What happened
On the evening of October 21, 1978, 20-year-old pilot Frederick Valentich was flying a Cessna 182 from Moorabbin Airport near Melbourne to King Island. At about 7:06 p.m., he asked Melbourne Flight Service controller Steve Robey about traffic in the area, because he could see a large aircraft with lights above him. Over the next few minutes he described the object as long, with a green light and a metallic sheen, circling around him and hovering in place. He also reported that his engine was running rough. His last words were that the object was hovering above him and “it’s not an aircraft,” after which metallic sounds could be heard for 17 seconds and contact was lost. Despite an extensive search, neither the aircraft nor the pilot was found. The Australian aviation authority was unable to determine the cause of the disappearance.
Witnesses
Frederick Valentich, the only witness, whose words were recorded on the air traffic control tape; several coastal residents later reported strange lights in the sky.
Explanations and hypotheses
Investigators and skeptics considered pilot disorientation – he may have been flying in a bank and seeing his own lights reflected in the water, or lights on land – as well as a staged disappearance or suicide, although nothing confirmed this. Planets visible that evening were also cited. Valentich was interested in UFOs, which some see as the key to the case and others as a coincidence. A piece of engine cowling found on Flinders Island in 1983 may have come from his aircraft, but this was never confirmed.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.
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