his retirement in August 1988, John Callahan began advocating for the US government’s transparency about the UFO phenomenon, having handled the FAA briefing. He felt the government knew more and believed that the public had the right to know, as well.

So, he began speaking out about his involvement, attending the:

• UFO Disclosure press conference
• Citizen’s Hearing on Disclosure

He also spoke to Huffington Post and claimed that in his last years of working with the government, he lied to the public and helped disseminate misinformation about UFOs.

What Is the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Incident’s Significance in Ufology?

The Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident is cited as one of the most compelling UFO sightings. In research circles, it’s often highlighted for its strong instrumental evidence and credible eyewitness testimony. The case has also been featured in several documentaries.

The primary reason for its enduring notoriety is that it forced authorities to investigate and take UFO allegations seriously. From the FAA’s extensive radar data investigation to the CIA’s involvement, the incident is frequently cited as an example of government participation and interest, but was quickly reduced to conspiracy and reluctance.

Overall, the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 incident has caused quite a stir in the UFO community as a fascinating aviation mystery. While it’s not as famous as the Roswell incident, it’s still a reference point for discussing pilot sightings and radar-visual cases.

FAQ

What really happened to Japan Airlines Flight 1628 in 1986?

The Japan Airlines Cargo Flight 1628 crew reported seeing two smaller groups of unusual lights, followed by one large object, which they described as comparable in size to an aircraft.

What evidence supports the Japan Airlines Flight 1628 UFO sighting?

The case gathered several pieces of evidence, including pilot testimony that was corroborated by the crew, air traffic control recordings, and radar data.

Is Japan Airlines Flight 1628 considered a credible UFO case?

It is often cited as a credible case due to the witnesses’ backgrounds and the radar data, but no definitive proof exists.

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