Person
John Callahan
Also known as Callahan
- Division Chief, Accidents and Investigations, Federal Aviation Administration (1980s)
John Callahan was Division Chief of Accidents and Investigations at the Federal Aviation Administration in the 1980s, and the official behind the best-known claim of a government cover-up of radar data on a UFO.
In January 1987 the FAA's Alaska region asked headquarters what to tell reporters about Japan Air Lines flight 1628, whose crew said a gigantic object with yellow and white lights had paced their 747 over Alaska on 17 November 1986. Callahan says he had the radar data and controller tapes flown to the FAA Technical Center, replayed the scope in sync with the voice tapes, and filmed it. FAA Administrator Donald Engen saw the film and, by Callahan's account, went to brief President Reagan. Callahan says that at a later briefing for the President's scientific staff, a CIA officer declared "this event never happened, we were never here", confiscated the material and swore everyone to secrecy. Callahan kept his own copies, which he says he would swear to before Congress.
He told the story at the Disclosure Project press conference (2001), the National Press Club (2007) and the Citizen Hearing (2013). The FAA's public conclusion differed. Its March 1987 release said it could not confirm the event, and attributed the second radar target to a split return from the 747 itself. Callahan says FAA engineers could not agree whether that was a hardware or a software fault. Only the three JAL crew members saw the object.
Sources: Disclosure Project press conference (2001) · National Press Club (2007) · Citizen Hearing (2013) · FAA Alaskan Region release, 5 March 1987 (via The Black Vault)
Facts and claims
- claimed Callahan, former FAA division chief for accidents and investigations, says he had the JAL 1628 radar data and voice tapes replayed at the FAA Technical Center and filmed the scope. — John Callahan Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts at 4:35
- claimed He says that at a briefing for President Reagan's scientific staff, a CIA officer said “this event never happened, we were never here”, confiscated the data and swore those present to secrecy. — John Callahan Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts at 11:10
- claimed He says the FAA never told controllers not to report UFOs, and that he still has the voice tapes, his video of the radar playback and the printouts. — John Callahan Source: Disclosure Project press conference, National Press Club (May 9, 2001), full event at 18:26
- claimed He relays the Japanese captain's description of an object with no markings, “as big as four aircraft carriers”, with yellow and white lights, that followed the 747 even through a 360-degree turn; he says only the three JAL crew saw it, while about 23 people at the FAA reviewed the radar track. — John Callahan Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts at 8:15
- claimed He says FAA Administrator Donald Engen watched his video of the radar replay, cancelled his appointments and said he had to brief President Reagan. — John Callahan Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts at 9:40
- claimed He says FAA hardware engineers blamed the target beside the 747 on software and software engineers blamed hardware: “If it's not a hardware problem and it's not a software problem then what the hell is it?” — John Callahan Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts at 1:04:30
- documented The FAA's Alaskan Region news release of 5 March 1987 said the agency was “unable to confirm the event”: experts replaying the radar data at the Atlantic City technical center determined that the second target near the JAL flight was not another aircraft but “a split radar return from the JAL Boeing 747”, an “uncorrelated primary and beacon target return”. Source: documents.theblackvault.com (archived)
Connected files
Claims
- A huge craft of unknown origin paced Japan Airlines flight 1628 over Alaska in November 1986 (comments on claim)
Events
- Disclosure Project press conference at the National Press Club (testified in)
- National Press Club panel on UFOs and aviation safety (testified in)
Incidents
- Japan Airlines flight 1628 incident (investigated)
Hearings & briefings
- Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (testified at)
People
- Kenju Terauchi (briefed case of) — Callahan says the FAA data on the sighting was briefed to the CIA, who declared it “never happened”
Videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts (appears in)
- Disclosure Project press conference, National Press Club (May 9, 2001), full event (appears in)
- JAL 1628 archive compilation: 1987 news report, Nippon TV reconstruction and John Callahan (Eyes On Cinema) (appears in)
- National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters (appears in)
Mentioned in videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Pilots & Aviation Experts
- National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters