Summary
On 17 November 1986, the three-person crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft flying over Alaska, reported encountering unusual lights and objects while travelling toward Anchorage. Captain Kenju Terauchi initially described two luminous objects that appeared near the aircraft and later reported a much larger unidentified object following the flight. The crew contacted air traffic control and requested course changes during the encounter. Radar returns were also recorded during portions of the event, although their connection to the reported objects remains disputed. The incident subsequently became the subject of an extensive FAA investigation.
Additional Notes
Captain Terauchi described the later object as enormous and reported observing it both visually and on the aircraft's weather radar. The other two crew members confirmed seeing unusual lights but did not support all of the captain's more detailed descriptions. Anchorage air traffic controllers attempted to identify the reported traffic, while another commercial aircraft and a military aircraft were eventually asked to observe the area but did not confirm the objects. The FAA later released crew interviews, controller statements, radar information and drawings made by Terauchi. Conventional explanations involving celestial objects, atmospheric effects and misleading radar returns have been proposed, but the incident remains disputed.
The Location Today
FAA records locate the reported encounter in airspace over Alaska. There is no ground-level encounter site to visit.
- Environment
- Airspace
- Time of Day
- Evening, beginning around 5:11 p.m.
- Evidence Level
- Official Record
- Visiting the Location
- Not Applicable
- Ownership of the Location
- Not Applicable