The Encounter
On November 17, 1986, the crew of Japan Air Lines Flight 1628, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, reported a prolonged visual encounter with unidentified objects while en route from Paris to Tokyo via Anchorage. The incident occurred over northeastern Alaska at approximately 5:11 p.m. local time.
Captain Kenju Terauchi, commanding the flight, testified that he and his crew, co-pilot Takanori Tamefuji and flight engineer Yoshio Tsukuba, observed unusual lights ahead of the aircraft. According to Terauchi’s official report filed with Japanese authorities, the visual encounter lasted approximately 50 minutes. Terauchi described one object as exceptionally large, estimating its dimensions to be comparable to two aircraft carriers in size.
The encounter occurred at cruise altitude while the 747 was flying in darkness over sparsely populated terrain. Terauchi reported that the crew attempted to maintain visual contact with the objects while continuing their flight path toward Anchorage.
FAA Tracking and Investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center was simultaneously tracking the aircraft. According to FAA Division Chief John Callahan, who oversaw the facility’s operations at the time, radar operators detected an unidentified return near the position of the 747 while the crew was reporting the visual sighting.
Callahan later made public statements regarding the FAA’s response to the incident. He stated that the FAA conducted a full investigation into the encounter and that officials from the Central Intelligence Agency and other unspecified agencies attended an official briefing regarding the radar data and crew reports. Callahan testified publicly that he was subsequently instructed to keep quiet about the incident.
The encounter prompted formal documentation by the FAA and became part of the agency’s investigative record.
Radar Evidence and Technical Debate
The radar data obtained by the FAA’s Anchorage facility showed an intermittent radar return positioned near the aircraft’s reported location. This data became a subject of technical debate within aviation and government circles.
Some FAA officials attributed the radar return to a radar phenomenon known as a split image, a duplicate or reflected return of the 747 itself appearing on radar screens. This explanation suggested that radar artifacts rather than a separate object accounted for the unidentified return. Other officials and investigators questioned this conclusion, pointing to the specifics of the radar presentation and the crew’s simultaneous visual observations.
The FAA administrator overseeing the agency at the time did not issue an official closure of the case, leaving the investigation’s conclusions formally unresolved within the agency’s public records.
Aftermath and Career Impact
Following the public reporting of the encounter, Captain Terauchi was temporarily removed from flight duties. This administrative action occurred after Terauchi spoke publicly about the incident. He was subsequently reinstated to flight status.
John Callahan, the FAA Division Chief who had overseen the investigation, retained copies of FAA documents and radar data related to the case. Years after the incident, Callahan made these retained materials public, providing documentation of the FAA’s tracking data and official involvement in investigating the encounter.
Public Record
The Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 encounter remains documented in FAA investigation files, radar data preserved from the Anchorage facility, John Callahan’s retained copies of official documents, and Captain Terauchi’s written report submitted to Japanese aviation authorities. These records form the factual basis for understanding an incident that occurred during commercial air operations and triggered formal investigation by the United States Federal Aviation Administration.