Published on October 21, 2012
On October 21, 1978, something strange happened off the coast of Australia. Perhaps the events took place over the Bass Straight between Cape Otway and King Island — or maybe not. In any case, what is known is that a four seat, single engine Cessna 182L registered as VH-DSJ, departed Moorabbin at 18:19 hours (6:19 pm) en route to King Island. The pilot, Frederick Valentich, 20 years old, was alone in the aircraft. A six and half minute radio log tracks the pilot reporting that he was intercepted by some other sort of aircraft, except that no other aircraft were flying in that area on that evening. At the end of the log, he reported, “it’s not an aircraft”. Thereafter, his radio went dead, but not before seventeen seconds of strange metallic scraping sounds could be heard over an open microphone from the cockpit.
Despite an intensive search, no trace of the aircraft nor of Valentich were ever found.
The Radio Transcript
The radio log begins at 19:06:14 at ends at 19:12:45.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. Is there any known traffic below five thousand?
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, no known traffic.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet, I am, seems to be a large aircraft below five thousand.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, what type of aircraft is it?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet, I cannot affirm, it is four bright, and it seems to me like landing lights.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet, the aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, and it is a large aircraft, confirmed?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Er-unknown, due to the speed it’s travelling, is there any air force aircraft in the vicinity?
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, no known aircraft in the vicinity.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Melbourne, it’s approaching now from due east towards me.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): (Open microphone for two seconds.)
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): 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.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what is your actual level?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): My level is four and a half thousand, four five zero zero.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet and you confirm you cannot identify the aircraft?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Affirmative.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, stand by.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Melbourne, Delta Sierra Juliet, it’s not an aircraft it is (open microphone for two seconds).
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, can you describe the – er – aircraft?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): 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.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger and how large would the — er — object be?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet, Melbourne, it seems like it’s chasing me. 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.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet (open microphone for three seconds) — it’s just vanished.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Melbourne, would you know what kind of aircraft I’ve got? Is it a military aircraft?
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, Confirm the — er — aircraft just vanished.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Say again?
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, is the aircraft still with you?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet; it’s (open microphone for two seconds) now approaching from the south-west.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet, the engine is rough-idling. I’ve got it set at twenty three twenty-four and the thing is (coughing).
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what are your intentions?
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): 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 (open microphone for one second) it’s not an aircraft.
Robey Flight Services: Delta Sierra Juliet.
C-182L VH-DSJ (Valentich): Delta Sierra Juliet. Melbourne (open microphone for seventeen seconds during which strange, unidentified metallic scraping noises are heard; afterward, there are no further transmissions).
Final Notes
A rational explanation is that Frederick Valentich faked a UFO encounter and committed suicide. That could be, all the more so in that Valentich was known to be a UFO buff. Some of the events of the flight didn’t add up as well — Valentich’s aircraft was never detected on radar over the Bass Strait, for instance, which might indicate that he had instead departed in a completely different direction, such as flying out to sea and crashing there, knowing it would be very unlikely that he would ever be found.
Likewise, he had told people before departure that he was going to King Island to pick up some friends, but in fact, later investigations determined that nobody there was waiting for him. To another party, he stated he was flying up to pick up some crayfish, but the island later noted that they had no crayfish on hand and that he had not called ahead.
On the other hand, Frederick Valentich was not considered unstable. UFO studies were a hobby, not an obsession. By all accounts, he was a conscientious, by the book type of pilot. On the other hand, it was his first night flight over water — maybe he simply got disoriented and crashed? But if so, why was there six and a half minutes of communications, none of it indicating any sort of loss of control. He was, after all, a rated instrument and it was not his first night flight — just his first night flight OVER WATER.
So what happened? That is a mystery that may remain forever just that — a mystery. Then again, this involves Australia, a place where it seems even the seagulls have fangs and claws….
One More Bit of Aviation History
The vast majority of reported “flying saucer” sightings are bogus, often faked by pranksters. However, there are some sightings that defy explanation, despite intensive investigation. For some, it may well be that a terrestrial explanation is still out there. For instance, in recent weeks, declassified USAF documents show that plans were developed to create a flying saucer shaped aircraft during the early years of the Cold War. The goal was to evaluate the flight characteristics of the flying saucer shape. The USAF’s flying saucer aircraft was never built. Yet the question remains — was there another project that someday will be declassified for release to the public?
Today’s Aviation Trivia Question
Years ago, a UFO buff approached me during my time working in the Pentagon and asked, “So, what’s the real story, are there UFOs at Area 51?” Jokingly, I replied, “No, not all. But what I want to know is why nobody ever asks me about Area 50, or 49, or 48….” So just why was Paradise Ranch officially named Area 51?
It has had lots of names. Area 51 refers to the survey plot of the parcel of land it was built on. The old nuclear test facility next to it is Area 13. It was originally a CIA facility and the CIA referred to it by its survey name. I do not believe that it was ever “officially” named Area 51.
The funny thing is that the events in the last Indiana Jones movie were not that far from the way things went. When a nuke test was scheduled next door, Area 51 would be evacuated for a few weeks due to concerns about fallout. In the context of the movie, this would have allowed the Russian team to get in and move around with little notice.
I remember this. I was living in Melbourne at the time and the incident was widely reported on the news. Of course, after a week the media lost interest, but it does pop up every so often.
Certainly a mystery….