Valentich Disappearance

The Valentich Disappearance occurred on October 21, 1978, when 20 year old Frederick Valentich disappeared while piloting a small Cessna 182 airplane over the Bass Strait to King Island, Australia. The flight was routine, and should have taken less than an hour. Visibility was very good, and there was a light wind. Valentich began his flight at 6.19pm, local time, and was flying below 5000 feet in altitude. A few minutes before dusk, at about 7.06pm, Valentich radioed air traffic control in Melbourne. He inquired if there was any other known air traffic at his altitude. When Melbourne responded that there was not, Valentich described a large aircraft with four lights. Valentich then reported that the craft had passed about 1000 feet above him at very high speed. Melbourne asked for further description of the craft, but Valentich said that due to the object's speed, was unable to study it. After a few minutes, Valentich confirmed that he could not identify the object, saying, "it's not an aircraft it is..." before leaving his statement unfinished. Melbourne asked him to describe the object. He said it was "long", "green" and "metallic" and "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"http://ufos.about.com/library/weekly/aa033098.htm Valentich reported that the object "vanished", then asked "is it military aircraft?" A moment later, he said the object was approaching him from the south-west. The last communication from Valentich was at 7.12pm. He said, "Melbourne that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again ... it is hovering and it's not an aircraft". Valentich's radio transmitted for another 17 secods, them the signal died.

The Search

After Valentich failed to arrive at his scheduled destination, searches were undertaken by sea and air. The Cessna was designed to float for at least a few minutes should it crash in water, and was equiped with a radio beacon to aid searchers. No trace of Valentich or his plane was ever recovered, and accounts of his last flight received considerable press attention. Some ufologists have speculated that the craft Valentich reported was a UFO, and that Valentich was either abducted or destroyed by such a craft. Similar claims were made for the Lancastrian airliner Stardust in Chile in 1947. The Stardust was found in 1998

External links

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
zingarelli
gaspar de zuniga y azevedo
bokkun
santos dumont (mg)
centzonmimixcoa
juan de zumrraga
list of neighborhood listings by city
felix zuloaga
wright
fluxx
sparticle
natural environment
wright city
over the edge vol. 2: pastor dick: muriel's purse fund
taslima nasrin
irish cabinets since 1919
chris thorndyke
social environment
chadwell heath
zun
nasoraean
lumpers and splitters
polish 1st independent parachute brigade
shunya ito
leyton grange
max guevera
barat daya islands
lea bridge
francis lubbock
yohaulticetl
pawtucket red sox
extraterrestrial hypothesis
defiant
fran bailey
steve o'neill
o. henry awards
abduction phenomenon
sonic anime
arch bevis
campus club
thomas graves, 1st baron graves
comitatus
budd hopkins
mark (professional wrestling)