Witnesses & participants
Kenju Terauchi
JAL 1628 captain and reporting witness
Also known as Kenjyu Terauchi
Who they are
Kenju Terauchi was the captain of Japan Air Lines flight 1628 when its crew reported unusual lights over Alaska in November 1986. FAA records preserve the crew interviews and the agency’s later explanation of a paired radar return. The agency stated that its safety inquiry did not determine what the crew had visually observed.
He is a central witness in a documented aviation report with distinct visual and radar evidence.
Selected contributions
Primary records
Archival document · 1986
FAA Form 1600-32-1 — notes of interviews with the crew of JAL Flight 1628
FAA interview notes preserve accounts from the JAL 1628 crew after their report of unusual lights over Alaska. The notes permit comparison of what participants said with the agency’s later radar and safety assessment.
1986 interview record concerning the November 17 sighting; later public release is a separate event.
Reading scope & citation
Reuses the input’s documented prior inspection: The forms state interviews on November 17, 1986; public release date is not assigned to the forms. Read the two agents’ notes, including named crew, route, joint-interview setting and differing descriptions of what was visually seen. Drawings and later individual interviews were not comprehensively audited. No fresh full-work reread in this directory pass. Reused prior inspected evidence: Read the two agents’ notes, including named crew, route, joint-interview setting and differing descriptions of what was visually seen. Drawings and later individual interviews were not comprehensively audited.
In the timeline
Biography sources
- FAA Form 1600-32-1 — notes of interviews with the crew of JAL Flight 1628 ↗Federal Aviation Administration; NARA file 733667-001-005 scan hosted by The Black Vault
- FAA releases documents on reported UFO sighting last November; Lack of 'Scientific' Investigation ↗Federal Aviation Administration; NARA file 733667-001-024 scan hosted by The Black Vault