The Valentich disappearance: pilot vanishes over Bass Strait after reporting a hovering object (1978)
Pilot Frederick Valentich radioed Melbourne flight service on 21 October 1978 to report an object with a green light orbiting above his Cessna 182 over Bass Strait, then said 'It's not an aircraft' before contact ended. The official investigation could not determine the cause.
- Case number
- TU-1978-900002
- Date
- 21 October 1978
- Location
- Bass Strait, between mainland Australia and King Island, Australia
- Coordinates
- 39.400° S, 143.750° E
- Shape
- unknown
- Colour
- Unknown
- Witnesses
- 1
- Status
- unresolved
Case summary
On the evening of 21 October 1978, 20-year-old Frederick Valentich flew a Cessna 182 (VH-DSJ) from Moorabbin, Victoria, towards King Island across Bass Strait. At about 7:06 p.m. he radioed Melbourne Flight Service reporting a large aircraft with four bright landing lights above him at about 4,500 feet; he was told no traffic was known there. He described the object passing overhead and orbiting with a shiny metal surface and a green light, then reported engine trouble. Asked to identify it, he replied: 'It's not an aircraft.' Transmission then cut out amid sounds described as metallic scraping.
A search involving an RAAF P-3 Orion, civilian aircraft and shipping covered more than 1,000 square miles before ending on 25 October without result. The Department of Transport's investigation, predecessor to ATSB inquiries, was unable to determine the cause and treated the disappearance as presumed fatal. A cowl flap later found on Flinders Island was identified as within the serial range including his aircraft.
Explanations have been proposed but none established: officials suggested disorientation, with lights reflected in water or seen from an island while inverted; Joe Nickell and James McGaha argued in 2013 for a graveyard spiral with the lights matching planets and Antares. Staged disappearance and suicide theories persist; ufologists cite later reports of a green light, though Mount Stromlo Observatory noted a meteorite stream that night.
Nearby strategic sites
- Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility — 1974 km away