The Flight

Japan Air Lines cargo flight 1628 departed Paris on November 17, 1986, bound for Tokyo via Reykjavik and Anchorage. The aircraft was a Boeing 747 freighter carrying a cargo of Beaujolais wine. The crew consisted of Captain Kenjyu Terauchi, a veteran pilot with 29 years of experience; co-pilot Takanori Tamefuji; and flight engineer Yoshio Tsukuba.

At approximately 5:09 PM local time, while cruising at 35,000 feet over eastern Alaska near Fort Yukon, the crew observed lights ahead of the aircraft. Captain Terauchi initially assumed they were military aircraft. He was wrong.

The Encounter

What the crew observed over the next 50 minutes was one of the most extraordinary UAP encounters in aviation history.

First, two small craft appeared ahead of the 747, matching its speed and altitude. They were described as having arrays of nozzle-like structures that emitted pulsating amber and white lights. The heat from these lights was felt in the cockpit. The two craft maneuvered in formation ahead of the 747 for several minutes before departing.

Then the large object appeared.

Captain Terauchi described it as enormous — he estimated it at twice the size of an aircraft carrier, or roughly 1,600 feet across. It was walnut-shaped, with a pale band around its middle. It appeared to be a solid, structured object. It paced the 747 for an extended period, visible to all three crew members.

Terauchi radioed Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center. The controller confirmed a radar return in the vicinity of the 747. Military radar at Elmendorf Air Force Base also tracked an unknown object in the area.

The FAA Investigation

The FAA conducted a formal investigation — one of the most thorough official UAP investigations in U.S. aviation history. The investigation confirmed:

• All three crew members were experienced, credible witnesses
• Radar returns consistent with the crew's report were recorded by both FAA and military radar
• The crew's descriptions were consistent and detailed
• No conventional explanation accounted for all the observed phenomena

The FAA's Division of Air Traffic Services initially released the investigation findings publicly, including the radar data. This was unusual — and it did not last.

The Suppression

Shortly after the initial release, the FAA reversed course. The radar data was reclassified. The FAA's public affairs office began downplaying the investigation, suggesting the radar returns might have been a "split image" of the 747 itself. This explanation was rejected by the radar operators who had tracked the object.

Captain Terauchi was grounded — removed from flight status — following his public statements about the encounter. He was eventually reinstated, but the message to other pilots was clear: report a UAP encounter and face professional consequences.

The John Callahan Testimony

The most significant development in the JAL 1628 case came years later, when John Callahan — the FAA's Division Chief of Accidents and Investigations at the time of the encounter — came forward publicly. Callahan stated that following the investigation, he was called to a meeting with CIA officials who took all the evidence and told those present: "This meeting never happened."

Callahan kept copies of the evidence. He has provided them to researchers and testified publicly about the CIA's involvement in suppressing the investigation. His testimony is one of the most credible accounts of government UAP suppression on record.

Sources & Original Media

• FAA official investigation report: JAL Flight 1628 (1987) — NARCAP archive
• John Callahan (FAA Division Chief) testimony — Disclosure Project (2001)
• Captain Terauchi original crew report and subsequent interviews
• NARCAP — National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena
• National UFO Reporting Center: JAL 1628 case files