What Happened to Frederick Valentich? Possibly the scariest UFO case ever

The Story
Frederick Valentich was a 20 year old pilot, was flying to King Island (off the northwest coast of Tasmania) across Bass Strait, from Moorabin Airport in Melbourne. During the flight Valentich reported to air traffic controller Steve Robey, that he was in contact with an unidentified aircraft that was flying dangerously close to and hovering above his Cessna 182 aircraft.

The most startling thing about this case, is the fact that Valentich was in radio contact with ATC contollers at the time of his encounter. Another massive point to consider, is that more than fifty seperate observations of UFO activity in the area were reported in the weeks leading up to and preceding Valentich's dissapearance. Even more startling is that 4 witnesses actually observed an object sitting on top of a light aircraft on the area where Valentich was flying. Will get to that later, but the following is the actual transcript between Valentich and air traffic contoller Steve Robey (back in Melbourne)

The Actual Transcript

19:06:14 DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. Is there any known traffic below five thousand?

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, no known traffic.

DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, I am, seems to be a large aircraft below five thousand.

19:06:44 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, What type of aircraft is it?

DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, I cannot affirm, it is four bright, and it seems to me like landing lights.

19:07 FS Delta Sierra Juliet.

19:07:31 DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet, the aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, and it is a large aircraft, confirmed?

DSJ Er-unknown, due to the speed it's traveling, is there any air force aircraft in the vicinity?

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, no known aircraft in the vicinity.

19:08:18 DSJ Melbourne, it's approaching now from due east towards me.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet.

19:08:41 DSJ (open microphone for two seconds.)

19:08:48 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, it seems to me that he's playing some sort of game, he's flying over me two, three times at speeds I could not identify.

19:09 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what is your actual level?

DSJ My level is four and a half thousand, four five zero zero.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet and you confirm you cannot identify the aircraft?

DSJ Affirmative.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, stand by.

19:09:27 DSJ Melbourne, Delta Sierra Juliet, it's not an aircraft it is (open microphone for two seconds).

19:09:42 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, can you describe the -ER- aircraft?

DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, as it's flying past it's a long shape (open microphone for three seconds) cannot identify more than it has such speed (open microphone for three seconds). It's before me right now Melbourne.

19:10 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger and how large would the - er - object be?

19:10:19 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, Melbourne, it seems like it's stationary. What I'm doing right now is orbiting and the thing is just orbiting on top of me also. It's got a green light and sort of metallic like, it's all shiny on the outside.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet

19:10:46 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet (open microphone for three seconds) It's just vanished.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet

19:11 DSJ Melbourne, would you know what kind of aircraft I've got? Is it a military aircraft?

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, Confirm the - er ~ aircraft just vanished.

DSJ Say again.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, is the aircraft still with you?

DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet; it's (open microphone for two seconds) now approaching from the south-west.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet

1911:50 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, the engine is rough-idling. I've got it set at twenty three twenty-four and the thing is coughing.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what are your intentions?

DSJ My intentions are - ah - to go to King Island - ah - Melbourne. That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again (open microphone for two seconds). It is hovering and it's not an aircraft.

FS Delta Sierra Juliet.

1912:28 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet. Melbourne (open microphone for seventeen seconds).

(An unexplained sound abruptly terminated the voice communications.)

After the dissapearance, a search of the area revealed no wreckage. Frederick Valentich had literally dissapeared.

Over the next few weeks several witnesses stepped forward with startling evidence

Some of the ground based observations

- Twin Cigar shaped objects were witnessed moving West to East over Victoria, changing from silver to white. Several witnesses observed this until they dissapeared behind the Cape Otway hills

- One witness actually photographed an object shooting up out of the water at tremendous speed, near Cape Otway lighthouse. This event occured only 21 minutes before Valentich first reported the object.

- Witnesses in Franskton, a south east Melbourne suburb, reported seeing a large cigar shaped object hovering in their area

-Two seperate sets of witnesses (a couple and two teenagers) reported seeing green lights in a star-fish shaped object. The couple actually witnessed the object moving over Bass Strait in the direction of where Valentich was flying.

The most startling report

One of the best indications from observers that a UFO was involved in Frederick’s experience came a few years after the event when four witnesses came forward to report sighting both the aircraft and the UFO flying directly above the Cessna. They had hesitated reporting outside their immediate friends because of fear of ridicule. They came forward when they did because the information bore on their conscience.

An uncle, his son and two nieces were rabbit hunting at Cape Otway. A niece looked up and saw the green light and called to her uncle, "What is that light?" The uncle looked up and answered, "An aeroplane light". The niece then said, "No, the light above the aeroplane". Frederick was the only pilot flying in the area at that time. Sight of the aeroplane and object was lost when they flew behind the hills. This sighting completely rules out all speculations and fictitious stories - other than that a UFO was involved in the pilot’s disappearance.

Some points to ponder

-No wreckage was ever found

-The Australian Airforce recieved eleven reports on the night in question

- Many of the witnessed observed similar, if not the same things

- Valentich apparently acted out of character before the event. he allegedly didnt supply a flight plan for this flight.

- Several Sightings of UFO's were reported before the incident

- The original recording of the conversation between Valentich and ATC mysteriously dissapeared

- There is an abundance (I mean abundance) of eye witness accounts on the event

So what happened in in the sky above Bass Strait and the Melbourne areas on that day and the previous days leading up to the incident?

Perhaps Valentich got disorientated and crashed in a different area to the one thought, or maybe we have the first recording/ witness of an alien abduction.

Well the evidence is certainly compelling, but I leave you to decide. I am interested in anyones alternative theories to the abduction one to

Here's some links for those interested in wanting to learn more

Extra Links

Links removed for accuracy purposes. May add some better links soon



[edit on 7/11/2008 by OzWeatherman]

[edit on 7/11/2008 by OzWeatherman]

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Oz, great thread - this is a particularly interesting case due to the object description in the pilot's last transmission (wherever he may be) and the number of separately located eyewitness reports.

It also sounds a lot like this incident which occurred near Puerto Rico two years later.

Cheers.

[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

very interesting! whendid this event tke place? At only 20 how expierenced was the pilot? Man this is interesting.

MessOnTheFED!

incredibly interesting, kinda makes me want to get my light aircraft license....

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
very interesting! whendid this event tke place? At only 20 how expierenced was the pilot? Man this is interesting.

MessOnTheFED!

Oh crap...sorry I totally forgot the date

It happened on October 28th, 1978

I believe Valentich wasnt very experienced, but he was aspiring to become a commercial pilot, and was more than capable to fly competently apparently

hes probably flying something a lot bigger than a sesna now!!!

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
hes probably flying something a lot bigger than a sesna now!!!

That is if he is alive and was abducted by aliens

Another thing I kind of figured out was the similarities between this case and the one Internos provided on his thread

Its bizzare

[edit on 7/11/2008 by OzWeatherman]

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I think he probably crashed and they will never find any wreckage like Amelia Earhart. Many of the mysterious plane crashes have been found lately, from the planes of the Bermuda Triangle to the South American plane where the pilot did not recognize anything during the snowstorm (It turned out he was flying into a mountain range and not the airport).
While this case sounds mysterious, there is no doubt a rational explanation. The pilot was not experienced and crashed. Did he actually see a UFO? That may never be known.

It makes good, scary reading - transcripts often do - but I don't know how anything can be made of it.

For one thing, although the transcript exists, the recording itself is more problematic. One of the links in the OP says it has never been made public. Another says it has mysteriously vanished.

For another, what can we make of the witness statements? From what I can gather, the one where the UFO was seen above the plane was made in 2000 - 22 years after the original incident. The reports also claim there was an abundance of UFO activity around that time, but the missing pilot was covered in the newspapers, and it's not clear when the reports were made (as opposed to the dates they referred to). In other words, did the newspaper coverage fire people's imaginations as much as their memories? Impossible to tell.

There are, of course, alternative explanations, but it's probably difficult to pin anything down. Good stuff though.

reply to post by damagedoor


Actually, the/ another report about the plane being hounded by the UFO occured well before 2000.

There was a show we had here called "The Extraordinary" which dealt with parnormal, ufo etc type topics. Its the first time I heard about this case, and the show aired well before 2000.

Im now rethinking the credibility of some of the stuff on those links now, but I can assure you that the TV program covered most of the eye witness accounts well before these websites were up. It also had a great reenactment of the transcript

I might do a little bit more digging into the where abouts of that tape though

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Hi Oz -

For info, I'm going by this:

On October 11, 2000, Melbourne's Herald-Sun reported that fresh light had been shed on the case of the Victorian pilot. An Apollo Bay man, (the area near where the pilot experienced problems) said that he, his son and two nieces observed Valentich's Cessna and a green light hovering above it as they hunted rabbits in Cape Otway. The man had not come forward previously for fear of ridicule. He placed the aircraft as going down off Cape Marengo just south east of Apollo Bay, between five to fifteen kilometers offshore. This was a considerable distance from the original search area.

A niece looked up and saw the green light and called to her uncle, "What is that light?" The uncle looked up and answered, "An airplane light". The niece then said, "No, the light above the airplane". Frederick was the only pilot flying in the area at that time. Sight of the airplane and object was lost when they flew behind the hills.

From: www.ufologie.net...

Actually, there are contradictions just between those two paragraphs. Did the man see the aircraft go down, or was it lost behind the hills?

====
Mod Edit: changed to ex tags

[edit on 11/8/2008 by Badge01]

reply to post by damagedoor


Actually I think the one I heard was different, in fact I am pretty sure it is. The story I heard was about a guy and his wife actually watching the object hover on top of Valentich but the plane and object became obscured by the hills in the Cape Otway area.

So maybe this is there is two seperate sightings of this

It still doesnt explain the other 50 odd stories though eh

I know where you are coming from by the way, I tend to be skeptical about most things but there is just to much on this case to avoid ignoring it, esepcially considering the transcript and the fact that the air traffic controller had a conversation with him

reply to post by kidflash2008

While this case sounds mysterious, there is no doubt a rational explanation. The pilot was not experienced and crashed.

This is an irrational conclusion...

To the OP:

Awesome...

Unless he crashed over the water, I would think wreckage would have been found over the last 30 years...identifying the wreckage shouldn't be too difficult....

I would love to see the photo of the ufo coming out of the water...

Great thread!

s & f

reply to post by chapter29


We have to put currents into consideration and other data. It is just the pilots word he saw something. There is no radar or other evidence to suggest there was another object out there. The transcript of the recording can be embellished as it was in the fighters disappearing over the Bermuda Triangle. I just don't think we should jump to an extraterrestrial conclusion on this case. It is still quite interesting, but it does have an Occam's razor explanation to it.

I'm so glad whenever i see a thread regarding some important incident so well layed out, kudos, and thanks for sharing
This story is so scary that i really don't know wether i really want to know the truth or not behind it
I'd like to add this documentary regarding the story:
Unsolved Mysteries 2- UFOs And Aliens

Google Video Link

Australian Department of Transport report




Some of the photos taken by Roy Manifold were available somewhere, at least one if memory serves.


[edit on 7/11/2008 by internos]

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Ah, I see - I was just talking about the witness details you quoted in the original post. Be interested to see what else you dig up.

For me, the witness statements remain a question mark - however many there are. Although there is a lot of talk about increased UFO activity before, during and after that date, it's not clear when the reports themselves were filed, so difficult to know what stock, if any, to put in them.

There have also, it should be said, been witnesses who've reported seeing wreckage in the sea, but no further investigation has been made.

Valentich had an acknowledged interest in UFOs, and was behaving strangely prior to this particular flight. That seems to lend credence to the theories that he was either disorientated for some reason (flying upside down above the lighthouse?), or possibly ... well, thinking about life insurance.

By the way - it's not that I'm skeptical, as such. There are a bunch of details here, some disputable, and there are various stories that could fit them. Ultimately, unless the wreckage is found, it's likely we'll never know.

reply to post by internos


Thanks for that Internos

That puts one allegation to rest, which was the one that said Valentich acted strangely and didnt submit a flight plan.

The official record states that he in fact did submit a flight plan which in my opinion leads to ruling out an imbalance of mind problem here.

There is a bit more information/discussion posted HERE in regards to Frederick Valentich and Bass Strait.

[edit on 7-11-2008 by Chadwickus]

reply to post by kidflash2008

It is just the pilots word he saw something.

I understand where you are coming from, but what of the many eyewitnesses?

I t would seem there is more to this story than just the pilot's word...

But yes, of course it cannot be determined to be of e.t. origin...but it sure seems that way...

Originally posted by chapter29
reply to post by kidflash2008

 

It is just the pilots word he saw something.

I understand where you are coming from, but what of the many eyewitnesses?

I t would seem there is more to this story than just the pilot's word...

But yes, of course it cannot be determined to be of e.t. origin...but it sure seems that way...

Exactly

I wouldnt be so fussed if there wasnt so many witnesses on the ground, plus the air traffic controller actually being in contact with the Valentich during the event, plus the fact that he has actuially been missing for 30 odd years, plus the fact that their is an official report on it, plus...

Well you get my drift