UFO Potpourri No 312

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO POTPOURRI
Issue: 312
Volume: 45
Date: Tuesday, December 30, 1986
Publisher: EVENING OBSERVER, Dunkirk-Fredonia, N.Y.
Country: USA
Language: English

This issue of UFO POTPOURRI features a prominent article detailing an incident where an air controller confirmed a UFO was trailing a Japan Air Lines (JAL) cargo flight. The magazine also includes contact information for Walter H. Andrus, Jr. of Mutual UFO Network, Inc. and John F. Schuessler.

Air Controller Confirms UFO Had Been Trailing Jumbo Jet

This lead article, reported by Jeff Berliner, details a significant UFO sighting that occurred on November 17, 1986. The crew of JAL Flight 1628, a Boeing 747 flying from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Tokyo via Anchorage, reported seeing white and yellow flashing lights from a mysterious object trailing their aircraft. The incident took place after they crossed the Arctic Circle, approximately 30 miles southeast of Fort Yukon.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators interviewed the three crewmen: Captain Kenjyu Terauchi, First Officer Takanori Tamefuji, and Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuda. The FAA concluded that the crew was not hallucinating, nor were they under the influence of drugs or alcohol, stating they were rational. The weather conditions were clear.

Adding significant weight to the crew's report, an air controller in charge of JAL 1628, who had two years of experience, also confirmed seeing an unidentified object on radar. This controller's report, submitted in a one-page document, stated that the object repeatedly stayed near the JAL jet despite the pilot making FAA-approved turns and altitude changes. The object was observed as close as 5 miles.

According to the FAA account, the pilot first contacted Anchorage controllers about planes in the area at 6:19 p.m., reporting the UFO approximately 1 mile away. By 6:25 p.m., the crew reported the object was 8 miles away. At 6:26 p.m., the FAA contacted the Military Operations Control Center at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Military radar-watchers initially reported an object 8 miles from the JAL jet, but one minute later, they informed the FAA that the object no longer appeared on radar.

The JAL crew then reported at 6:31 p.m. that the unidentified object was "quite big." In response, the FAA directed the crew to descend from 35,000 feet to 31,000 feet. When asked if the UFO was also descending, the pilot stated it was descending "in information." At 6:35 p.m., Fairbanks controllers were contacted for assistance but reported nothing unusual on their radar.

Anchorage controllers then directed the JAL plane to make a 360-degree turn. After the turn, the crew reported they no longer saw the lights. However, Air Force officials informed the FAA that they had observed a "flight of two" and "advised it looked as though the (unidentified) traffic had dropped back and to the right" of JAL 1628.

At 6:45 p.m., the FAA requested a northbound United Airlines flight to make a 10-degree turn to better observe the JAL plane and confirm the UFO's presence. The United crew reported seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Similarly, a military C-130 that the FAA asked to assist also reported nothing unusual.

Despite the controller's confirmation and the crew's detailed report, FAA spokesman Paul Steucke noted that the FAA had drawn no conclusion about the incident. Air Force officials, including Capt. Robert Morris, suggested the radar contacts might have been "random clutter or weather interference." Another Air Force spokesman, Sgt. Jack Hokanson, stated, "We got out of the UFO business some time ago."

The FAA released these details on a Monday, prompted by an inquiry from United Press International.

Organizations and Contacts

This issue also lists Walter H. Andrus, Jr., International Director of Mutual UFO Network, Inc., with his address in Seguin, Texas. Additionally, John F. Schuessler is listed with a P.O. Box in Houston, Texas.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The primary theme of this issue is the confirmation of UFO sightings through official channels, specifically air traffic control radar and experienced flight crews. The article highlights the challenges in definitively identifying such phenomena and the varying responses from different government agencies (FAA, Air Force). The editorial stance appears to be one of reporting credible sightings and investigations, presenting evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the lack of definitive conclusions from official bodies.