Quellen:

(1) Bruce Maccabee: The fantastic Flight of JAL 1628, unter: www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1316.htm

(2) Leslie Kean: UFOs - Generäle, Piloten und Regierungsvertreter brechen ihr Schweigen, S. 235 ff

(3) Jon Alon Walz: UFO Files - Stimmen aus dem All, Teil 1, Minuten 1:52-6:50

 

Von den tausenden weltweit gemeldeten UFO-Sichtungen sind wenige so eindringlich wie die Begegnung von Japan Airlines Flug 1628, hoch über der Tundra von Alaska. Der Bericht vom 17. November 1986 erregte großes Aufsehen. Das weltweite Medieninteresse an diesem Fall machte ihn zu einem der meistzitierten der Geschichte:

 

Die Boeing 747 Frachtmaschine mit einem Piloten, Kopiloten und Flugzeugtechniker an Bord befand sich auf einer Flughöhe von 10.000 m auf dem Weg von Paris nach Tokyo. Sie steuerte Anchorage an, um dort aufzutanken. Um 17:11 entdeckte Kapitän Kenju Terauchi, ein Pilot mit 29 Jahren Flugerfahrung, plötzlich drei große, sich schnell bewegende Objekte 600 m unter sich. Seine Besatzungsmitglieder Takanori Tamefuji und Yoshhio Tsukuda sahen sie auch.

 

Das Hauptobjekt beschrieb Kapitän Terauchi als walnuss-förmig. Nach seinem Bericht war es doppelt so groß wie ein amerikanischer Flugzeugträger. Nachdem sie die Objekte mehrere Minuten beobachtet hatten, bemerken die Piloten, dass sie ihre Geschwindigkeit drosselten und ihnen folgten. Der Kapitän sagte aus, dass die Objekte Flugbewegungen vollführten, die für von Menschen geschaffene Flugzeuge unmöglich sind. In Sekundenschnelle machten sie Sätze von mehreren Meilen: Befanden sich die Objekte eben noch bei zwölf Uhr in acht Meilen Entfernung, dann waren sie zehn Sekunden darauf plötzlich sechs oder sieben Meilen hinter dem Flugzeug. Sie bewegten sich also von einer Position acht Meilen vor der 747 zu einer Position sechs oder sieben Meilen dahinter innerhalb einer Sweep-Periode des Radargerätes.

 

Ohne Vorwarnung stiegen die beiden kleineren Objekte plötzlich und flogen knapp am Cockpit vorbei. Die Objekte kamen so nahe, dass Kapitän Terauchi ihr intensives Leuchten als Wärme auf seinem Gesicht spüren konnte. Sie schienen nur 300-600 m vor dem Flugzeug vor und zurück zu manövrieren bei einer Geschwindigkeit von ca. 1000 km/h. Doch dann stiegen die Objekte und drehten nach links ab. Auch Kapitän Terauchi erbat von der Flugsicherung einen Ausweichkurs.

 

Kurz darauf erreichte die Flugsicherung ein Funkspruch vom Eielson Luftwaffenstützpunkt nahe Fairbanks: Die unidentifizierten Objekte erschien nun auf ihrem Radar. Sie informierten die Besatzung von JAL 1628 darüber, dass die Objekte sie immer noch verfolgten. Unmittelbar nach dieser Bestätigung wurde die Air Force angewiesen, Abfangjäger bereit zu machen. Obwohl das Militär dann aber doch nichts unternahm, konnte JAL 1628 um 18:20 sicher in Anchorage landen.

Der Vorfall wurde von Buce Maccabee ausführlich in englischer Sprache dokumentiert - einschließlich des Funkverkehrs - und steht für interessierte Leserinnen und Leser als PDF-Download zur Verfügung.

 

Im Folgenden ist eine Niederschrift des kompletten Original-Funkverkehrs zwischen Flug JAL 1628 und der Luftverkehrskontrolle (Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center, AARTCC) wiedergegeben:

 

5:19:15 JAL1628 - Anchorage Center, Japan Air 1628, ah, do you have any traffic, ah, eleven o'clock above?

 

5:19:24 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, say again...

 

5:19:28 JAL1628 - Do you have any traffic in front of us?

 

5:19:32 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger.

 

5:19:36 JAL1628 - Ah, roger and, ah, we [have] in sight, ah, two traffic (sic), ah, in front of us one mile about.

 

5:19:49 AARTCC - JAL1628, roger, do you have.., ah, can you identify the aircraft?

 

5:19:58 JAL1628 - Ah, we are not sure, but we have traffic in sight now.

 

5:20:04 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, Roger. Maintain visual contact with your traffic and, ah, can you say the altitude of the traffic?

 

5:20:14 JAL1628 - Uh, almost [at] the same altitude.

 

5:20:21 AARTCC - JAL 1628 Roger. Would you like a higher or lower altitude?

 

5:20:27 JAL1628 - Ah, no, negative. JAL1628.

 

5:21:19 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, see if you are able to identify the type of aircraft, ah, and see if you can tell whether it's military or civilian.

 

5:21:35 JAL1628 - JAL1628. We cannot identify the type, ah, but we can see, ah, navigation lights and ah, strobe lights.

 

5:21:48 AARTCC - Roger, sir. Say the color of the strobe and beacon lights.

 

5:21:56 JAL1628 - The color is, ah, white and yellow, I think.

 

5:22:03 AARTCC - White and yellow. Thank you.

 

5:23:13 JAL1628 - And now the target, ah, traffic is extinguished. We cannot see it now.

 

5:23:19 AARTCC - JAL1628 Roger. And I'm not receiving any radar replies.

 

5:24:50 AARTCC - JAL1628, do you still have, uh, visual contact with the, ah, traffic?

 

5:24:53 JAL1628 - Affirmative. Also, [4] we [have] radar contact, ah... (unintelligible; broken transmission).

 

5:25:02 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger, sir. I'm picking up a hit on the radar approximately five miles in trail of your six o'clock position (i.e., behind the plane). Do you concur? (Note: this was probably a silly question to ask since the crew could not see behind the plane. However, it is the first indication that the Elmendorf radar may have detected something other than the plane.)

 

5:25:12 JAL1628 - Ah, negative, ah, 11 o'clock, ah, eight miles, ah, same level. Over.

 

5:30:16 JAL1628 - (very broken communication; unintelligible)

 

5:30:20 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, you're coming in broken. Say again.

 

5:30:23 JAL1628 - Request, ah, deviate, ah, ah, from, ah, object, ah, request heading two four zero.

 

5:30:52 AARTCC - JAL1628 Roger. Fly heading two four zero. JAL1628 heavy, deviations approved as necessary for traffic. (Note: since the controller knew that there were no other known aircraft in the sky it was OK for JAL1628 to go anywhere it wanted to avoid "traffic.")

 

5:30:49 JAL1628 - It's, ah, quite big...

 

5:30:52 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, you're still broken. Say again.

 

5:30:56 JAL1628 - It's, ah, very quite big, ah, plane.

 

5:32:07 JAL1628 - JAL1628, ah, request descent.

 

5:32:20 JAL1628 - JAL1628 Request three one zero. (i.e., 31,000 ft)

 

5:32:25 AARTCC  - JAL1628 heavy, understand. Requesting flight level three one zero.

 

5:32:34 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, your transmissions are broken. Say again.

 

5:32:39 JAL1628 - Flight level three one zero.

 

5:32:41 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, descend at pilot discretion. Maintain flight level three one zero.

 

5:32:45 JAL1628 - Leaving three five zero to three one zero. (The descent begins)

 

5:32:58 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, do you still have your traffic?

 

5:33:00 JAL1628 - Still, ah, coming, ah, ah, right in formation, in ah, formation.

 

5:33:07 AARTCC - JAL1628, understand.

 

5:34:38 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, say position of your traffic.

 

5:34:42 JAL1628 - Affirmative. Just over Fairbanks.

 

5:34:52 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, understood. Your traffic is over Fairbanks at this time.

 

5:34:56 JAL1628 - Affirmative, ah, requesting heading two one zero.

 

5:35:02 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger. Deviations approved as necessary for traffic.

 

5:35:15 AARTCC - JAL1628, say altitude of your traffic.

 

5:35:20 JAL1628 - Ah, oh, ah, ah, same level.

 

5:36:12 JAL1628 - Ah, Anchorage Center, JAL1628. Request direct to Talkeetna.

 

5:36:18 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, cleared direct to Talkeetna and in, ah, advise me of your (sic) position of your traffic.

 

5:36:24 JAL1628 - Ah, same po... same position.

 

5:36:37 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, sir. I'm gonna request you to make a right turn three six zero degrees, 360 degree turn and advise me what your traffic does then.

 

5:36:47 JAL1628 - Right turn 360.

 

5:38:55 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, sir. Does your traffic appear to be staying with you?

 

5:38:57 JAL1628 - Ah, [unintelligible] distinguished. [He meant extinguished.]

 

5:39:01 AARTCC - JAL1628 say again?

 

5:39:04 JAL1628 - It, ah, disappeared.

 

5:39:10 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger. At your discretion proceed directly to Talkeetna, J125 [to] Anchorage.

 

5:39:10 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger, at your discretion proceed direct to Talkeetna J125, Anchorage. (Note: J125 is a flight route.)

 

5:39:15 JAL1628 - (unintelligible)

 

5:39:35 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger sir. The military radar advises they do have a primary target in trail of you at this time.

 

5:39:32 JAL1628 - Ah, say again?

 

5:39:35 AARTCC - JAl1628 heavy. Military radar advises they are picking up intermittent primary target behind you in trail, in trail I say again.

 

5:39:47 JAL1628 - I think so.

 

5:40:10 AARTCC - JAL1628, Anchorage Center.

 

5:40:12 JAL1628 - Go ahead.

 

5:40:13 AARTCC - Roger Sir. Would you like our military to scramble on the traffic?

 

5:40:17 JAL1628 - Negative. Negative.

 

5:40:26 AARTCC - Jal1628 heavy, sir, we do have military ah, at Eielson, 40 miles away. I can put them up and let them check the traffic for you.

 

5:40:34 JAL1628 - Roger.

 

5:40:35 AARTCC - JAL1628, roger. Would you like us to do that?

 

5:42:04 JAL1628 - Anchorage Center, JAL1628. Confirm direct to Talkeetna three one zero.

 

5:42:09 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy. Affirmative. Direct to Talkeetna and descend at pilot's discretion. Maintain flight level two five zero.

 

5:42:16 JAL1628 - Ah, pilot's discretion. Two five zero.

 

5:42:35 JAL1628 - Ah, we have...Anchorage Center, JAL1628. We have in sight same position, over.

 

5:42:42 AARTCC - JAL1628, understand. In sight, same position.

 

5:44:07 AARTCC - JAL1628, sir, do you still have the traffic?

 

5:44:12 JAL1628 - Ah, say again please.

 

5:44:13 ARTCC - JAL1628 heavy.. Do you still have the traffic?

 

5:44:17 JAL1628 - Ah, affirmative, ah, nine o'clock.

 

5:46:48 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy. Maintain flight level three one zero.

 

5:46:54 JAL1628 - maintain three one zero.

 

5:46:59 AARTCC - JAL1628, roger. I'm gonna have a United aircraft get close to you and take a look, ah, to see if he can identify your traffic.

 

5:47:06 JAL1628 - Thank you.

 

5:48:16 UNITED 69 - Can you please point the traffic out again please?

 

5:48:19 AARTCC - United 69 heavy, affirmative. The, ah, Japan Air is in your eleven o'clock position and five zero [50] miles [away], southbound.

 

5:48:28 UNITED 69 - Ah, roger. Thank you.

 

5:48:31 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, sir, Say the position of your traffic.

 

5:48: JAL1628 - Ah, now, ah, ah, moving to, ah, around 10 miles now, ah, ah, position, ah seven, ah, eight o'clock, 10 miles.

 

5:48:36 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, roger.

 

5:50:35 UA69 - UA69 heavy. We've got the Japan Airliner in sight. I don't see anybody around him. He's (referring to the "spaceship") at his seven o'clock position, huh?

 

5:50:46 AARTCC - UA69, that's what he says. JAL1628 heavy, say the position of your traffic now.

 

5:50:52 JAL1628 - Ah, now, distinguishing (he meant to say "extinguishing"), but, ah, ah, your, I guess, ah, 12 o'clock below you.

 

5:51:02 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, say again. You're broken.

 

5:51:06 JAL1628 - Just ahead of United, ah..(unintelligible)

 

5:53:10 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, descend at pilot discretion. Maintain flight level two five zero (25,000 ft).

 

5:53:13 JAL1628 - JAL1628, ah, pilot's discretion maintain, ah, two five zero, so, ah, ah, I cannot, I couldn't see, ah, UFO, over.

 

5:53:27 AARTCC - JAL1628 heavy, understand. You do not see the traffic any longer.

 

5:53:31 JAL1628 - Affirmative.