Capt. Kenju Terauchi (JAL 1628).
documentedsource_actorLandmark High-Strangeness Cases
[DOCUMENTED] Veteran JAL captain and former fighter pilot (>10,000 hrs) who commanded Flight 1628 on 17 Nov 1986 and reported the Alaska encounter (two small craft + a large 'mothership'). FAA found him professional and rational at debrief.
His detailed account drove the case's prominence. The FAA characterized him as a 'UFO repeater' (prior and subsequent sightings), and skeptics note he didn't mention Jupiter/Mars that were visible where he saw lights. He was grounded after going public (for the indiscretion of reporting a UFO despite an excellent record) and reinstated years later [career impact DOCUMENTED; some interpretive details DISPUTED].