Compilation of Press Reports on Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 UFO Sighting

This document is a collection of press reports from January to March 1987 regarding a UFO sighting by the crew of Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 on November 17, 1986. The flight, a cargo jet carrying French Beaujolais wine from Iceland to Anchorage, was piloted by Captain Kenju Terauchi. During the flight over Alaska, the crew reported observing three unidentified objects, including two smaller lights and a massive, walnut-shaped craft estimated to be twice the size of an aircraft carrier. The objects reportedly paced the aircraft for approximately 55 minutes, maneuvering in formation and changing altitude. Captain Terauchi and his crew requested assistance from air traffic control, and radar controllers in Anchorage initially reported tracking an object in the vicinity of the JAL flight. However, subsequent investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Air Force concluded that the radar signals were likely 'clutter' or 'split-image' artifacts caused by the JAL plane itself. The FAA, while initially stating they were not investigating, later reopened an inquiry due to public interest and the possibility of an airspace violation. The reports highlight the conflicting perspectives between the crew's eyewitness accounts and the official explanations provided by the FAA and investigators like Philip J. Klass, who suggested the sightings were misidentifications of celestial bodies like Jupiter and Mars, or atmospheric phenomena such as light reflecting off ice crystals. The document also notes the FAA's decision to sell copies of the investigation records, including radar data and transcripts, to the public, which generated significant interest.