Curiosities 24 - Valentich's Disappearance
João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Feb 24, 2024
Remember that today's story is messy! You can even play the X-Files song there because the case we will talk about is very sinister.
This is one of the biggest mysteries of Australian aviation and perhaps even the world. How can a plane disappear out of nowhere? Stories like this are familiar in aviation; it's true. You can quickly remember the case of planes that disappeared in the infamous "Bermuda Triangle", Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, or even the story of aviator Amelia Earhart, but what's different about this one is precisely the conversation between the pilot and the tower before the fateful disappearance.
The day was October 21st; the year was 1978. Frederick Valentich, then 20 years old, a pilot already considered mature and with more than 150 hours of flight time, decided to take a night flight leaving Moorabbin airport, in Victoria, in Australia, bound for the King Islands, in the south. This route was known to Valentich as part of his constant flights in the region. The sea region that separated the destinations, known as Bass Strait, did not present any condition that could hinder the young pilot's flight that day.
The trip was planned, and everything was fine with his plane, a Cessna 182L. Valentich then left for his destination. It was 6:19 pm when the plane took off on the runway. There were still 30 minutes of sun left and the destination was less than 90 minutes away by flight. It was precisely at 7:06 pm that something strange began to happen and was immediately reported by Valetinch to the Melbourne control tower. In his first contact, Valentich asks if there is the presence of any large aircraft close to him. The response from the tower is that there is no report of any other aircraft flying in that region and altitude. In his second message, the pilot insists on the report of a large aircraft but now details that it has four bright landing lights and that they were on the entire time. Furthermore, the pilot's reports indicate that she begins to make sudden movements, such as overtaking the plane at high speed for approximately one thousand feet above her position.
As reports reach the tower, Valentich's description shows that the pilot thinks the "plane" was playing with him, as it was moving away and returning at great speed. In a new attempt by the request tower to describe what it sees, Valentich says that the object has an elongated shape and questions how it would fly.
A new description of the object then comes as it approaches, and it is possible to see that it is shiny metallic and has a green light. Then comes another tense section when the pilot narrates that the object was orbiting above him (and him, too) while emitting that light.
The pilot's latest reports begin at that moment. His first mention is that the suspicious aircraft has disappeared. It's evident in Valentich's voice that he didn't believe what he saw. The audio then starts to fail, and he says that the object is again floating above him and says, "It's not an aircraft.” The sequence is noise and noise, in addition to the disappearance of the Cessna from radars. A rescue operation was launched using two P-3 Orion planes from the Australian Air Force. Still, after seven days of continuous search, nothing was found, and the case ended up closed without a conclusion as to what happened.
Many theories have emerged to explain what happened to Valentich and his Cessna, ranging from sudden and deadly storms to mid-flight explosions. Still, to this day, no evidence could finalize the search and provide an answer to the young man's family and friends. The pilot who, to this day, 40 years later, awaits the outcome of the strangest story in Australian aviation.
And there? What do you think? Just another plane crash? A mystery? What could have happened to Valentich?