Japan Airlines Flight 1628 (1986)

On November 17, 1986, Japan Airlines (JAL) Cargo Flight 1628, a Boeing 747 freighter en route from Paris to Tokyo with a cargo of Beaujolais Nouveau wine, reportedly encountered three unidentified aerial objects over Alaska. The incident involved sustained visual observation by the flight crew, an air traffic controller, and corroborating radar data.

• November 17, 1986, approximately 17:11 AKST: JAL1628, piloted by Captain Kenju Terauchi, First Officer Takanori Tamefuji, and Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuba, was flying at Flight Level 350 (35,000 feet) over Alaska.
• 17:11 AKST (approx.): The crew reportedly observed two unknown aircraft approximately 2,000 feet below and to their left.
• 17:18 AKST (approx.): The unknown objects reportedly moved abruptly, positioning themselves directly in front of the 747, matching its speed.
• 17:23 AKST (approx.): The two smaller objects reportedly departed to the left.
• 17:25 AKST (approx.): A third, much larger, disc-shaped object reportedly appeared on the aircraft's left.
• 17:27 AKST (approx.): Captain Terauchi requested a descent from Anchorage Air Traffic Control Center (AARTCC) to avoid the larger object.
• 17:35 AKST (approx.): The larger object reportedly disappeared.
• 17:40 AKST (approx.): JAL1628 was reportedly joined by a United States Air Force (USAF) F-15 fighter jet from Elmendorf Air Force Base, dispatched to investigate. The F-15 pilot reported seeing nothing.
• 17:51 AKST (approx.): JAL1628 landed at Anchorage International Airport.

• Japan Airlines Flight 1628, a Boeing 747-246F (tail number JA8162), was operating a cargo flight on November 17, 1986.
• The flight was in contact with Anchorage Air Traffic Control Center.
• An FAA recording of the air traffic control communications from November 17, 1986, exists, documenting Captain Terauchi's reports of an unknown object, his request for a lower altitude, and confirmation of radar returns by air traffic controllers.
• An official report, "JAL1628 Encounter with an Unidentified Object" was produced by the FAA Alaskan Region Aircraft Management Branch following the incident.

• Captain Terauchi, a former fighter pilot, stated that the two smaller objects had lights that pulsed, leading him to believe they were artificial. He described their movements as defying conventional aircraft capabilities, making sudden stops and accelerations.
• Terauchi claimed the larger object was "a mother ship" and described it as having a "shape of a walnut" or "a giant balloon" and being two to three times the size of an aircraft carrier.
• First Officer Tamefuji reportedly saw "streaks of light" from the smaller objects for about 10 minutes and observed the large, dark silhouette of the third object for about 5 minutes.
• Flight Engineer Tsukuba reportedly saw only the lights of the two smaller objects.

• Captain Kenju Terauchi provided detailed accounts, both contemporaneously and retrospectively, describing the appearance and maneuvers of the objects. He was the primary witness and spoke publicly about the incident.
• First Officer Takanori Tamefuji corroborated some aspects of Terauchi's visual observations, particularly concerning the lights and the larger object's silhouette.
• Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuba's testimony was more limited, reportedly seeing only the lights of the initial two objects.
• Air traffic controller Dan Hammond stated to investigators that he observed radar returns on his screen consistent with an unknown object near JAL1628.

• The FAA's Alaskan Region Aircraft Management Branch conducted an investigation and produced a report concluding that the radar returns could not be definitively correlated with JAL1628's observations or natural phenomena.
• The FAA initially stated that while radar returns were observed, they could not confirm a "UFO." Later, FAA public relations chief Paul Steucke stated, "We know that JAL 1628 had something out there alongside it for 31 minutes... there did appear to be some kind of unidentified traffic on the same radar scopes at the same time."
• NORAD reportedly investigated the incident but concluded they had no evidence of a UFO, stating their radar systems did not detect any unknown objects.

• No independent scientific analysis of the physical properties (e.g., radiation, atmospheric disturbance) of the reported objects was possible, as no physical evidence was collected.
• Analysis of the radar data by various parties has been inconclusive, with some finding the returns significant and others attributing them to false targets or atmospheric conditions.

• One common explanation for the initial sightings of lights is that the crew observed star light, notably Jupiter, which was bright in the night sky.
• Explanations for the radar returns include "ghost" images due to ground clutter, atmospheric inversions, or radar malfunctions.
• The crew's reported symptoms, such as being cold or experiencing static electricity, have been suggested as psychosomatic reactions to stress or misinterpretations of normal atmospheric phenomena.
• The large object could have been misidentified lights from a distant city or cloud formations.

The core discrepancy between the detailed, sustained visual observations of the flight crew, particularly Captain Terauchi, and the FAA's inability to conclusively identify the radar targets or the F-15 pilot's failure to observe anything remains unexplained. While skeptical explanations exist for individual components (lights, radar returns), a comprehensive, single natural explanation that accounts for the duration and combined nature of the visual report AND the radar data has not been universally accepted.