Within JAL 1628
Did Radar Really Confirm JAL 1628?
Live radar talk made the case famous, but later FAA review did not confirm a separate craft near the airliner.
On this page
- What controllers heard in real time
- Military and civil radar claims
- Why the FAA record stayed cautious
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Introduction
The radar record is the most disputed part of the 1986 Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 incident over Alaska. Supporters of the case often describe it as “radar-confirmed”, while sceptics point out that the official FAA conclusion was far more restrained. The surviving documents show that air traffic controllers, military radar personnel and the JAL crew all discussed possible returns in real time, but later technical review did not verify a distinct craft flying alongside the Boeing 747. The tension between those two facts is why the case remains important in UFO history. It was not simply a pilot story, yet neither was it a clean radar lock proving an unknown vehicle. The FAA record instead documents an unfolding event in which uncertain radar data, human interpretation and public controversy became tightly intertwined. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask… [UPI]upi.comRadar review fails to confirm UFOUPIRadar review fails to confirm UFO - UPI Archives8 Jan 1987 — Federal investigators said a review of radar tapes failed to show a UFO s…
What Controllers Heard in Real Time
The strongest evidence that something unusual occurred is not a dramatic photograph or recovered object, but the contemporaneous communication record. During the flight, Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center operators treated the crew’s reports seriously enough to make repeated checks with military radar facilities and nearby aircraft. The exchanges were preserved in FAA transcripts and memoranda later released through Freedom of Information Act requests and archived in federal records collections. The Black Vault Documents [National Archives]archives.govFAA—Japan Airlines Flight 1628) (National Archives Identifier: 733667)…Read more…
According to the FAA chronology, the key sequence began shortly after JAL 1628 reported nearby traffic that controllers could not identify from normal air traffic displays. The crew then stated that the unknown object appeared on the aircraft’s own weather radar. Anchorage Center contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, or ROCC, to ask whether military systems were receiving any returns near the aircraft. The ROCC reportedly answered that it was seeing a primary radar return roughly eight miles from the JAL jet. A few minutes later, however, the military operators advised that they were no longer receiving such returns. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask…
That sequence is crucial because it created the public impression that both civil and military radar independently tracked the same object. In reality, the transcripts show a much less stable picture. Controllers were trying to correlate fragmentary radar information while the crew continued reporting visual lights and manoeuvring traffic. Some returns appeared briefly, then disappeared. Other facilities reported nothing unusual at all. Fairbanks Approach Control, for example, reportedly advised that it did not see unknown traffic near the aircraft during parts of the encounter. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask…
The transcripts also show how uncertainty developed in real time. Controllers repeatedly asked clarifying questions about distance, bearing and altitude. The JAL crew gave estimates, but these changed as the encounter evolved. The radar environment over Alaska at high altitude was already difficult, with long ranges, intermittent returns and dependence on both primary and secondary radar systems. That context matters because later sceptical analysis focused heavily on how ambiguous targets can emerge when operators attempt to correlate incomplete returns with verbal pilot reports.
Why “Radar Confirmed” Became a Public Headline
By late December 1986 and early January 1987, newspapers were reporting that radar operators had confirmed a UFO shadowing the aircraft. Stories in United Press International and other outlets quoted controllers and described an object appearing on radar scopes near the Boeing 747 for extended periods. [UPI]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingUPIController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
This framing took hold because the case involved more than one source of information:
- The crew reported visual lights. [upi.com]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingUPIController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
- The captain claimed onboard radar detections.
- Air traffic control discussed unidentified traffic.
- Military personnel briefly reported primary radar returns.
- The aircraft altered heading and altitude in response.
Taken together, those points sounded far stronger than a conventional single-witness UFO report. The incident also arrived during a period when UFO claims involving military radar carried particular cultural weight. In public retellings, the distinction between “controllers discussed uncertain returns” and “radar conclusively tracked a craft” quickly blurred.
Captain Kenju Terauchi’s own statements reinforced that perception. He publicly argued that radar had confirmed the presence of a huge object travelling with the aircraft. Press reports often repeated this interpretation with little technical qualification. [Los Angeles Times]latimes.comla xpm 1987 01 01 mn 1922 storyLos Angeles TimesPlane Maneuvered to Avoid Object: Pilot Recounts…1 Jan 1987 — A veteran pilot whose UFO sighting was confirmed on ra…
Yet the actual FAA paperwork remained more cautious than the headlines. The internal chronology documented reports and radar discussions, but did not state that a structured craft had been verified. That gap between public interpretation and official wording became increasingly important once investigators reviewed the radar data in detail.
Military and Civil Radar Claims Were Not the Same Thing
One reason the case became confused is that “radar” in the JAL 1628 story referred to several different systems with different limitations.
The aircraft’s onboard radar
Captain Terauchi said the unknown traffic appeared on the Boeing 747’s onboard weather radar. However, weather radar is designed primarily to detect precipitation and atmospheric conditions, not to identify distant structured objects with precision. Critics later argued that anomalous reflections, weather phenomena or misinterpretation of display artefacts could explain at least some of the reported contacts. [Wikipedia]WikipediaJapan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628March 17, 2026 — The FAA radar did not confirm an object, and the event was later determined…
FAA air traffic radar
Anchorage Center used standard air traffic surveillance systems intended to monitor cooperative aircraft transponders and broader traffic patterns. The official review later concluded that these records did not establish the presence of a separate unknown craft near JAL 1628. [UPI]upi.comRadar review fails to confirm UFOUPIRadar review fails to confirm UFO - UPI Archives8 Jan 1987 — Federal investigators said a review of radar tapes failed to show a UFO s…
Military primary radar
The most controversial element involved the military ROCC report of a “primary radar return”. Primary radar detects reflected energy rather than relying on aircraft transponders, so UFO researchers often treat such returns as especially significant. However, the military contact in this case was temporary and inconsistent. Operators reportedly lost the return quickly, and the surviving documentation does not show a sustained tracked target behaving like a conventional aircraft under positive identification. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask…
This distinction matters because later retellings often compressed all three systems into a single narrative of definitive radar confirmation. The FAA documents themselves do not support that stronger claim.
Why the FAA Record Stayed Cautious
The most important official judgement came after the event, when FAA investigators reviewed radar data and related records more systematically. A memorandum circulated within the agency stated that radar data recorded by Anchorage Center did “not confirm the presence” of the traffic reported by JAL 1628. That sentence became the centrepiece of later sceptical interpretations. [jeromeprophet.blogspot.com]jeromeprophet.blogspot.com1986 jal flight 1628 ufo encounterNo further information has…Read more… [UPI]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingUPIController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
The wording is carefully limited. It does not declare that the crew invented the sighting, nor does it say nothing unusual occurred. Instead, it says the available radar data failed to verify a separate object near the aircraft. This distinction is essential to understanding the official position.
Several factors likely contributed to the FAA’s caution:
- The reported returns were intermittent rather than continuous.
- Different radar facilities reported inconsistent observations.
- Controllers were reacting dynamically during a live event rather than conducting controlled analysis.
- Radar interpretation can be influenced by pilot reports and expectations.
- The available recordings apparently did not provide an unambiguous tracked target.
Sceptical investigator Philip J. Klass later argued that the radar evidence had been overstated publicly and that some visual observations could have involved celestial objects such as Jupiter combined with atmospheric effects and misinterpretation under unusual viewing conditions. [Wikipedia]WikipediaJapan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628March 17, 2026 — The FAA radar did not confirm an object, and the event was later determined…
Even some later analysts sympathetic to unidentified aerial phenomena acknowledged that the radar component was less decisive than often claimed. The strongest evidence remained the combination of sincere pilot testimony and real-time controller engagement, not a definitive technical lock proving a giant craft.
The FAA Files Became Part of the Mystery
An unusual feature of the JAL 1628 case is that the government paperwork itself became culturally important. FAA memoranda, radar discussions, interview notes and chronology documents circulated for decades through UFO researchers, FOIA releases and archive projects. The National Archives now lists the FAA records relating to the incident as part of its broader collection of UFO and UAP materials. [National Archives]archives.govFAA—Japan Airlines Flight 1628) (National Archives Identifier: 733667)…Read more…
That official paper trail helped preserve the case’s reputation even after the FAA’s cautious findings became public. Unlike many UFO reports, this incident generated a substantial documentary record involving named agencies, identifiable personnel and timestamped communications. Readers can examine the same chronology that controllers and investigators reviewed.
At the same time, the documents also show how much ambiguity survives beneath the famous headlines. The records confirm that radar operators discussed possible contacts and that controllers took the reports seriously. They do not confirm that investigators established the existence of a giant unknown craft travelling beside the aircraft.
What the Radar Record Actually Establishes
The radar evidence neither fully validates nor fully dismisses the JAL 1628 sighting. A careful reading of the FAA file supports several narrow conclusions.
First, the event unquestionably triggered a genuine operational response. Controllers contacted military facilities, discussed returns, approved manoeuvres and attempted to determine whether nearby traffic existed. This was not a fabricated after-the-fact legend. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask…
Second, some radar anomalies or uncertain returns were discussed during the encounter. The military ROCC statement about a primary return is part of the documented record. [The Black Vault Documents]documents.theblackvault.comThe Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask…
Third, the later FAA review did not conclude that radar data confirmed a separate structured craft. That remains the agency’s clearest formal position. UPI [2jeromeprophet.blogspot.com]jeromeprophet.blogspot.com1986 jal flight 1628 ufo encounterNo further information has…Read more…
The result is a case that sits awkwardly between simple dismissal and definitive proof. The radar story became famous because it appeared to elevate the incident above ordinary witness testimony. The official record, however, ultimately preserved uncertainty rather than resolving it.
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Endnotes
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Source: upi.com
Title: Radar review fails to confirm UFO
Link: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/01/08/Radar-review-fails-to-confirm-UFO/8875537080400/Source snippet
UPIRadar review fails to confirm UFO - UPI Archives8 Jan 1987 — Federal investigators said a review of radar tapes failed to show a UFO s...
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Source: archives.gov
Link: https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/rg-collectionsSource snippet
(FAA—Japan Airlines Flight 1628) (National Archives Identifier: 733667)...Read more...
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Source: archives.gov
Title: do records show proof of ufos
Link: https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/do-records-show-proof-of-ufosSource snippet
National ArchivesDo Records Show Proof of UFOs?Feb 9, 2018 —... Japan Airlines Flight 1628 while in Alaskan air space. National Archives...
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Source: jeromeprophet.blogspot.com
Title: 1986 jal flight 1628 ufo encounter
Link: https://jeromeprophet.blogspot.com/2007/02/1986-jal-flight-1628-ufo-encounter.htmlSource snippet
No further information has...Read more...
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Source: upi.com
Title: Controller confirms UFO sighting
Link: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/12/30/Controller-confirms-UFO-sighting/4431536302800/Source snippet
UPIController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Cargo_Flight_1628Source snippet
Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628March 17, 2026 — The FAA radar did not confirm an object, and the event was later determined...
Published: March 17, 2026
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Source: archives.gov
Title: textual and microfilm
Link: https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/textual-and-microfilmSource snippet
Records Related to Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and...24 Apr 2025 — This page provides a list of textual and microfilm records rel...
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Source: clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov
Link: https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/library/omb/OMBINVC.HTMSource snippet
of Agriculture - The White House... Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Customer Satisfaction Survey FORMS: NONE OMB NO: 21...
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Source: clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov
Link: https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/library/omb/OMBINVC.htmlSource snippet
of Management and Budget... Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Customer Satisfaction Survey FORMS: NONE OMB NO: 2120-0569...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcDgc3cYN4QSource snippet
Monsters and Mysteries in Alaska (Bigfoot, Lake Iliamna Monster, Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 UFO)...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Are the US and Japan working together to research UAPs? | Reality Check
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHez40_8hUQSource snippet
Japan Airlines Flight 1628 - UFO Incident Animation...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNfyOVoi7gSource snippet
John Callahan FAA Head of Accidents & Investigations on Disclosure Project...
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Source: documents.theblackvault.com
Link: https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/jal1628/733667-001-012.pdfSource snippet
The Black Vault DocumentsJL1628September 21, 2018 — 0226 - ZAN contacted the Military Regional Operations Control Center, (ROCC), and ask...
Published: September 21, 2018
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Source: documents.theblackvault.com
Link: https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/jal1628/733667-001-015.pdfSource snippet
The Black Vault DocumentsMemorandumINFORMATION: Transcription concerning the incident involving Japan Airlines Flight 1628... Ah (uninte...
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Source: latimes.com
Title: la xpm 1987 01 01 mn 1922 story
Link: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-01-mn-1922-story.htmlSource snippet
Los Angeles TimesPlane Maneuvered to Avoid Object: Pilot Recounts...1 Jan 1987 — A veteran pilot whose UFO sighting was confirmed on ra...
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Source: documents.theblackvault.com
Link: https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/jal1628/733667-001-003.pdfSource snippet
eek10 June 1987 — We have not tried to determine what the crew of Japan Airlines flight 1628... The FAA has completed its investigation...
Published: June 1987
Additional References
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Source: journalnews.com.ph
Link: https://journalnews.com.ph/unfriendly-skies-the-extraordinary-flight-of-jal-1628-alaskas-best-known-ufo-encounter/Source snippet
Unfriendly skies: The extraordinary flight of JAL 1628...9 Apr 2023 — Three UFOs played tag with Japan Air Lines (JAL) cargo flight 162...
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Source: americanghostwalks.com
Title: haunted alaskan skies 1986 s japan airlines flight 1628 ufo encounter
Link: https://www.americanghostwalks.com/haunted-alaskan-skies-1986-s-japan-airlines-flight-1628-ufo-encounterSource snippet
Haunted Alaskan Skies: 1986's JAL1628 UFO Encounter25 May 2025 — There have been many allegations that the testimony of the crew of 1628...
Published: May 2025
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Source: reddit.com
Title: black vault uncovers archives missing faa records
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1d2rmv7/black_vault_uncovers_archives_missing_faa_records/Source snippet
Black Vault uncovers, archives missing FAA records...Black Vault uncovers, archives missing FAA records of Japanese Airlines JAL 1628 UF...
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Source: flightsafetydetectives.com
Title: a model for investigating uap events episode 182
Link: https://flightsafetydetectives.com/a-model-for-investigating-uap-events-episode-182/Source snippet
A Model for Investigating UAP Events – Episode 182JAL Flight 1628 UAP event was investigated in detail by the FAA could serve as a model...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/DMAXTR/videos/g%C3%B6ky%C3%BCz%C3%BCndeki-u%C3%A7ak-gemisi/1502365257511356/Source snippet
adar supervision demanded that the most queen land out of thousand...
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Source: monsterfuzzpodcast.com
Title: the japan airlines flight 1628 incident
Link: https://monsterfuzzpodcast.com/2020/12/09/the-japan-airlines-flight-1628-incident/Source snippet
09-Dec-2020 — Three Japanese men, one airplane, and (supposedly) three unidentified objects are at the center of the story of Japan Airli...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: NORAD confirmed no military flights in the area.Read more
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs_Archive/comments/1kgyeh5/the_ufo_encounter_so_disturbing_the_cia_buried_it/Source snippet
The UFO Encounter So Disturbing, the CIA Buried It for 30...Anchorage ATC radar and onboard radar both detected anomalies matching the c...
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Source: washingtonpost.com
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/01/02/ufo-sighting-confirmed-by-faa-air-force-radar/c186c4b7-54ed-459e-b94d-eeeff7b3322e/Source snippet
The Washington PostUFO SIGHTING CONFIRMED BY FAA, AIR FORCE RADAR1 Jan 1987 — FAA flight control reports indicate the object stayed with...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhP4jWygs78Source snippet
Are the US and Japan working together to research UAPs? | Reality Check...
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Source: open.spotify.com
Title: 6XWCFJBL7Dex Tu3Hm3CTJb
Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6XWCFJBL7DexTu3Hm3CTJbSource snippet
The military command center at NORAD's Regional Operations Command also confirmed radar returns that matched what the crew was reporting...
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