View source for Disappearance of Frederick Valentich

{{short description|1978 disappearance of a pilot over Bass Strait, Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox event
| title = Valentich disappearance
| image = Valentich disappearance.png
| image_size = 
| caption = Valentich's intended route from [[Moorabbin Airport]] to [[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]] over [[Bass Strait]]
| date = {{disappeared date and age|df=y|1978|10|21|1958|05|09}}
| time = 19:12 AEST
| place = [[Bass Strait]], Australia
| coordinates = {{Coord|39|24|S|143|45|E|type:event_region:AU-VIC|display=inline,title}}
| cause = Unknown
| missing = 1
| duration = {{Missing for|df=y|1978|10|21}}
}}

'''Frederick Valentich''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|æ|l|ən|t|ɪ|tʃ}}) was an Australian pilot who disappeared while on a {{convert|125|nmi|adj=on|km|lk=in}}  flight in a [[Cessna 182 Skylane|Cessna 182L]] [[light aircraft]], registered VH-DSJ,<ref name=CSICOP>{{cite web |last=Nickell |first=Joe |title=The Valentich Disappearance: Another UFO Cold Case Solved|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2013/11/the-valentich-disappearance-another-ufo-cold-case-solved/ |work=Volume 37.6, November/December 2013 |date=November 2013 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> over [[Bass Strait]]. On the evening of Saturday 21 October 1978, twenty-year-old Valentich informed [[Melbourne]] [[air traffic control]] that he was being accompanied by an aircraft about {{convert|1000|ft}} above him and that his engine had begun running roughly, before finally reporting: "It's not an aircraft."<ref name="AP"/>

There were belated reports of a [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] sighting in Australia on the night of the disappearance; however, the [[Department of Transport (Western Australia)|Department of Transport]] was sceptical<!--Australian/British spelling variant; please do not change--> that a UFO was behind Valentich's disappearance, and some of their officials speculated that "Valentich became disorientated and saw his own lights reflected in the water, or lights from a nearby island, while flying upside down".<ref name=AP>{{cite news |title=UFO Enthusiast Missing After Reporting Craft |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19781023&id=6hFPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3318,4275388|access-date=12 March 2014 |newspaper=Toledo (OH) Blade |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=10 October 1978}}</ref>

==Frederick Valentich==
[[File:Frederick Valentich.png|thumb|left|150px|Frederick Valentich]]
Frederick Valentich (9 June 1958 – disappeared 21 October 1978) had about 150 total hours of flying time and held a class-four instrument rating, which authorised him to fly at night, but only "in [[visual meteorological conditions]]". He had twice applied to enlist in the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF), but was rejected because of inadequate educational qualifications. He was a member of the RAAF [[Australian Air Force Cadets|Air Training Corps]], determined to have a career in aviation. 

Valentich was studying part-time to become a commercial pilot but had a poor achievement record, having twice failed all five commercial licence examination subjects. As recently as the month before his disappearance, Valentich had failed three more commercial licence subjects. He had been involved in flying incidents, for example, straying into a controlled zone in [[Sydney]], for which he received a warning, and twice deliberately flying into a cloud, for which [[prosecution]] was being considered. According to his father, Guido, Valentich was an ardent believer in [[Unidentified flying object|UFOs]] and had been worried about being attacked by them.<ref name=CSICOP/> Six days before his disappearance, Valentich discussed with his girlfriend Rhonda Rushton the possibility of a UFO taking him away, according to her.<ref name="Herald Sun">{{Cite news|last=Dunn|first=Mark|date=5 April 2014|title=UFO suspicions still cloud disappearance of Frederick Valentich|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/ufo-suspicions-still-cloud-disappearance-of-frederick-valentich/news-story/238397f0c2734c8b91cf4b96ae497bc5|agency=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=8 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="Snopes">{{Cite web|last=Liles|first=Jordan|date=3 December 2021|title=Frederick Valentich's 'UFO' Sighting and Disappearance|url=https://www.snopes.com/articles/383824/frederick-valentich-ufo-disappearance/|website=[[Snopes]]|access-date=8 July 2024}}</ref>

The destination of Valentich's final flight was [[King Island (Tasmania)|King Island]], but his motivation for the flight is unknown. He told flight officials that he was going to King Island to pick up some friends, while he told others that he was going to pick up [[crayfish]]. Later investigations found both stated reasons to be untrue.<ref name=CSICOP/> Valentich had also failed to inform [[King Island Airport]] of his intention to land there, going against "standard procedure".<ref name=CSICOP/>
{{clearleft}}

==Details==
[[File:Cessna 182 (5782498179).jpg|thumb|260px|A Cessna 182 similar to the aircraft involved]]
Valentich radioed [[Melbourne]] Flight Service at 7:06&nbsp;pm to report that an unidentified aircraft was following him at {{convert|4500|ft}}. He was told that there was no known traffic at that level. Valentich said that he could see a large unknown aircraft which appeared to be illuminated by four bright landing lights. He was unable to confirm its type, but said that it had passed about {{convert|1000|ft}} overhead and was moving at high speed. Valentich then reported that the aircraft was approaching him from the east and said that the other pilot might be purposely toying with him. Valentich said that the aircraft was "orbiting" above him and that it had a shiny metal surface and a green light on it. Valentich further reported that he was experiencing engine problems. Asked to identify the aircraft, Valentich radioed: "It's not an aircraft." His transmission was then interrupted by unidentified noise described as "metallic, scraping sounds" before all contact was lost.<ref name=AP /><ref name=UPI-2>{{cite news|title=Search for pilot who saw UFO, then disappeared discontinued|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19781026&id=3JQzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6726,5964289|access-date=13 March 2014|agency=[[United Press International]]|date=26 October 1978}}</ref><ref name=UPI-1>{{cite news|title=After spotting UFO Pilot disappears|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19781023&id=JXFUAAAAIBAJ&pg=5087,1555746|newspaper=Ellensburg (OR) Daily Record|page=8|access-date=13 March 2014|agency=[[United Press International]]|date=23 October 1978}}</ref>

==Search and rescue==
A sea and air search was undertaken that included oceangoing ship traffic, an RAAF [[Lockheed P-3 Orion]] aircraft, plus eight civilian aircraft. The search encompassed over {{convert|1000|mi2|km2}}. Search efforts ceased on 25 October 1978 without result.<ref name=UPI-2 />

==Official investigation==
An investigation into Valentich's disappearance by the Australian Department of Transport was unable to determine the cause but it was "presumed fatal" for Valentich.<ref name=CSICOP /> Five years after Valentich's aircraft went missing, an [[Aircraft engine controls#Cowl|engine cowl flap]] was found washed ashore on [[Flinders Island]]. In July 1983, the [[Australian Transport Safety Bureau#Bureau of Air Safety Investigation|Bureau of Air Safety Investigation]] asked the Royal Australian Navy Research Laboratory (RANRL) about the likelihood that the cowl flap might have "travelled" to its ultimate position from the region where the aircraft disappeared. The bureau noted that "the part has been identified as having come from a Cessna 182 aircraft between a certain range of serial numbers", which included Valentich's aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Archives of Australia |url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=10491375&T=PDF 
|format=PDF
|website=recordsearch.naa.gov.au |access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref>

==Proposed explanations==
Some Western Australia Department of Transport officials speculated that "Valentich became disorientated and saw his own lights reflected in the water, or lights from a nearby island, while flying upside down".<ref name=AP />

It has also been proposed that Valentich staged his own disappearance: even taking into account a trip of between 30 and 45 minutes to [[Cape Otway]], the single-engine Cessna 182 still had enough fuel to fly {{convert|800|km|abbr=on}};<ref>''[[Melbourne Age]]'', 28 October 1978, p. 1</ref> despite ideal conditions, at no time was the aircraft plotted on [[radar]], casting doubts as to whether it was ever near Cape Otway;<ref name=australian>''[[The Australian]]'', 24 October 1978, pp. 1–2</ref> and Melbourne police received reports of a light aircraft making a mysterious landing not far from Cape Otway at the same time as Valentich's disappearance.<ref name=australian/>

There has also been speculation that Valentich committed [[suicide]]. According to UFOlogist Kieth Basterfield, interviews with doctors and colleagues who knew him virtually eliminated this possibility.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/truth-was-out-there-after-all/news-story/2973bd131c27da0a31f4a7b8eba643fe|title='Truth' was out there after all |last=Kemp |first=Miles |newspaper=The Advertiser |date=6 July 2012|access-date=26 October 2013}}</ref>

According to [[Brian Dunning (author)|Brian Dunning]], Valentich's radio conversation was similar to the dialogue from a scene in the film ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'', which was released less than a year before the disappearance, and was popular among pilots, young people and UFO fans. Dunning speculated that it is possible that Valentich was trying to imitate the scene for fun, and deliberately made his aircraft fly in a circular pattern in order to "give the radar guys something to see", but accidentally became disoriented and crashed into the water.<ref>{{Skeptoid | id=4385 | number=385  | title=The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich | date=22 October 2013 |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

A 2013 review of the radio transcripts and other data by [[astronomer]] and retired [[United States Air Force]] pilot James McGaha and author [[Joe Nickell]] proposes that the inexperienced Valentich was deceived by the [[sensory illusions in aviation|illusion of a tilted horizon]] for which he attempted to compensate and inadvertently put his aircraft into a downward, so-called "[[graveyard spiral]]" which he initially mistook for simple orbiting of the aircraft. According to the authors, the [[G-force]]s of a tightening spiral would decrease fuel flow, resulting in the "rough idling" reported by Valentich. McGaha and Nickell also propose that the apparently stationary, overhead lights that Valentich reported were probably the planets [[Venus]], [[Mars]] and [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], along with the bright star [[Antares]], which would have behaved in a way consistent with Valentich's description.<ref name=CSICOP />

===Ufologists===
[[Ufology|Ufologists]] have claimed that a UFO either destroyed Valentich's aircraft or [[Alien abduction|abducted him]], saying that some individuals reported seeing "an erratically moving green light in the sky" and that he was "in a steep dive at the time". Ufologists believe these accounts are significant because of the "green light" mentioned in Valentich's radio transmissions.<ref name=clark1>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Jerome |author-link=Jerome Clark |year=1998 |title=The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial |url=https://archive.org/details/ufobookencyclope0000clar |url-access=registration |publisher=Visible Ink |isbn=1-57859-029-9}}</ref> However, the [[Mount Stromlo Observatory]] noted that there was a [[meteorite]] stream that night, with 10 to 15 sightings per hour.<ref name="Herald Sun"/>

The group Ground Saucer Watch, based in [[Phoenix, Arizona]], United States, claims that photos taken by plumber Roy Manifold on the day of Valentich's disappearance show a fast-moving object exiting the water near [[Cape Otway Lighthouse]].<ref name=melborne1>News Story (23 July 1980), The Standard (Melbourne)</ref> According to UFO writer [[Jerome Clark]], Ground Saucer Watch argued that they showed "a bona fide unknown flying object, of moderate dimensions, apparently surrounded by a cloud-like vapour/exhaust residue", although the pictures were not clear enough to identify the object.<ref name="Clark2003">{{cite book|author=Jerome Clark|title=Strange Skies: Pilot Encounters With Ufos|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jT5juKHRdwIC&pg=PA168|year=2003|publisher=Kensington Publishing Corporation|isbn=978-0-8065-2299-9|pages=168–}}</ref> ''[[Snopes]]'' editor Jordan Liles suggested that the object was most likely an “out-of-focus [[fly]]” or a "[[bird]] passing by".<ref name="Snopes"/>

==See also==
* [[Felix Moncla|Disappearance of Felix Moncla]], a similar case
* [[Australian ufology]]
* [[Bass Strait Triangle]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970|List of people who disappeared]]
* [[Westall UFO]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Valentich disappearance}}
* [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=8&T=P Department of Transport Aircraft Investigation Summary Report p. 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224041406/https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au//NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=8&T=P |date=24 February 2021 }}
* [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=9&T=P Department of Transport Aircraft Investigation Summary Report p. 9] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224063558/https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au//NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=9&T=P |date=24 February 2021 }}
* [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=10&T=P Department of Transport Aircraft Investigation Summary Report p. 10] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022172107/https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NAAMedia/ShowImage.asp?B=10491375&S=10&T=P |date=22 October 2020 }}
* [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx Australian Government National Archives Search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119101144/https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx |date=19 November 2022 }}
* [https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/the-history-listen-valentish-lost-plane-ufo/102960720 Last Flight - The Valentich Disappearance], an [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC Listen]] episode featuring people who knew Frederick Valentich.

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Australia}}
{{UFOs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentich, Frederick disappearance}}
[[Category:1970s missing person cases]]
[[Category:Alien abduction reports]]
[[Category:Alleged UFO-related aviation incidents]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978]]
[[Category:Bass Strait|Disappearance of Frederick Valentich]]
[[Category:Missing Australian people]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in Australia]]
[[Category:October 1978 in Australia]]
[[Category:UFO sightings in Australia]]