DISCLOSURE / FILE
Department of Transport case 78/3023 covering the 21 October 1978 disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich and Cessna 182L VH-DSJ over Bass Strait after he reported an unidentified aircraft orbiting his plane.
Department of Transport case 78/3023 covering the 21 October 1978 disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich and Cessna 182L VH-DSJ over Bass Strait after he reported an unidentified aircraft orbiting his plane.
On 21 October 1978, 20-year-old pilot Frederick Valentich vanished while flying a Cessna 182L (registration VH-DSJ) from Moorabbin to King Island across Bass Strait. In his final radio exchange with Melbourne Flight Service, Valentich described an unidentified aircraft above him with four bright lights, said it was orbiting his Cessna, then reported metallic scraping sounds before the transmission ended. Neither the pilot nor the aircraft were recovered. The Department of Transport Air Safety Investigation Branch logged the matter as case 78/3023 and recorded the cause as not determined, presumed fatal.