Frederick Valentich Disappearance

The disappearance of Frederick Valentich remains one of aviation’s most haunting mysteries. A young pilot’s final radio transmissions describe an encounter with something he couldn’t identify - an object that hovered, circled, and apparently played with his aircraft before he vanished forever. Neither he nor his Cessna 182 were ever found.

Frederick Valentich

Frederick Valentich was a 20-year-old Australian pilot:

Experience: He held a Class Four instrument rating and had about 150 hours of flight time.

Ambition: He aspired to become a commercial pilot but had been rejected twice by the RAAF.

Character: Described as reliable, serious about flying, and interested in UFOs.

The Flight: On October 21, 1978, he filed a flight plan for a training flight from Moorabbin to King Island in Bass Strait.

October 21, 1978

Valentich departed Moorabbin Airport at 6:19 PM in a rented Cessna 182:

Route: Across Bass Strait to King Island, about 130 nautical miles.

Purpose: Officially a training flight; he told others he was picking up passengers.

Weather: Clear conditions, good visibility.

Contact: He maintained radio contact with Melbourne Flight Service.

The Transmissions

At 7:06 PM, Valentich made a radio call that began the mystery:

7:06 PM: He reported a large unknown aircraft below 5,000 feet with four bright lights. Melbourne asked for identification - he couldn’t provide any.

7:08 PM: The object passed over him. He reported it was moving at high speed. It had a long shape but couldn’t identify the type.

7:09 PM: He reported the object was “orbiting” above him. It had a green light and a metallic exterior.

7:10 PM: He reported the object was “not an aircraft.” His engine began running rough.

7:12 PM: His final transmission: “Melbourne, that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. It is hovering and it is not an aircraft.”

Then came 17 seconds of metallic scraping sounds. Then silence.

The Search

An extensive search found nothing:

Air Search: Aircraft searched the area extensively.

Sea Search: Ships and boats covered the waters.

Duration: The search continued for several days.

Result: No wreckage, no oil slick, no debris, no body.

Nothing: Frederick Valentich and his aircraft vanished completely.

The Transcript

The official Department of Transport transcript preserves the encounter:

Calm Beginning: Valentich’s initial reports are matter-of-fact.

Growing Concern: His transmissions become more urgent as the encounter continues.

The Unknown: He repeatedly states he cannot identify the object.

Engine Trouble: He reports rough running just before disappearing.

Final Words: “It is hovering and it is not an aircraft.”

The recording exists. The words are documented. What prompted them remains unknown.

Other Sightings

Valentich wasn’t alone in seeing something that night:

Ground Witnesses: Multiple people in the Cape Otway area reported unusual lights around the time of the incident.

Timing: The sightings corresponded with Valentich’s transmissions.

Description: Witnesses described bright lights moving in unusual patterns.

Photograph: One witness claimed to have photographed a fast-moving object.

Official Investigation

The Australian Department of Transport investigated:

Conclusion: The reason for disappearance could not be determined.

No Evidence: No evidence of crash or ditching was found.

Open Case: The case was never officially closed or explained.

Transcript Released: The radio transmissions were made public.

Theories

Various explanations have been proposed:

Disorientation: Valentich became disoriented and crashed. However, conditions were clear, and he was in radio contact.

Suicide: He staged his disappearance. His aircraft and body would still need to be explained.

Drug Running: He was involved in illegal activity and faked his disappearance. No evidence supports this.

UFO Abduction: He was taken by the object he described. Impossible to verify.

Hoax: He fabricated the encounter for some purpose. This doesn’t explain his disappearance.

Actual Encounter: He encountered something real and unexplained that caused his disappearance.

The UFO Theory

If Valentich encountered a genuine unknown:

His Descriptions: Four bright lights, green light, metallic, not an aircraft.

The Behavior: Orbiting, hovering, passing overhead - intelligent control.

Engine Effects: His engine problems during the encounter fit a pattern seen in other cases.

The Sounds: The metallic scraping on his final transmission.

Complete Vanishing: Neither pilot nor aircraft ever found.

His Interest in UFOs

Valentich’s interest in UFOs has been noted:

Known Interest: He had discussed UFOs and had some interest in the subject.

Not Obsessive: Friends described his interest as casual, not obsessive.

Relevance: Did his interest make him more likely to interpret something as a UFO? Or did it make him more attuned to a real phenomenon?

The Enduring Mystery

Key questions remain unanswered:

What did he see?: His descriptions don’t match conventional aircraft.

What caused his engine trouble?: Problems coincided with the object’s proximity.

What made those sounds?: The metallic scraping on the final transmission.

Where is the aircraft?: A Cessna 182 doesn’t simply vanish.

Where is Valentich?: No body, no debris, no trace.

Legacy

The Valentich case endures because:

• A pilot’s final words are recorded and preserved
• He describes an encounter with something he explicitly says is not an aircraft
• He and his aircraft completely vanished
• Extensive search found nothing
• Ground witnesses reported similar lights
• The case has never been solved

Frederick Valentich’s last transmission - “It is not an aircraft” - remains his epitaph. Whatever hovered above his Cessna over Bass Strait that October evening, it apparently took him somewhere from which he never returned.

Sources

• Australian Department of Transport investigation
• Radio transmission transcripts
• Witness testimonies
• Valentich disappearance - Wikipedia