Hi all,
Introduction:
The disappearance of Australian pilot Frederick Valentich, on 21 October 1978, over Bass Strait, Australia, has always intrigued global UFO researchers. Valentich, flying a light aircraft, registration VH-DSJ, disappeared on a flight from Moorabbin airport, Melbourne, Victoria, to King Island in Bass Strait. Neither he, nor his aircraft, have been seen since. He reported seeing an unusual object in the sky, during the flight.
Government documentation:
After the event, the Australian Government's Department of Transport released a three page "Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary Report" dated 27 Apr 1982. In part 7 of that document, headed "Opinion as to cause" the Department stated "The reason for the disappearance of the aircraft has not been determined." The file reference on this document was V116/783/1047.
Search for access to V116/783/1047:
In 1982 Australian UFO researcher Bill Chalker examined Department of Transport UFO files "...but was specifically denied access to the Valentich files on the grounds that they were Air Accident Investigation files and not UFO files." (Chalker, Bill. 1996. The Oz Files. Duffy & Snellgrove. Potts Point, NSW. Page 170.)
In 2004 I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department of transport. Part of the request was for access to file V116/783/1047. The Department advised me that they understood that the file had been destroyed by the National Archives of Australia (NAA.) I reviewed the NAA website's electronic database RecordSearch and found no record of the file. However, I understood that only some 10% of the files held by the NAA were on RecordSearch.
In October 2011, during a routine look at RecordSearch, I discovered that this file was now listed as file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047, title "DSJ-Cape Otway to King Island 21 October 1978 - Aircraft missing (Valentich) 1978-1992" barcode 10491375. It was shown as held by the Melbourne office of the NAA. However the status of the file was shown as "closed." Despite this status, I submitted a request for access to the file, reasoning that by 2012 the papers on the file dated 1978-1981 should now be publicly available.
Another file emerges:
In the meantime, Andrew Arnold, and his team, of the Melbourne based group, Victorian UFO Action, had been researching the Valentich case. Andrew found that there was another relevant file. This was file series A4703 control symbol 1978/1205 titled "VH-DSJ- Light aircraft overdue King Island." It was barcode 11485989 and held by the Canberra office of the NAA. The originating agency shown in NAA Notes was Department of Transport, Head Office, Canberra and Melbourne, Emergency & Special Services Branch. Andrew submitted a request for access to this file.
What does this A4703 file say about UFOs?
This file, of 292 pages was opened by the Marine Operations Centre and is a MARSAR (Marine search and rescue) file. The file cover indicates that both air searches and sea searches were conducted. The incident was opened on 21 Oct 78 and closed on 25 Oct 78. Authorities involved were the Victorian Police at King Island, Hobart and Lakes Entrance, plus the Department of Defence.
The file contains a two page narrative summary which gives an excellent overview of the incident, which commences:
"1. Airways Operations Melbourne advised that a Distress phase had been initiated on a Cessna 182 overdue at King island on a flight from Moorabbin to King Island. The aircraft had reported a rough running engine prior to communications being lost."
In part the summary reads "S.SOC AMML said the aircraft reported seeing things (perhaps a UFO) shortly after departing Cape Otway at 0903Z..."
Later "16. A number of reports of a fast moving brilliant white light were received from various parts of the country. Mt Stromlo observatory advised that the night of the 21st was the peak of the meteorite stream with 10-15 sightings per hour achieved."
"21. At 250900Z the search for the aircraft was terminated with no sighting of aircraft, wreckage or body made despite intensive search in a small area."
"22. As a postscript to this mystery, wreckage was reported off Lakes Entrance, checked by Police but was not relevant to this search. The pilot's father believed that a UFO had taken his son and would re(rest of word illegible) him later. The accident received wide newspaper and television cover because of the UFO connection."
I counted ten references to "UFO" on the rest of the file. These included a report from aircraft VH-DRB enroute Tenannt Creek to Darwin who saw a brilliant white light for 3-4 secs.
File V116/783/1047:
This file was released to me by the NAA a few days ago. The key document on this 315 page file is folio 103. This is actually 64 pages long, and is a report from the Director, Victoria/Tasmania Region dated 20 Oct 1981, addressed to AS(SI). It consists of a one page "Air Safety Investigation Minute" and 63 pages of report.
Documents include:
* Chart of the intended flight path
* Aircraft data
* Flight crew data
* Flight data
* Meteorological data
* A sequence of events
* An analysis of the cause
* Attachments.
The attachments include notes of conversations between Departmental investigators and:
* The Moorabbin briefing officer
* The person who refuelled VH-DSJ that night
* The Departmental OIC, King Island
* A cray fisherman from King Island
* The mess officer, ATC HQ
* An individual who flew VH-DSJ that morning
* Valentich's pilot tutor
* Valentich's father
* Valentich's girlfriend
* A close friend of Valentich
* An employee of Southern Air Services (SAS - whose aircraft it was)
* Four SAS instructors/pilots.
The attachments also include:
* A radar plot from Melbourne Flight Services
* An analysis of the radar returns from that time
* Valentich's flight plan
* A transcript of recorded communications between DSJ and Melbourne Flight Services which covers a greater time frame than that of the publicly released document from 1982
* A chart showing radio coverage at various heights and various distances from Melbourne
* A confidential personal history of Valentich
* A summary based on information from the RAAF
* Valentich's commercial pilot licence examination details
* Details of DSJ's radio equipment
* Weather forecasts for the area
* Best estimate of weather along the flight path
* A report on water samples ex Bass Strait by the Department of Defence Materials Research Laboratories
* A specialist report from a doctor on Human Factors Aspects
* A report on an aircraft towing a glide near Apollo Bay
* A UFO report from an individual
* A report on a shower of metallic "scintillations" seen in the sky.
The report's top page, in section 7, "Opinion as to cause" simply states "Not determined - aircraft missing."
The covering "Air Safety Investigation Minute" para 3, states " The Region does not intend to take any further action in this matter unless positive factual evidence is obtained."
Read the digitised file for yourself:
You can read the file, as released to me, by:
1. Go to http://www.naa.gov.au/
2. Click on "search the collection"
3. Click on "begin your search"
4. Up comes "RecordSearch"
5. In the keywords box type the word Valentich
6. Click on search
7. Up comes a list
8. Scroll down to V116/783/1047
9. Click on this entry
10. Click on digital file
11. Up comes the file.
Comments:
After you have read the file, I welcome your thoughts, please use the comments section of this blog post.
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Keith - This is astounding! Thank you for your hard work! I've always been fascinated with this case. It will take some time to read it...Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Keith, it will be good to read through the file with ease rather than upside down when it was opened in front of me by Mr. Woodward of the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation in Melbourne back in late 1982. I'm sure the "usual suspects" will now come forth saying they had it all the time. Pity they didn't share it with the wider UFO research community if that was ever the case.
ReplyDeleteVery well done Keith for this important release. Will be having a good read over the next few days as this has always been one of those cases where nobody really knows what happened but it is so intriguing that you want to try to decide for yourself based on the evidence. This file will be a great help for anyone wanting to do that. So many thanks indeed....Jenny Randles
ReplyDeleteThanks for your gum-shoe diligence Keith. I'm reading my way through and saving the pages as I go. Several are repeats of the transcripts, but reading their faded pages makes them more intriguing and somehow less of an historical incident and more current or urgent.
ReplyDeleteI'm always an observer of the use of language and page 45 caught my attention.
'The pilot's unusual description of events surrounding his flight were eagerly accepted by local news...' Perhaps it might have been more accurately described as, 'The pilot's description of unusual events...'
The original statement diminishes the potential importance of those final words and subtly infers that Valentich was being an unreliable reporter of normal events. Here we are, many years later, and we haven't accounted for what could have been misinterpreted as 'unusual.'
As a 'UFO incident' or a prosaic aviation tragedy, the details remain obscure.
Hi Keith, this is great news, unfortunately too late for Paul Norman who would have thoroughly applied himself to the task of analysing the entire file. Thankyou for your efforts to bring this important moment before us.
ReplyDeleteCheers....George Simpson
AUFORN VICTORIA
Keith, a thoroughly top effort and welcome reading of a case that had us all transfixed at the time. Certainly brings back memories. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteDave Reneke
www.davidreneke.com
Sounds like his aircraft was vaporized by the plasma stream of a meteor.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the dialogue between Valentich and Air Traffic Control on the night of the incident, during the final moments of his transmission the pilot claimed the object was hovering directly over him as he flew. This sounds inconsistent with theories asserting a solution that is meteoritic in nature. Furthermore, this would not account for the engine problems the pilot had reported having.
DeleteIt is worth also noting here that many of the related documents that Keith has managed to obtain (great work, by the way!) refer to sightings of a white light in the vicinity. Valentich had described the object that had been dogging his Cessna that evening as being greenish. While the behavior may not have been consistent with a meteor, the color, whether green or white, might still fit the meteor category somewhat. However, this solution cannot account for all the factors at play, at least if Valentich provided an accurate description of the events as they unfolded during his radio dispatches.
Dear Keith, I,too, want to add my compliments to you for your continuing efforts to discover what could have happened to Frederick Valentich. Quite apart from the sad details of this incident is a parallel story that also calls for further illumination, viz., why your (and many other) government officials felt it was necessary to conceal their findings for so long?
ReplyDeleteRichard F. Haines
www.narcap.org
Very interesting read. It seems they were quite diligent in terms of tracking down possible motives for Frederick to possibly stage a disappearance - or possible suicide. But the main questions (so far in my reading), seem unanswered. No verification that parts of the plane were ever found?
ReplyDeletei need some help over here... there are 315 pages... so in order to make things easier let us download parts separately then distribute all the all the parts to each other via mails... my e-mail id (dipankarpathak17@gmail.com)
ReplyDeleteor if someone have all the files downloaded please share with me... i am waiting for responses! my e-mail id (dipankarpathak17@gmail.com)
ReplyDeleteCongrats. Absolutely fantastic research, Mr. Basterfield. The dialogue between Mr. Frederick Valentich and Flight Control is chilling. Reads like a major thriller. Can Mr. Valentich's escalating alarm and frightened observations be interpreted as a flight of fancy or mere hallucinations? I think not. Best, Juhani Nurmi from Helsinki, Finland
ReplyDeleteKeith, I've posted your work on ATS so it gets some wider coverage. I hope you approve of the quick write-up.
ReplyDeleteI've now read the whole file and it's like a *perfect storm* of circumstances. He could have planned the disappearance and yet witnesses saw something at the same time. Maybe he disappeared in anomalous ways and yet why was he deceptive about the flight? Then again, the Cessna debris seems like it was a good lead.
It has the hallmarks of a good UFO incident because it's typically self-confounding.
I was mildly appalled by the psychic claiming to have 'channeled' Fred Valentich despite it being rather typical. In particular, I found it moving that Guido Valentich was harassed when the key point people were overlooking was the man had lost his son. It's become an objective 'UFO mystery' and it's so easy to forget that a young man probably died that night.
I am good friends with the psychic you mentioned and to this day, she still tells the exact story. She's telling the truth, whether you find it appalling or not.
DeleteThe psychic was male, Colin Amery, so you obviously can't be that close to him if you don't even know his gender.
DeleteI'm in page 138 right now, but from what I've read I think I've managed to get a clearer picture of who Frederick Valentich was, as a person.
ReplyDeleteFrom what Ive gathered, he wasn't a very bright bloke. Below Average student who tried to enter the RAAF and failed; because of this he was determined to have a career as an airline pilot, and show those who doubted of his abilities that he could reach his goals.
He failed his flying exams, and lied about it, possibly out of shame.
He and his mother saw a UFO on one occasion. He had an interest in the subject despite the fact that he didn't comment about it outside his inner circle of friends and family. He read 'Chariots of the Gods?' and kept newspaper clippings about UFOs.
One during a drive-out with his girlfriend, he said to her:
"If a UFO landed in front of me now, I would go in it, but never without you."
Nevertheless, the girlfriend said to the investigators that Fred didn't bring the UFO subject frequently or at length.
He was well-regarded by anyone who knew him. Didn't drink much and never did any drugs. Although her girlfriend mentioned that he sweated profusely and changed the tone of his voice when nervous (something considered by the investigators given the 'calm' tone kept by Valentich when reporting the UFO to ground control) yet one of his close friends mentioned Fred was a calm fellow, and one time when they got lost in the bush during an AF training camp activity he never shown any signs of being perturbed by it.
The girlfriend mentioned a weird habit of Fred of keeping the microphone in his lap instead of retrieving it in the rack, and that because of his long legs he would often move the seat rearward, so she speculated that the 'metallic noise' heard when Valentich was communicating with the tower was his pilot seat being moved rearward.
Fascinating stuff. I'll keep on reading.
OK, finished reading the whole bloody thing.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that might be worth mentioning was the cryptic mentioning that Valentich was shown secret RAAF files about UFOs by... someone, but he didn't elaborated on this with anyone.
From page 79:
"[...]His belief had been strengthened recently when he was allowed to see the RAAF's confidential files on UFOs as East Sale and at Laverton. He wouldn't discuss these details with his family as they were confidential."
Who showed these confidential UFO files to this below-average kid?
These are the same reports that we now have access to ourselves.
DeleteKudos to Mr. Basterfield for this achievement.
ReplyDeleteReply to dipankarpathak17
Yes I'll have PDF during the day so don't worry. Persistence and focus is what is needed :)
Dear Mr. Marinkovic,
DeleteIf possible, I'd also love to receive a PDF copy of the whole shebang. I thank you very much in advance, my e-mail address is:
goateem66@hotmail.com
Cordially, Juhani Nurmi, Finland
Hello Juhani.
ReplyDeleteJust sent to your email too.
Best Wishes.
Dear Mr. Giuliano Marinkovic,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your kind reply and solution to my trouble. It will help all the curious people to know better about this very classic and important incident, via your effort as well.
With Regards,
Dipankar Pathak
I read this file a few years ago. I found it online. I learnt to fly in the RAAF (early eighties soon after the incident - it was not of much interest then) and have flown over this area a number of times. More importantly I have trekked the National Park at Cape Otway. The most important thing arethe charts and eye-witness (or rather ear-witness) accounts. I did not record my reasoning because the explanation seemed fairly obvious at the time after you compare the charts to the time lines and radio traffic. The most likely explanation, and the one most heavily supported by the evidence is that Mr. Valentich, an inexperienced pilot, became disoriented and crashed, not into the sea, but into the National Park. Most likely within only a few kilometres of the town of Apollo Bay. That he has not been found is hardly surprising. A little aircraft like that embedding itself into the bush and tall timber there would be uttterly invisible from the air. And you could walk within 10 metres of it on the ground and not see it. I love a good UFO mystery as much as the next fellow however I think he and the aircraft are still there, within a drop punt of Appollo Bay's main street. Won't be much left now. RIP. Poor bugger.
ReplyDeleteI think after all these years someone would have stumbled across an aircraft wreck in a forest, so I think that scenario is implausible. I think it's more likely that his plane (with or without him) crashed into the sea.
DeleteRespectfully, it is not unlikely at all. If there was no fire on impact into the forest it is very, very unlikely it would be found. You have to actually see that forest. Most people do not understand what little actual material and weight there is in such an aircraft. The day after it would have been some discoloured, shredded metal absorbed by the undergrowth and shielded by the forest canopy. If there was a bushfire since, and I think there has been, then it is probably completely destroyed. I believe someone will stumble across what mortal remains there are of Mr. Valentich and the aircraft one day.
DeleteIf we apply occam’s razor for a moment and consider the aircraft to have been in a various UAs and bathed in intermittent light from the lighthouse, and his own aircraft lights reflecting off water, and also discounting Mr Valentich’s estimate of his track (assuming he is an unreliable witness seems reasonable considering his poor airmanship) then an inverted or even vertical impact into the forest accounts for all the mysterious elements of the story. In particular it accounts for many of the eye (ear) witnesses to aircraft noises.
As far as I am aware now one has ever looked. These days I am far removed from aviation but I would think that there is survey technology available that would be able to detect a metal anomaly such as the engine block embedded in the forest floor.
I am reminded of an aircraft that crashed and was missing for three years also within a few kilometres of the airport, (apparently less than seven minutes flying time) and that forest was less dense than this one.
Cessna serial number 24527 - FAA Reg. Number N4584A
"There is [was] a small fire which consumes some of the wreckage but no forest fire is started and since the plane plunged straight down through the trees to the ground, there was no visible tree damage for any would-be rescuers to use to spot the wreckage or crash location. One additional important factor that added to the delay of the discovery of the wreckage was the fact that the fuselage (the main body) of the plane came to rest upside down – on top of the ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) antenna, effectively silencing its emergency signal to satellites and other would-be rescue aircraft."
"The wreckage laid there for approximately 3 years (Aug. 10th, 1984 to Aug. 23rd, 1987) until it was found by a pair of backpackers hiking through that particular location."
There are parts of the Cape Otway National park that have never and probably never will see a human foot print.
trouble with this theory is that it discounts too much evidential information. Such as how Valentich gave his friendship ring a week before; failed to pick his girlfriend up for the first time ever; told conflicting objectives to people about his King Island trip; never request landing lights on; flap from aircraft with possible matching serial was found. He was a romantic/fantasist who also wanted to show people how right he was and it all points to him doing that with a suicide mission. The only problem I have is the metallic sound but then he may have well known a trick to make that happen with the mic in order to create such drama. That to me is the biggest mystery because the plane was sighted, but lost track of on the way back by the pilot who saw the plane, so to me there isn't much mystery left, if only that noise could be replicated.
Delete@Anonymous Sure, mate, good try.
DeleteExcellent find KB. Here's a link to the 315 page report on scribd.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/98774670
For more information on how the PDF was put together you might want to check out:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread856300/pg2#pid14449327
Regards,
-Xt
Fantastic work Keith - great to see UFOlogists using the Freedom of Information Act to disclose material of public interest across the world.
ReplyDeleteI've blogged about the story here:
http://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2012/07/01/flight-into-oblivion/
bests Dave Clarke
Nice work Keith. To promote your effort, I have added this PDF file to:
ReplyDeletehttp://issuu.com/downunder/docs/naa-v116.783.1047-valentich.file-searchable
where I optimised the file to 34Mb from the 65Mb original, same content. Scanned by Giuliano Marinkovic of http://ufoprintclip.x10.mx/
Files can be read in book format on line or downloaded as PDF.
Thought you had retired!
Regards, Barry Taylor
Did Valentich really see a classified RAAF document on UFOs or was this just a lie he told to impress family and friends?
ReplyDeleteGiven that he admitted to lying to them about passing certain flight exams in the past, it's a strong possibility that he also concocted this story to boost his credentials.
Naturally family and friends play up people's good qualities, but overall, my impression of Valentich is that he wasn't particularly bright, honest or reliable.
Since there were no passengers to pick up, no crayfish available or pre-ordered, and no overnight motel bookings
in his name on King Island, it seems to me that his flight was motivated by deception.
Good point about the possibility of Fred lying about the UFO RAAF documents. But I don't think the bit about his flight being motivated by deception is true because I don't think he planned to return after not having asked for the lights to be turned on. I think it was a suicide mission. It was also the first time ever his girlfriend never flew with him. Obviously he didn't want her to suffer the same fate as he.
Delete>"Since there were no passengers to pick up, no crayfish available or pre-ordered, and no overnight motel bookings
ReplyDeletein his name on King Island, it seems to me that his flight was motivated by deception."
I dunno if 'deception' is the word I'd use. It seems to me that he was always trying to surprise people by showing them he could accomplish things that others might have doubted he could. It also seems he was a bit secretive and didn't open up easily to people for a sense that there were some who wanted to 'bring him down'; a mild paranoia stemmed from a denial to accept his own flaws probably.
The weird part is that he had planned taking his girlfriend to the trip to King's island, but he either forgot or changed his plans. Curious how, if the girlfriend had been on-board like it was planned, Valentich would have kept his promise of 'not getting inside a UFO without her'...
PS: So what happened to the audio recording of the transmission between Valentich and the control tower? was that ever released to the public? Did Valentich's father show it to anyone?
I missed the part of the report about him planning to take his girlfriend on the flight. My only memory is that she told him to take his good clothes with him to the airport and leave them in his car so he could pick her up and hot the town directly after flying back.
DeleteI understand your point about him wanting to 'prove' himself to others by quietly achieving his goals rather than being deceptive, but based on the evidence I can't agree with that re: this flight, because if he wasn't picking up passengers or crayfish, WHY was he going to King Island at all?
To commit suicide or rendezvous with unknown parties for unknown parties are the only sensible reasons I can think of.
I've always been open-minded on this case, and have strongly leaned towards the conclusion that Valentich encountered something very unusual over Bass Strait, but after perusing the first report (am about to start on the new one Keith has posted a link to), I'm beginning to wonder if the truth might be that:
- Valentich planned to commit suicide by crashing in Bass Strait and hoaxed contact with a UFO in his final momeonts to make himself 'famous' and also to promote public awareness of the subject of UFOs: a phenomena he believed was real and important.
- His claim to have seen secret RAAF files on UFOs was a lie to make his family and friends think he was more important than he was
- The wreckage of his plane was sighted on numerous occasions by search aircraft immediately following the crash, but was lost sight of again, and then sank before it could be retrieved.
- The numerous independent reports of UFOs sighted by Victorians on the day and night of the incident give a false impression that there was an unusual amount of anomalous activity in the sky at the same time, when in reality there was no more than usual, but witnesses felt emboldened by the media coverage of the case and so came forward with their accounts in greater numbers.
This isn't the most glamorous or exciting possible truth behind an enigma that has intrigued many of us for decades, but one worth considering.
Hmm. I need to re-read the girlfriend's statement, but I do remember she used to say Valentich had a tendency to forget the unimportant things.
DeleteThere was a lot of stuff about the crayfish. He didn't made any previous arrangements to buy crayfish with the local fishermen, but maybe he thought he could just arrive to King island, look around and find a couple of lobsters; we've already established he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.
Having said that, I also think that despite his friend's refusal to believe a suicide, that this option is worth considering; friends and family are sometimes the last people to be aware of a person's suicidal tendencies, and it seems the people who made the report thought so to, as it was put as 'possible human factors' as one of the hypotheses.
There was another thing about him giving his girlfriend a friendship ring on the wrong date. Maybe that's important too.
And it seems Valentich's father was the real UFO buff, so maybe that's why he kept alive the alien abduction hypothesis for so long.
But there was also something in the report that it was very difficult to understand: a mention about 'repeated' radar returns due to inverse refraction, accompanied by a radar graphics that to my laymen eyes was undecipherable. What was that all about?
OK: I'm re-reading page 80. It reads:
Delete"She advised she last saw Fred Valentich on Friday night, 20 October 1978, at about 9.00 p.mp EST, after he had finished work at the Army Disposals, 139 Punkle Street, Moonoo Ponds. In their conversation it became evident to her that he had forgotten he said he would take her out on Saturday night. The forthcoming flight to King Island was discussed, and together they evolved the schedule of departure Moorabbin 1600, land King island 1730, pick up crayfish, leave 1800, land Moorabbin 1930. As it was a 20 minute drive from the airport to Preston she suggested Valentich put his good clothes in which to take her out, in his car when he left home early on Saturday."
Anyway it seems she saw Valentich's parked car with no clothes in it, so either Valentich forgot to pack his good clothes to take her out after he returned from the flight... or maybe he wasn't preparing to return as you suggested, Bill.
Has anyone tried to find out if Rhonda Rushton is still alive?
I would have to go with your summation Bill Hicks. For a long time I sided with the UFO theory, though based on the limited information I had. Since learning that Fred was not always truthful, believed in UFOs prior the way he did (and Chariots of The Gods to me is pure bilious rubbish that speaks way too loudly to the over-impressionable), did not have anyone to meet up with, didn't ask for the landing lights to be turned on, didn't leave fresh clothes in his car... I think Fred desperately wanted to achieve goals but couldn't yet at the same time wanted so much to leave a mark. "Close Encounters.." had only recently been in cinemas, and I find it extremely coincidental that his incident was so remarkably similar to that seen in the beginning of the movie. I think Fred was someone who wanted to make his mark, (finally) realized he was unable to fulfill his dreams as he was simply incapable, and went out with a move-script bang, in a suicide mission flight. In fact there are just so many factors that point towards this. I just recently heard the 'metallic scraping' noise - his girlfriend suggested it might be the seat being moved back but I tend to think it sounds very much like the microphone switch being flicked on and off. In fact I think this would be a terrific test - to see if such a noise could be replicated. If it could, I think that is the clincher. For my mind anyway.
DeleteI truly *want* to believe this is a UFO case, but after going through the evidence I just cant, there are too many factors for me that point against it, and point instead to Fred staging a dramatic end to his life, which could not be fulfilled in the way he wanted it to anyhow... but he was always going to have the last say and leave behind something for people to mull over.
This is where my opinion stands at present anyway. I still think it's a fascinating case though but with this 'new' evidence just seems that little more clear that the answer may be a little more straightforward.
John.
Great discussion guys. It should be noted that I have spoken with Rhonda Rushton and she disputes the information recorded by the Department that she told Fred to bring spare clothes with him. She also denies that that she afterwards saw his car at Moorabbin Airport and that it didn't have the spare clothes. She claims that they had agreed to fly together to King Island, and that they were going to return that night and go out together.
DeleteCan anyone tell if his father, mother or his girlfriend is still alive...
ReplyDeleteMy former girlfriend knew the Valentich family, as they were friends of her ex-husbands family. From what I know the parents have since passed, I don't know about any siblings.
DeleteI was told that Frederick's family experienced a number of paranormal occurances after his disappearance.
- a bloke from the Mornington Peninsula
I believe everything occurs for a purpose a motive... nothing is co-incident in this creation. I think there is a great meaning why valentich's case is out in the light than it was ever.. in a very nice and interesting time...
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith. Well done for aquiring this document and making it publicly available.
ReplyDeleteAs Barry mentioned we had been advised that you had retired from UFO work. Good to see that you are still researching the subject and keep up the good work.
Kind Regards
Anthony Clarke
Fascinating to read. Does anyone have a copy of the live audio recording between Valentich and the control tower? I know a copy was given to his father.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/MD1atY16w7Y
DeleteThis not a copy of the audio. This is an ABC reproduction.
DeleteI am not sure if it was coincidence, but roughly about 2 to 3 weeks earlier, i had a close encounter with an unknown craft, Landed.
ReplyDeleteI was visiting friends in Queenstown Tasmania, i left there around 10.30 PM and started to head North towards Tullah where i was working and staying in the Hydro's Single Mans Quarters.
The night was absolutely full of stars without a cloud to be seen, yet still a cool night out, as i was travelling north, i was looking at the stars where possible and as i got nearer to Henty Hill (between the Yolande and Henty Rivers, i rounded a corner and saw a yellow light, Pulsating, i actually thought that it was a drill rig doing test holes for a future Dam Project without thinking it was not there earlier when i went past the site.
I pulled over into a parking area near the "RIG", but as i stopped and looked left at it, i saw a very bright doorway that it was hard to actually look inside the craft, the light was too bright, but appeared to be shining down and not shining out, as i realized that it was not a drill rig, a sudden emotion of fear got me, and as i was about to "Gun" the motor, my interior light came on, then i realized my door was being opened, but not by me, i immediately sped off and re closing the door and locking it and not easing off the petal for any one or anything except for doing the required speed through Roseberry
As i got back to the Parking area at the Quarters where i lived, i checked my watch to see what time it was, my watch was on 1.30 am, where as i should have been back just before midnight, then i realized i was missing an hour and a half out of my life and had no explanations for it.
When i woke up at 5.45am, i was scratching my right hand side of my groin, and when i had a shower, i saw a very bright red mark there, an un explained mark, i went to the clinic and told the Nurse in charge about, but with out her examining it, she duly said it was a birth mark, yet i was only born with one birthmark on the soul of my foot
I did ask around to see if anyone else saw anything, plus if anyone knew of any drill rigs were working in the area, the answer on all counts were NO.
The mark on my Groin dissapeared in 2005
NB; the West Coast of Tasmania to me would be one of the best Hot Zones around, as i have had seen some other unknown lights and one other close encounter before and after 1978.
G'Day folks.
ReplyDeleteInteresting AndyS hope you are not having a lend of us, your story is a montage of other cases even the doorway you mention.
Back to it I personally am pleased with the DOT summary, living in the moment back then you (the public) only had the media to rely on, which we all know you take with pinch of salt.(Unfortunately a lot of folk don't)
I remember I felt sorry for the Valentich family and still do, for the rubbish they had to endure from the media and people around them and I made a promise to myself not to add to it.
Listening to Richard some years back on the radio using the same analogy (vehicle accident) as I did, to describe what he and his family had to go through, it was clear it does take a toll.
On the interview with Richard and Paul Norman they "re-enacted" the transcript.
The question I asked myself at the time was why not use a copy of the original tape that Paul had.
I'll go back a bit I don't know if the TV channel I was watching at the time (pretty sure channel nine) was just sensationalising but they played just a part of Fred's taped conversation to the tower, leaving you in no doubt though Fred was concerned about a object and was now missing.
It was made known to the media there was a lot more to the taped conversation by either a Ham Operator or some one in aviation, later maybe a day or two (can't remember.)
So this is what I remember the TV presenter remaining still whilst listening to the full taped conversation (as per transcript) released by DOT in order to prevent a back lash.
This was played more than once on TV.
VUFORs announced on TV that if you wanted to hear the tape and discuss the case in depth to come along to a meeting of theirs which I did.
Paul Norman played a copy of the tape as I had heard on TV stopping/starting/discussing it along the way.
The reason I'm mentioning this is they didn't use a copy of Fred's original tape on the audio doco and in some TV shows I've seen which has left me perplexed.
Lately I've been hearing around the traps that it seems hard to get a hold of a copy, I haven't tried.
What I have mentioned above does anybody else remember it roughly that way?
If I was interested in a copy I'd check with DOT, failing that check the TV channel archives.
What's happened to Paul's collection? on Valentich and his other work.
Also check with Dr Haines he was in the thick of it with Paul Norman.
Better go.
Cheers Les
Hi Les, it is the real deal, if it never happened, i would not have posted.
DeleteI saw my first "UFO" when i was about 8 years old near Ebor NSW, and when the Family moved to Tasmania, i saw some lights in the sky, had dreams of where i was floating (out of body dreams), my first close encounter with a UFO was in January 1973 to where i had a craft to the left of me keeping pace with me, i did slow up, then speed, it kept with me, the Object was of the Normal saucer description, i believe it was about 50ft round and roughly about 8ft thick, the Object was about 300meters away and about tree top tall (30 ft)the colour of the Object was reddish brown and it stayed with me for about 3 miles before crossing in front of me and dissapearing over a hill in the direction of Zeehan, i also saw lights from a Object through a window as it it went over the roofs of the single mans quarters at Tullah on the 29th of August 1979
After the Tullah sighting, i virtually did not see anymore until 1990 in Young NSW where i saw a Cigar shaped object just at the crack of dawn, plus unknown lights scooting around, then nothing until i moved to the Gold Coast and eventually ending up on the Gemfields west of Emerald
G'Day Folks and G'Day to you AndyS.
ReplyDeleteI gather you were on the A10 highway when the 78 event happened.
I have down to earth mundane memories of Queenstown and the west coast (holidays) but yes it is eerie and isolated in that neck of the woods.
I can't really comment on your experiences Andy they are obviously real to you but just a thought though.
Have you tried to concentrate on the taclite things going on around you at the time of these events?
Most people try so hard to concentrate on the visual aspect of an event like the ones you have describe.
Other senses can help unlock memory as well.
I gather you would have been through the National Archives of Australia etc., Looking for cases around the time of your events.
Back to what this board is about.
Di from Auforn posted these vids on youtube you get to "hear" the valentich family/friends/acquaintances, Oh hell anybody that knew him, (rather than just reading transcripts) discussing Fred's disappearance their thoughts etc., on the matter.
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prjZ3z1nZJs&feature=related
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prjZ3z1nZJs&feature=related
I'm linking this vid mainly to show the way pilots and air traffic controllers conduct themselves when confronted with something out of left field.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaTfvsAhXm8&feature=related
Better go, Cheers Les
Hi Les
DeleteDuring your trips in Tasmania, you would have driven past the Site of this particular sighting on top of the Henty hill to which at the time, there was a Balancing Rock on one side of the road and a Dial pointing to the Mountains in the area, the object was about 10 feet from the dial.
I really have not done much research into other sightings that matches my dates but i have read a few books that one or two have references to similar sightings as to mine, but they are overseas sighting, but with Fredrick's disappearance has stuck in my mind and wonder as to why they never chose to take me, but to do some kind of exam on me and put me back into my car as though nothing ever happened, but i still hope for another close encounter
Hi Les. You have posted part 1 of the video twice and not part 2. This is part 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq7ZMNXmOnI
DeleteSo, I've just watched these videos, and I have to say that I am surprised. Rhonda is clearly on the tape saying Fred was supposed to pick her up between 7:30 and 8 that night after he returned from King Island. This contradicts what she told me personally, that they had planned to go to King Island together, which is also what the DoT reported her telling them on 25th October 1978. If nothing else, I think it proves that Rhonda has remembered this incident wrongly. For me, I don't know what happened to Fred, as nobody does. But, I think the most likely explanation is that Fred committed suicide due to being very unhappy at failing his CPT exams for the third time. His different explanations to different people as to the purpose of his flight is the reason I would come to this conclusion as it shows a clear intention to deceive and was planned in advance.
DeleteExcellent article! We will be linking to this great content on our site.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great writing.
Here is my blog post Anthony Richard Clarke
Hi all
ReplyDeleteI have had a Freedom of Information request in with the Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau for the remainder of the Valentich Air Accident Investigation file, for several weeks. I have just received word that, after I pay the required searching fee, I should have the documents. I will keep you posted on what I receive.
Keith Basterfield.
Great blog you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of
ReplyDeleteany discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed
in this article? I'd really love to be a part of community where I can get suggestions from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Bless you!
Here is my webpage ; Going Here
He was taken by a UFO.Its absurd to believe that the Pilot was disorientated Flying upside down when the fueltanks on this particular model Cessna are gravity fed from the wings and the motor would cut from starvation after a minute.
ReplyDeletePlus the fact I and 5 others witnessed three ufos high in the Atmosphere doing instantaneous manouvres from horizon to horizon.Thats right a Green one,Red and Blue one.October 1978.
Who are you?
DeleteClip regarding the farmer who saw the Cessna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bYYiarj4wE
ReplyDelete