The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich
A young pilot radioed that a strange craft was circling his plane. Then the line went silent.
What was reported
On the evening of 21 October 1978, 20-year-old Frederick Valentich was flying a small Cessna 182 from Moorabbin, near Melbourne, towards King Island. Over Bass Strait he radioed Melbourne air traffic control that a large aircraft with four bright lights was moving around him.
Over several minutes he described it as long, with a green light and a metallic shine, and said his engine was rough-idling. His last words were 'it is not an aircraft', followed by 17 seconds of a metallic scraping sound. Neither he nor the plane was ever found.
Explanations offered
Investigators couldn't say what happened. Suggestions include that he became disoriented in the dark, mistook stars or his own lights reflected for another craft, and went down in the sea; that he staged his disappearance; or, among UFO researchers, that something truly unknown was there. The official report gave the cause as unknown.
- When
- 21 October 1978
- Where
- Over Bass Strait, south of Melbourne, Australia
- Witnesses
- A Melbourne air traffic controller, by radio
- Status
- Never solved
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.