JAPAN AIRLINES #628, January 11, 1987, Captain Terauchi

This document compiles a series of personnel statements and an incident report regarding the sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon by the crew of Japan Airlines Flight 628 on January 11, 1987. The flight, operating at FL370, reported observing irregular pulsating lights and a 'black chunk' approximately 2,000 feet below their altitude while flying over Alaska. The crew communicated these observations to the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). Throughout the incident, which lasted from approximately 1629 UTC to 1723 UTC, the crew requested traffic information and performed maneuvers, including 45-degree turns, while attempting to track the object. The pilot described the object as having navigation lights and appearing to respond to the aircraft's own landing lights. Air traffic controllers, including Ricky Thompson and Gail Ferguson, attempted to assist the crew, but radar monitoring by the ARTCC and the Regional Operations Command Center (ROCC) failed to identify any traffic in the vicinity of the aircraft, noting only weather clutter. Meteorologist Ronald R. Goodman confirmed the presence of a temperature inversion in the Fort Yukon area at the time of the flight. The report concludes with a statement from Captain Terauchi, who later suggested that the lights he observed were likely village lights distorted by ice crystals in the atmosphere. The document includes detailed personnel statements from various controllers and supervisors who were on duty during the incident, providing a comprehensive record of the communications and the official administrative response to the event.