The Aircraft Swallowed By A Ufo Mystery Updated
The problem at the time of the incident was that the plane was never found. Some therefore thought that the whole story was a hoax, especially as the Australian authorities appeared to have 'lost' a lot of the information - a cover up perhaps many wondered.
To recap on the story. This is what was happened at the time to Frederick Valentich, an Australian amateur pilot.
At 7:06pm Valentich radioed aircraft control reporting that there was a large 'aircraft' flying within sight of him at 5000 feet. His call sign was Delta Sierra Juliet (DSJ). What follows is a transcript of the radio exchanges at the time. These were punctuated with curious metallic noises.
7:06
Control: What type of aircraft is it?
DSJ: "I cannot confirm. It is four bright... it seems to me like landing lights."
7:07
DSJ: "Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. The aircraft had just passed over me, at least a thousand feet above."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger. And it is a large aircraft, confirmed?
DSJ: "Er... unknown, due to the speed it's travelling. Is there any airforce activity in the vicinity?"
7:08
DSJ: "Melbourne, it's approaching now from due east towards me... 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."
7:09
DSJ: "Melbourne, Delta Sierra Juliet. It's not an aircraft. It is..."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, can you describe the... er... aircraft?
DSJ: "Delta Sierra Juliet, as it's flying past it's a long shape... cannot identify it more than it has such speed... it's before me right now, Melbourne."
7:10
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, and how large would the... er... object be?
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..."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet.
DSJ: "Delta Sierra Juliet (there is a 5 second pause). It's vanished."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet.
7:11
"DSJ: Melbourne, would you know what kind of aircraft I've got. Is it a military aircraft?"
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, confirm the... er... aircraft... just vanished.
"DSJ: Say again."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, is the aircraft still with you?
DSJ: "Delta Sierra Juliet, it's now approaching from the south-west."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet.
DSJ: "Delta Sierra Juliet: The engine is rough idling. I've got it set at twenty-three / twenty-four and the thing is coughing."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet, Roger. What are your intentions.
DSJ: "My intentions are... ah... to go to King Island... ah... Melbourne. That strange aircraft is on top of me again (there is a two second pause). It is hovering and it's not an aircraft."
Control: Delta Sierra Juliet.
DSJ: "Delta Sierra Juliet, Melbourne (the microphone was then left open for 17 seconds and radio control was then lost)."
A Search and Rescue alert was given at 19:12 and a sea and air search was undertaken, and two RAAF P-3 Orion aircraft were scrambled. The search continued for a seven days but no trace was found of the missing aircraft or Frederick Valentich.
Now bringing the story up to date.
Keith Basterfield noticed the file relating to this incident while searching through the online National Archives of Australia on an unrelated topic. This is now accessible to the general public.
The file reveals that parts of Valentich's aircraft were found in a wreckage in Bass Strait five years after the disappearance. Partial serial numbers of the plane were found.
Mr Basterfield who has looked through the lengthy file said, "There was a lot of public speculation at the time of a hoax disappearance but there is nothing in the 315 pages that even suggests that."
He concludes, "The only thing we can say for sure is that the plane and pilot disappeared while he was describing a UFO which is one of those things that just makes people wonder."
Valentich's girlfriend, Rhonda Rushton, however, is still convinced that a UFO was responsible for his death. She added, "I believe he was taken by UFOs. He never lied, he'd never make that up."
It's also interesting that the Victorian U.F.O. Research Society (VUFORS), at the time of the incident, reported: "It is a confirmed fact that many UFOs were reported in the vicinity of King Island and the area around Bass Strait on that day and night. Two months prior to this fateful event, we were receiving increasing telephone calls from individuals reporting strange lights in the sky. About this same time UFO reports were being passed on to the police and the King Island News."
There is also a report by the Society for Scientific Exploration about the Valentich Disappearance in pdf format here - though this is prior to the National Archives of Australia being released and, at the time of the report, the plane had simply disappeared without trace. It does, however, include a witness of the UFOs, as green lights, on page 25 of the pdf.
The only conclusion to be reached is that this still remains a mystery. Something happened on October 21, 1978 which cannot be explained.
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4:43 PM
