JAL Flight 1628 — Cargo Pilot Tracks Giant UFO Over Alaska for 50 Minutes

On November 17, 1986, Japan Air Lines cargo flight 1628 was en route from Paris to Tokyo via Anchorage when Captain Kenju Terauchi and his crew encountered an unidentified object over eastern Alaska that kept pace with the Boeing 747 for nearly 50 minutes.

Terauchi initially observed two small craft with large square arrays of lights that appeared to perform a formation maneuver in front of the aircraft. These were then joined by a massive object that Terauchi described as walnut-shaped and two times the size of an aircraft carrier.

The FAA confirmed the object on radar and coordinated with military installations tracking the contact. Terauchi had over 29 years of flying experience and described the encounter as unlike anything he had witnessed in his career.

The FAA conducted an official investigation and the case is notable as one of the few UAP incidents involving radar confirmation, multiple crew witnesses, and a formal government investigation. Terauchi was briefly removed from flight duty following the incident, reportedly due to media attention.