April 17, 2009

The Valentich Disappearance


Frederick Valentich was a 20 year old Australian pilot who disappeared on October 21, 1978. Valentich was flying a Cessna 182L over Bass Strait in Australia on his way to King Island, Tasmania when he vanished under mysterious circumstances. Just before his disappearance, Frederick reported from his radio that he had spotted a strange aircraft hovering dangerously close to his plane. The Valentich disappearance became the focus of the media's attention and one of the most famous documented UFO stories. No trace of Frederick Valentich or his airplane was ever found. The ensuing Department of Transport investigation concluded that the reasons for the disappearance could not be determined.

Valentich was a good pilot with a Class 4 instrument rating and 150 hours of flight experience. His mission that day was to log more flight experience as part of his pursuit to gain his commercial license. The weather was excellent for flying that day with good visibility and wind conditions. After about an hour into the flight, Valentich contacted the tower at Melbourne to inquire about other known aircraft in the vicinity. When he was told that there were no other known aircraft, Valentich reported seeing a large, unidentifiable aircraft passing over his own plane that bore four large lights on one side. He reported the unknown aircraft to have approached from the east at very high speed. He also stated his opinion that the pilot of the mysterious aircraft was "toying" with him. Due to its speed, the only thing he was able to ascertain about the craft was that it was long in appearance. He then came back on the radio to report that the thing was hovering over him, that it was shiny, and that it had a bright green light on it. At this point, the unknown craft "vanished", and Valentich began to question the tower as to military exercises in the area. The attendant at the tower in Melbourne was very confused and began asking Valentich lots of questions regarding the experience when Valentich reported that the thing had returned, approaching from the southwest this time. He stated that his intentions were to continue on to King Island. He went on to say, "it is hovering and it's not an aircraft". After this, strange noises could be heard over the radio waves for 17 seconds, at which time all contact with Frederick Valentich and his Cessna were lost.

A search and rescue mission was immediately undertaken by air and by sea and continued until October 25, 1978. The particular airplane that Valentich was piloting was equipped with a safety mechanism that allowed the aircraft to remain afloat for several minutes after a crash landing in the sea. No trace of any aircraft was ever discovered. The Department of Transport even launched an official investigation into the case but was unable to determine the cause of the disappearance. The strange sounds that were heard over the radio at the end of Valentich's last transmission were also analyzed to no avail. Researchers were not able to determine any kind of pattern to the noises.

There have been many theories as to what happened to Frederick Valentich, but no answers. There has actually been an "update" to this mysterious happening. Many people, however, question the validity of the information that is known about this update. Decide for yourself. You can read about it here.

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