Within JAL 1628
Did Radar Confirm a Giant Object Near JAL 1628?
Controllers saw intermittent returns, but the FAA later found no stable track linking them to the object described by the captain.
On this page
- What civilian and military controllers saw in real time
- Why intermittent primary returns were not a continuous track
- How the FAA's regenerated radar review changed the claim
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Introduction
Did radar confirm the object reported by the crew of Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 over Alaska in November 1986? The short answer is: not in the way the case is often described. Air traffic controllers and military radar operators did observe intermittent radar returns near the aircraft while the event was unfolding. Those observations helped make the incident one of the most famous UFO cases in Alaska’s history. However, later FAA analysis concluded that the radar data did not provide reliable independent confirmation of the large object described by Captain Kenju Terauchi. Instead, investigators found that the apparent radar contacts were brief, inconsistent and compatible with known radar-correlation effects rather than a continuously tracked target.[documents.theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
The distinction matters because popular retellings often present JAL 1628 as a radar-confirmed encounter with a giant craft. The documentary record is more complicated. The radar evidence exists, but it is far weaker and more ambiguous than many later accounts suggest.[theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
What Civilian and Military Controllers Saw in Real Time
During the encounter, Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center took the crew’s reports seriously and began checking radar systems for nearby traffic. Controllers searched for anything that might correspond to the lights being reported from the Boeing 747. According to contemporary reports and FAA records, some radar operators did see occasional returns in the general vicinity of Flight 1628. These observations were important because they appeared to offer something beyond eyewitness testimony alone.[UPI]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
The strongest argument made by supporters of the UFO interpretation has always been that multiple radar systems were involved. Contemporary news coverage reported that controllers believed they had seen an unidentified target near the aircraft, and some later accounts portrayed this as a clear radar lock on an unknown object.[UPI]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
Yet even during the original event, the radar picture was not straightforward. The returns were not maintained as a stable, continuously tracked object moving in a predictable way alongside the aircraft. Instead, operators were dealing with occasional indications that appeared and disappeared. That distinction became crucial when investigators later reviewed the data in detail.[documents.theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
Why Intermittent Primary Returns Were Not a Continuous Track
The central technical issue is the difference between a persistent radar target and sporadic radar returns.
A genuinely tracked aircraft normally produces a consistent sequence of radar detections that can be correlated into a stable track. Investigators reviewing the JAL 1628 data found that the reported returns did not meet that standard. The radar indications appeared intermittently and could not be linked into a coherent path matching the object described by the captain.[documents.theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
FAA radar specialist Dennis Simantel examined the data and pointed to a known radar-processing issue involving the interaction between primary radar echoes and aircraft transponder signals. According to the FAA review, such uncorrected primary returns were not unusual and could arise from timing and target-correlation effects within the radar system itself.[centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com]centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.comSpecial ReportsJapan Air Lines flight #1628 saw ・ returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing ・ target correlation circuitry with…
In practical terms, this meant that a radar screen could briefly display what looked like an additional target near a real aircraft without proving that a separate physical object was actually present. The effect was particularly important because the supposed UFO was often reported close to Flight 1628’s position, exactly where correlation artefacts would be most likely to occur.[centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com]centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.comSpecial ReportsJapan Air Lines flight #1628 saw ・ returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing ・ target correlation circuitry with…
This is why later investigators drew a distinction between “radar returns occurred” and “radar confirmed a giant craft.” The first statement is supported by the records. The second is not.[centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com]centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.comSpecial ReportsJapan Air Lines flight #1628 saw ・ returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing ・ target correlation circuitry with…
How the FAA’s Regenerated Radar Review Changed the Claim
The most significant development came after the event, when the FAA conducted a more detailed review using regenerated radar data rather than relying solely on what controllers remembered seeing in real time.
That review substantially weakened the claim of independent radar confirmation. FAA documentation concluded that Anchorage Center’s radar tracking data failed to confirm the presence of a separate target corresponding to the traffic reported by the crew. In other words, investigators could not reconstruct a reliable radar track for the object after examining the recorded data.[documents.theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
This finding is often overlooked because it conflicts with the more dramatic version of the story that circulated in news reports and UFO literature. Early headlines emphasised radar confirmation, while the later technical assessment received far less public attention.[UPI]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
The regenerated review did not prove that the crew imagined everything they reported. It simply concluded that the radar evidence could not independently verify the presence of the enormous object described by Captain Terauchi. The official record therefore moved the case from “radar-confirmed unknown craft” to “visual sighting accompanied by ambiguous radar indications.”[documents.theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
Why Radar Remains the Most Misunderstood Part of the Case
The radar issue sits at the heart of competing interpretations of JAL 1628.
Supporters of the UFO explanation often point to the fact that controllers did see unusual returns during the event and that military radar facilities were consulted. Critics focus on the later FAA analysis, which found no stable track and identified plausible technical reasons for the intermittent returns. Both statements are true, but they describe different stages of the investigation.[upi.com]upi.comController confirms UFO sightingController confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan…
The misunderstanding arises when the real-time observations are treated as equivalent to the later technical findings. They were not. A controller seeing an unusual radar indication during a developing event is not the same as a subsequent analysis demonstrating a continuously tracked unknown object. The FAA review specifically failed to establish that stronger conclusion.[centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com]centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.comSpecial ReportsJapan Air Lines flight #1628 saw ・ returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing ・ target correlation circuitry with…
For Alaska’s UFO history, this makes JAL 1628 a valuable case study in how aviation mysteries are investigated. The incident shows that radar evidence is not automatically decisive. Radar can strengthen a sighting, but the quality, persistence and interpretability of the data matter enormously. In the case of Flight 1628, the radar evidence remains intriguing but ultimately inconclusive. The crew’s observations were real; the claim that radar definitively confirmed a giant object flying near the aircraft is not supported by the FAA’s final technical assessment.[theblackvault.com]documents.theblackvault.comJL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: documents.theblackvault.com
Link:https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/jal1628/733667-001-012.pdf
Source snippet
JL16280253 - JL1628 advised they no longer had contact with the traffic. A subsequent review of ANC ARTCC's radar tracking data failed to...
2.
Source: centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com
Link:https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1987/07/22165315/p04.pdf
Source snippet
Special ReportsJapan Air Lines flight #1628 saw ・ returns are not uncommon due to the critical timing ・ target correlation circuitry with...
3.
Source: upi.com
Title: Controller confirms UFO sighting
Link:https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/12/30/Controller-confirms-UFO-sighting/4431536302800/
Source snippet
Controller confirms UFO sighting - UPI Archives30 Dec 1986 — An air controller said radar showed a mysterious object following a Japan...
4.
Source: cdn.centerforinquiry.org
Link:https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1987/07/22165315/p04.pdf
5.
Source: theblackvault.com
Title: the vault files 1986 alaska jal flight 1628
Link:https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/the-vault-files-1986-alaska-jal-flight-1628/
6.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwjPWOs1v_I
Source snippet
Japan Airlines Flight 1628 - UFO Incident Animation...
7.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNfyOVoi7g
Additional References
8.
Source: reddit.com
Title: the ufo encounter so disturbing the cia buried it
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1kgy7o7/the_ufo_encounter_so_disturbing_the_cia_buried_it/
Source snippet
The True Story of Japan Airlines Flight 1628: r/UFOs“Radar data recorded by Anchorage Center does not confirm the presence of the traffi...
9.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/h8o5id/til_japan_airlines_flight_1628_over_alaska_had_a/
Source snippet
42 minute...TIL Japan Airlines Flight 1628 over Alaska had a 42 minute long UFO encounter Supported by Radar Data and Air Traffic Contro...
10.
Source: reddit.com
Title: jal flight 1628 reasons to be skeptical
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOscience/comments/nv4jsm/jal_flight_1628_reasons_to_be_skeptical/
Source snippet
JAL flight 1628, reasons to be skeptical: r/UFOscienceCivilian radar sees something coincident with pilot's reports, but the return is a...
11.
Source: discoveryuk.com
Title: long haul the flight 1628 ufo
Link:https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/long-haul-the-flight-1628-ufo/
Source snippet
Discovery UKLong Haul: The Flight 1628 UFO2 Jul 2026 — For a moment, there appeared to be some corroboration – ground radar intermittentl...
12.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz-oYFX-3cs
Source snippet
Japan Airlines Saw a UFO Bigger Than an Aircraft Carrier | Kevin Knuth...
13.
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 — A veteran pilot whose UFO sighting was confirmed on radar s...
14.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6WRAd67hWg
Source snippet
Boeing 747 Followed by a UFO — What Happened Next Was Terrifying | Japan Air Lines Flight 1628...
15.
Source: journalnews.com.ph
Link:https://journalnews.com.ph/unfriendly-skies-the-extraordinary-flight-of-jal-1628-alaskas-best-known-ufo-encounter/
16.
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-encounter
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Japan Airlines Saw a UFO Bigger Than an Aircraft Carrier | Kevin Knuth
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3uHbff-GRw
Source snippet
L'UFO del volo JAL 1628...