Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 (Alaska, 17 Nov 1986).
official-recordclose_encounterLandmark High-Strangeness Cases
[DOCUMENTED] 17 Nov 1986: JAL cargo Boeing 747-200F (Paris->Tokyo via Anchorage), Capt. Kenju Terauchi + F/O Takanori Tamefuji + FE Yoshio Tsukuba, reported lights pacing them over eastern Alaska for ~31-50 min, described as two small craft and a 'mothership' twice an aircraft carrier. Onboard weather radar painted a target ~7-8 mi out; ground radar contacts were sporadic and disputed.
Radar picture is genuinely mixed: JAL's own radar showed a target where the crew looked; Anchorage ARTCC primary radar showed no consistent track (only sporadic blips); USAF Elmendorf ROCC got three brief primary hits but officially called them split-beacon returns/clutter. FAA debrief found the crew 'normal, professional, rational,' no drugs/alcohol. FAA Division Chief (Accidents & Investigations) John Callahan kept the data and later testified to a 1987 briefing for CIA/FBI/Reagan science staff that declared the event secret and 'never happened.' Skeptical [DISPUTED]: Philip Klass (Jupiter at ~10 deg + Mars); a nearby United flight and a USAF C-130 saw nothing (both reached the area after the object departed); FAA called Terauchi a 'UFO repeater.' Terauchi was grounded after going public, later reinstated. Full FAA file is FOIA-public (Black Vault).