Japan Air Lines Flight 1628
Over Alaska at night, the crew of a cargo jet watched lights pace their plane for nearly an hour.
What was reported
On 17 November 1986, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 cargo flight was crossing Alaska towards Anchorage when Captain Kenju Terauchi and his crew saw lights near the plane. Terauchi described two smaller objects and, later, an enormous craft shaped like a walnut, much larger than an aircraft carrier.
The lights stayed with the plane for around 50 minutes, even as it changed course. Air traffic controllers at times reported unidentified returns on radar. The US Federal Aviation Administration investigated.
Explanations offered
The FAA concluded that the radar returns were probably caused by equipment issues, and some investigators suggested the crew saw the planets Jupiter and Mars, or reflections. Terauchi, an experienced pilot, was certain he saw craft. The crew's descriptions were consistent with each other.
- When
- 17 November 1986
- Where
- Over north-eastern Alaska, USA
- Witnesses
- Captain Kenju Terauchi and his crew
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.