“It’s not an aircraft”. These were the chilling last words of Frederick Valentich, a 20-year old pilot who took off from Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne, embarking on what should have been a routine flight across the Bass Strait to King Island. However he never arrived at his intended destination, and no conclusive explanation as to his fate has ever been established.
The Frederick Valentich disappearance has fuelled decades of debate and speculation, but what really happened to him? Does this Australian UFO abduction theory hold any weight? Did he become disoriented and crash? Did he stage his own disappearance? This time-trap back to Melbourne in the late 1970s will attempt to uncover the truth about Frederick Valentich’s disappearance.
Please fasten your seatbelts, put your seat-backs upright and your tray tables in the vertical position, this could be a bumpy ride…
Who was Frederick Valentich?
Valentich was reprimanded for flying into controlled airspace over Sydney (Credit: Marc Dozier via Getty Images)
Born in June 1958, Frederick – or Fred – Valentich was a relatively inexperienced pilot who, at the time he disappeared, had clocked up around 150 flying hours. It was reported he had a class four instrument rating which permitted him to fly at night in ‘visual meteorological conditions’. This meant he could fly at night, but only when the weather conditions allowed for visual navigation and reference to the horizon.
It’s been reported that he had two separate applications for the Royal Australian Air Force rejected, and that he failed his commercial pilots licence exam. During previous training flights, Valentich had been reprimanded for deliberately flying into a cloud, as well as straying into controlled airspace over Sydney. In a later interview with his father Guido, the elder Valentich is said to have claimed his son was a believer in UFOs and was concerned about being abducted.
Some sources also report that a few days before his disappearance, Frederick Valentich spoke with his girlfriend about his fear of being abducted by aliens. Whether this is fact or post-event fiction, is tricky to know for sure.
6.19pm, 21 October 1978
King Island in the Bass Strait (Credit: Southern Lightscapes-Australia via Getty Images)
A little after six in the evening with a full tank of fuel, Frederick Valentich took off from Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne in a four-seat, single-engine Cessna 182L light aircraft, registered VH-DSJ. He submitted a flight plan that would take him across the Bass Strait, over Cape Otway, to King Island, a distance of around 237 kilometres. The flight plan had estimated time intervals of 41 minutes to Cape Otway, and a further 28 minutes from there to King Island at an altitude of around or just under 5,000 feet, or 1,524 metres.
He’s believed to have told flight officials at Moorabbin he was going to King Island to pick up four friends, even taking four life jackets with him. He may have told others he was going to collect crayfish. The official report concluded neither of these reasons had any evidence to support them. Another strange element to the story of the Frederick Valentich disappearance was that despite flying at night, he didn’t make arrangements for the runway lights at King Island to be switched on.
As he took off from Moorabbin, Valentich established two-way radio comms with Melbourne Flight Service Unit, or FSU. The Bass Strait is a notoriously challenging body of water separating mainland Australia from Tasmania, however the weather was reported to have been calm, and visibility was good, a seemingly ideal setting for a short, uneventful flight.
The Frederick Valentich Audio
A small plane, similar to Valentich's Cessna (Credit: noonard via Getty Images)
Perhaps the most intriguing piece of the puzzle about this story is a reported radio exchange between air traffic control and Frederick Valentich. 1978 was still very much the era of VHF analogue radio and digital technology was years away, but the recording of the exchange – while in many ways haunting – didn’t provide a definitive answer to what actually happened that night. In this recording, Valentich reported he was being followed by an unidentified aircraft. Disturbingly, shortly before the audio cuts out, he’s reported to have said: “That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again it is hovering and it’s not an aircraft.” There then followed seventeen seconds of open microphone and a sound which has been described as metallic, scraping noises. Frederick Valentich was never seen or heard of again.
Search & Rescue
There was a search for Valentich and his lost plane, covering around 2,600 square kilometres, undertaken by a RAAF Lockheed P-3 Orion surveillance plane, at least eight civilian aircraft, and ships in the area, but unfortunately, no rescue. The search was called off after four days.
What Happened to Frederick Valentich?
The Bass Strait can be notoriously trecherous to navigate (Credit: Southern Lightscapes-Australia via Getty Images)
The disappearance of Frederick Valentich caused a huge sensation. It was billed as one of the most well-publicised aviation mysteries since Amelia Earhart disappeared in July 1937, and made national and international news. The disappearance has since given rise to several theories, each attempting to explain the mysterious events of that evening.
The Official Line
The official stance of the Australian government regarding the disappearance of Frederick Valentich is that the incident remains unexplained. The investigation considered various possibilities, including mechanical failure and pilot disorientation, however without concrete evidence, they couldn’t come to a clear conclusion, but they suggested it was ‘presumed fatal’ for Valentich.
Pilot Disorientation
Some aviation experts have suggested that Valentich may have become disoriented while flying over water at dusk, a condition known as spatial disorientation. In these cases, pilots can misinterpret visual cues (such as seeing their own lights reflected in the water below), leading them to believe they are seeing something that isn’t there. This could explain his descriptions of the unidentified object. The theory suggests that he might have inadvertently entered a downward spiral and crashed into the sea.
Mechanical Failure
Another possibility is that the plane experienced a mechanical malfunction. The Cessna 182L he was flying was a reliable model, but no aircraft is immune to sudden issues. Engine failure or structural problems could have led to a crash, especially if compounded by pilot error or challenging flying conditions over the Bass Strait.
Deliberate Disappearance
Some speculated that the disappearance of Frederick Valentich was staged. Investigations into his background didn’t reveal any signs that pointed to the fact this was an option, and his family and friends later reported that he was enthusiastic about his aviation career.
UFO Encounter
Was Frederick Valentich a victim of the most famous Australian UFO abduction case in history? In his radio transmissions he described green lights, a metallic surface and erratic movement, but were they just reflections of parts of his own plane? As a reported believer in UFOs, was he inclined to assume seeing anything unusual was from outer space?
The Simplest Explanation
Reports surfacing in the 2010s indicated that the official investigation did indeed find wreckage from the plane a few years after it went missing – indicating that there was a crash – either due to pilot error or mechanical failure. These reports make the possibility of hoax, deception or abduction seem increasingly remote.
The Legacy of Frederick Valentich
What did Frederick Valentich encounter that night, and what happened to him...? (Credit: gremlin via Getty Images)
The disappearance of Frederick Valentich is one of the most enduring enigmas in aviation history. It’s a fascinating and perplexing blend of mystery and tragedy that continues to intrigue researchers, scientists and UFOlogists itching to get to the bottom of what happened that night. Despite extensive investigations and numerous theories, the lack of concrete evidence leaves his fate curiously unresolved.
