Valentich files released by Australian Government

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.

Valentich disappearance - Rhonda Rushton

Hi all,

I have written several posts about the disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich, back in 1978. For those who may have missed these posts, they are:

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/valentich-files-released-by-australian.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/second-valentich-disappearance-file.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/valentich-rest-of-file-is-available.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/the-valentich-radio-transmissions.html

New documentary:

A new documentary about the Valentich incident, shot in Australia in March 2013, has just aired in the USA. You can watch it at http://www.watchseriesus.com/2013/08/the-unexplained-files-season-1-episode.html

Congratulations for a job well done, must be given to Melbourne researcher George Simpson, for all his work on the documentary. The show features George as he interviews the original Air Traffic Controller Steve Robey; photographer Roy Manifold (click here to see one of Manifold's photographs);  Richard Valentich (Frederick's older brother); and other participants in the event.

Rhonda Rushton:

Interestingly, one of the key participants who does not appear in the new documentary is Rhonda Rushton, who was Frederick Valentich's girlfriend at the time.

Rhonda was interviewed in 1978 by the Bureau of Air Safety Investigations (BASI) (click here for information on BASI) and this detailed interview appears in the official BASI Department of Transport file V116/783/1047 which you can read in full on the National Archives of Australia website.

I was fortunate to be able to communicate with Rhonda in 2005 (click here for Disclosure Project Newsletter mention of this.)  She asked what official documents we had found on Valentich. The answer at that stage was very little.

Unfortunately, I lost contact with her at that stage and at the present moment do not have contact details for her.

If any blog reader knows of her whereabouts I'd be delighted to hear from you, as I would like to acquaint Rhonda with the contents of the official files which have been found since I last communicated with her in 2005. Please email me at keithbasterfield@yahoo.com.au

The Valentich disappearance and the Malaysian missing aircraft

Hi all,

Since the recent disappearance of the Malaysian Airline aircraft, I have come across numerous Internet sites ( e.g. click here, here ) which have drawn parallels with the 21 October 1978 disappearance of Australian pilot Frederick Valentich. In addition, I have been contacted by two Australian journalists seeking my comments. I declined to provide any.

Some of the information about the Valentich disappearance which appears on the Internet sites I have looked at, is incorrect. For the sake of providing accurate information, I would urge readers of this blog to take a look at previous posts which I have written on the subject. These may be found at the following links:

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/valentich-files-released-by-australian.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/second-valentich-disappearance-file.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/valentich-rest-of-file-is-available.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/new-study-of-uap-reports-around-time-of.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/the-valentich-radio-transmissions.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/king-island-uap-reports-around-time-of.html

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/valentich-disappearance-rhonda-rushton.htmle

Please feel free to circulate the above links, for sake of accurate reporting.

Valentich - the rest of the file is available

Hi all,

I previously reported on the release, by the National Archives of Australia (NAA) of the major part of file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047, titled "DSJ - Cape Ottway to King Island 21 October 1978 - Aircraft missing." This was the Australian Government's Air Accident Investigation file on the disappearance of aircraft VH-DSJ, piloted by Frederick Valentich.

The file released by the NAA, under the Archives Act allowed access to documents on the file, which were more than 30 years old. As I requested this file in 2012, this meant papers up to 1983 were released to me. This left an unknown number of folios (a folio can mean one or more papers) on the file up until the file was closed and placed in the NAA.

I therefore submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the  file's current owner, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), requesting the rest of the folios on the file. I had little hope of finding  anything of real value, given that the final report on the disappearance of the aircraft and pilot appeared on papers released under the Archives Act. However, I thought that I would be thorough, and obtain the rest of the file's documents. If no-one obtained the papers, there would always be some conspiracy theory that there was something hidden on the rest of the file.

I have just received these documents. What was on the file beyond 1983?

Authority to make this decision:

The decision maker in response to my FOI Act request, was Ian Sangston, General Manager, Aviation Safety Investigations, Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

I was advised that there are 23 folios on file V116/783/1047 relevant to my request. These documents fall into one of three categories:

1. Documents released in full - 3
2. Documents released with some deletions - 17
3. Documents totally exempt form release - 2.

That totals 22 folios. One folio is several pages long; four pages of it are exempt; one page released with some deletions and one page fully released. This totals the 23 folios.

What are the folios?

1. 26 Jun 1985. From Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) to Trans Media Productions Pty Ltd. "I refer to your Freedom of Information request...for a copy of an unedited tape recording of the conversation between Mr F Valentich and Melbourne Flight Service on 21 October 1978. it is Departmental practice to recycle tapes and the particular tape to which you refer has, after investigation of Mr Valentich's disappearance, been returned to service. As no other tape recording of the conversation is held by the Department, the Department is unable to comply with your request."

2. 25 Jun 1985. From Trans Media productions -Channel 9 TV, to the Department. (Keith's note - this document is almost unreadable due to being very faint, but would appear to be the request alluded to in 1 above.

3. 26 Jun 1985. Internal memo from Regional Director, Victoria, to Director, BASI. I propose to reply to Trans media productions as per the draft here.

4. 11 Jul 1985. Letter from Trans Media Productions to BASI. "Is the tape in the archives of the recyling department or has it been destroyed? If so who made the decision to recycle the tape? It seems amazing that a tape of this nature would not be preserved for future investigation i.e. an inquiry into the possible death of Mr Valentich by the courts." Trans Media asked for a "...copy of the unedited transcript of this tape..."

5. Four pages of the "Preliminary transcript from Melbourne Flight Service Recording."

6. BASI document. Two pages. Completely blank. The schedule of documents under the ATSB response states that this folio is "Tape order book records." The "Exemption category" states "R with out of scope. Information deleted. Tape order book records relating to other aircraft."

7. 17 Jul 1985. BASI document. Two pages. Described as "Internal minute." Completely exempt.

8. 16 Jul 1985. BASI document. "Note containing NOK personal information." This folio is a one page "Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Minute." Handwritten "Note. Mr Guido Valentich." The rest of the folio is blank.

9. 8 Aug 1985. Department of Aviation letter to Trans Media Productions.  "...has decided to grant access to the summary report relating to the accident involving Mr Valentich. This report contains a complete transcript of Mr Valentich's conversation with Melbourne Flight Service."

10. 26 Jul 1985. Letter Department of Aviation to Trans Media Productions. "Regarding your question on the recycling of audio tapes. I confirm the advice of (deleted) on 9 July that it is departmental practice to "recycle" tapes after use. This means that unless tapes are required for investigation purposes they are retained for 30 days and then reused, as needed, to record further operational conversations... Our records indicate that the tape concerning Mr Valentich was returned to service on 6 April 1979, following its release from BASI."

11. A one page BASI note. Handwritten. It appears to show two file numbers V116/783/1047 and M116/783/1047. It is a table with columns headed "Folio," "Release (Yes/No)," "Reason (If no)," "Agrees."
There is a handwritten note "Accident report only see F6 on U86/46." Under "folios" there are 63 folios shown. Some have "yes" written under "release" and others have "no."

12. 24 Oct 1988. BASI. "Investigators file note." One page. Totally exempt. Not included in my package.

13. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from Southdown press to Bureau of Air Safety investigation. Asks BASI "I wish to request a public release document containing details of the flight,. subsequent investigations and the conclusion reached..." Apparently for an article for the "Australasian Post" magazine.

14. 27 Sep 1989. Fax from BASI to Southdown press. Response to 13. Here is what you asked for.

15. 9 Apr 1990. BASI to "An external party." "Letter regarding request for a copy of the Accident report concerning VH-DSJ."

16. 4 Apr 1990. "Ineligible document as received." Totally blank.

17. 9 Apr 1990. BASI. "Internal minute regarding attachment of document to file."

18. 15 Mar 1991. Letter from Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College, South Gippsland to BASI. For a communications project could we please have information on Valentich's disappearance?

19. 26 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College. Includes "The file on this occurrence was archived some time ago but I have requested its issue from Australian archives to obtain for you a copy of the report made available for public release following investigation of the occurrence...Interest in the disappearance has continued primarily due to the UFO connotations which were not substantiated and yours is one of several requests we receive each year for information on this occurrence. Even iI would like to know what really happened but it is one of those mysteries which probably will never be solved."

20. 27 Mar 1991. BASI to Mary MacKillop College. Provides a copy of the "Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary report."

21 27 Mar 2012. "An external party" to BASI. The year date of 2012 shown in the ATSB documents is incorrect as it is labelled as folio 144. This folio is between folio 143 which is dated 27 Mar 1991 and folio 145 dated 27 Jul 1992. The "schedule of documents" supplied by ATSB shows this folio is six pages long. Four pages are totally exempt. One opage is partially deleted and one page was released. Of the two pages I received, one is an envelope dated 13 Jul 1992 addressed to "The Director, Bureau of Air Safety Regulation" and the other page is the back of the envelope with the address deleted. The contents of the four page letter enclosed, were not released to me.

22. 27 Jul 1992. A one page internal BASI minute. "Here is an unusual one for you. It is the famous Valentich case of October 1978. Folio 144 is an attempt at an  explanation which is offered in good faith. I spoke to the author and acknowledged receipt. I don't have the expertise  or time to look at it. This sort of thing is in the psych's area. Would you give it to them for consideration and response (verbal would be OK) to the author."

23. 25 Aug 1992. BASI to an external part. "I refer to your letter of 10 Jul 1992...As you understand, the event remains a mystery, however your suggestions concerning a possible cause are appreciated..."

Comments:

So, this is the rest of the ATSB's file, as released by the current owner, the ATSB. This then, is the final chapter of files series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047.

What do blog readers think of this final piece of the file?

Important RAAF UFO file released by Archives

Hi all

File series A9755 control symbol 4, titled [RAAF Headquarters Support Command, Victoria Barracks Victoria] UFO [Unidentified flying Object] reports [UAS - Unusual Aerial Sightings] has just been examined and digitised by the National Archives of Australia, at my request.

It is an RAAF UFO file, formely numbered 5/6/1/Air Part 8 titled simply "UFO Reports." The file cover is stamped "Retain permanently" and there is  a hand written note "Held by CINTO" which I take to mean Command Intelligence Officer."

There is then a NAA blue mask indicating that one folio on the file dated 1989 has been withheld from the digitised copy as it is not in the 30 year open access period.

A typed file note indicates that folios 3 and 53 are unlocated. Another note says "This file progresses logically to Folio 63 then consists of numerous "Initial Unusual Aerial Reports" all of which are un-numbered.
Another hand written note says "Valentich incident. Reports summarised at 5/6/1/Air Part 8 (53.)"

Finally there is a note which explains the un-numbered folios. "Please file these UAS reports on 5/6/1/Air Part 8 (closed.) They were kept apart from the file during the inquiry into the Valentich incident and never replaced. Folio numbering is unimportant."

What inquiry?

The RAAF has always maintained that it did not investigate the Valentich case. So, the question here, is what 'inquiry?" From other papers on the file it would appear to refer to the Department of Transport accident investigation inquiry.

Newspaper clippings:

A number of newspaper clippings appear on the file. They are from "The Age" 23 Oct 78; "The Sun News-Pictorial" 23 Oct 1978; an unsourced clipping; "The Sun News-Pictorial" 24 Oct 1978 and "The Age" 24 Oct 1978.

RAAF UFO report forms:

There are numerous completed "Initial Unusual Aerial Sightings Report" from individuals. These are dated between 8 Jan and 24 Dec 1978, and are from a variety of Victorian and interstate locations. A number cluster in October 1978.

Other interesting folios;

Page 49 of the digital copy is a letter dated 27 Nov 1978 from the Federal Department of Transport to the Command Intelligence Officer, HQ Sqd Ldr T Filing. It is headed "Missing Aircraft: Cessna 182 VH DSJ on 21.10.78"

"A recent letter to you (V116/783/1047 of 23.11.78 refers) concerning missing aircraft VH-DSJ and other matters, was dispatched without the mentioned attachments. These attachments are included with this letter for your attention." The next documents on the file are further "Reports of Unusual Aerial Sightings: dated 21.10.78, which may be the documents referred to in the DOT's letter.

Digital image 92 is a "Summary of UAS sightings for the period 18-23 Oct 78." It lists 21 reports, and someone has handwritten on the list between two entries "Valentich 1913hrs SAT 21 Oct." There is another hand written note that says " Copy to DOT investigator."

Kidnapping?

Digital image 134 is a minute dated 26 Oct 78 signed by a G F Boileau, LtCol, SO1 (Int.) to Sdr Ldr Filing, subject "More fantasies" and says "More details on UFOs as per our minute of 12 Oct 78. Both were received prior to the kidnapping of a light aircraft over Bass Strait recently." The enclosure is a hand written letter speculating about UFOs seen over the River Murray.

All in all ,this is a fascinating file to have been released. The 21 UFO reports between 18-23 Oct 78 make fascinating reading and deserve  a detailed study to see if they can contribute to the existing knowledge of Valentich's disappearance.

Accident investigation file:

The file, Vic 116/783/1047 is the Department of Transport's accident investigation file into Valentich's missing aircraft. I requested access to this file after discovering last October that it was actually filed with the National Archives of Australia, and not destroyed as suggested by the Department of Transport in 2004, when I submitted an FOI request for it.  I am still awaiting advice from the NAA as to whether the file will be made available, or at least the papers dated 1978-1981 which are outside the 30 year rule.

The Valentich radio transmissions

Hi all,

Having just completed a review of UAP observations which were reported around the time of the 21st October, 1978 disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich, my attention has now been drawn to a little known aspect of this incident.

Aircraft Accident Investigation report:

The Department of Transport's "Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary Report" contains a transcript of radio communications between Valentich and the Melbourne Flight Service Unit. This transcript at 1912:28 hours, has the line "Delta Sierra Juliet Melbourne // 17 seconds open microphone//" as the last transmission from the pilot. It has been reported in numerous sources, that the 17 seconds of open microphone contained a metallic-like noise. There has been much speculation about the source of this metallic noise. What is less known, is that there was an analysis conducted of this portion of the tape.

One copy of the tape:

I am aware that a copy of the tape recording of the radio communications was given to Frederick Valentich's father, Guido, by the Australian government's, Department of Transport. This is clearly stated on National Archives of Australia file series B1497, control symbol V116/783/1047, in a letter to Guido dated 5th March 1979 signed by G V Hughes, A/g Director. "It is the normal policy of this Department to treat all recorded radio transmissions as confidential. However, in this case, I am happy to give you a taped copy of your son's voice to have as a keepsake."

Another copy of the tape:

Dr Richard Haines in the USA obtained a copy of the radio transmissions tape and carried out an analysis. The results were published in an article titled "Results of Sound Spectrum Analysis of the Metallic Noises of a Tape Recorded Radio Transmission Between Cessna VH:DSJ and The Flight Service of Melbourne, Australia" and appeared in The Journal of UFO Studies, 1981, Volume III. CUFOS. Chicago. pp. 14-23, with the author being Richard F Haines.

The article reports "Two separate activities were undertaken to analyze this tape. (1) a "control baseline" sound tape was made under conditions as similar as possible to the original and (2) both the tape received by the author and and the control baseline taped sounds were subjected to frequency spectrum analysis." (p.15.)

Baseline control sounds were created using a Cessna 182 aircraft, both on the ground and in flight. "The tape in question containing the unusual metallic sounds and the control sounds were then analyzed using a Ubiquitous sound spectrum analyzer." (p.15.)

Haines found that "...the seventeen second-long period could be subdivided into the following basic sections..." (p.15.)

1. Pre-noise background - 1.8 second duration.
2. First group of metallic noises - 10.4 seconds.
3. Pause of 0.84 seconds.
4. Second group of metallic noises - 4.04 second duration.
5. Post noise background.

In the paper, Haines refers to these sections as "intervals."

Referring to the first group of metallic sounds, Haines concluded "Thus, it is within the realms of possibility that the metallic noise (burst) could have been produced by extremely rapid manual keying of the aircraft's microphone press-to-talk switch, at least on the basis of its temporal features. The author has learned that the pilot was known to have a habit of depressing the microphone switch irregularly in flight for some reason." (p.20.)

Department of Transport file:

This habit of the pilot was confirmed on the Department of Transport file in an "Investigator's note" of a conversation between Miss Rhonda Rushton (Valentich's girlfriend who had flown with him a number of time) and Departmental employee J C Sandercock, on 24th October 1978. In part, the note reads:

" However, she was aware of some unusual habits he had while flying. These concerned the use of the radio. She was aware he usually 'clicked' the microphone button after transmitting, and that he never put it back in the rack, but left the microphone on his lap, where because of his leg actions, it was sometimes activated. He also had the habit of positioning or rubbing the microphone on his jumper sleeve before using it.

She stated Valentich had long legs and that after a period of time it was his habit to release the seat and to push it rearward, which again sometimes operated the microphone on his lap. She was of the opinion the "metallic noises" mentioned in the newspaper, could have been the seat sliding forward, with the microphone transmitting."

Back to the Haines article:

Referring to the second group of "metallic noises" Haines wrote "Thus, it is very likely that they represent the same basic phenomenon as occurs during interval 2." (p.21.)

Turning to the control sounds made in a Cessna 182, Haines writes "It should be pointed out that of all the sound effects produced by the author in the cockpit, the only ones that sounded at all like the metallic noises from Cessna VH-DSJ were those produced by a rapid manual keying of the microphone." (p.21.)

However, in the"conclusions" section of the paper, Haines notes "An attempt to recreate the same sounds in flight under basically the same flight conditions was not particularly successful. A somewhat similar start and stop pulse-like effect was achieved using a press-to-talk hand held microphone during various control tests, but the frequency versus time characteristics of these radio transmissions were noticeably different from those on the original tape." (p.22.) Here, Haines' reference to the original tape, means the copy tape he received.

The original recording:

As Haines was working from, at minimum a third generation tape (most likely a copy of the copy given to Guido Valentich,) would it be possible to obtain the original recording to undertake a new sound analysis? The answer is no. Papers I obtained from the Department of Transport indicate that the original tape of the transmissions, was returned to service and re-recorded over, as was normal practice in those days. Thus the original recording no longer exists.

Have any blog readers come across anything which relates to these tapes?

Another Australian government Valentich file emerges.

Hi all,

Introduction

 

On 28 June 2012 I wrote a blog piece about the discovery of two Australian government files relating to the disappearance, in 1978, of pilot Frederick Valentich, over Bass Strait, Australia.

 

Last year, in September, while randomly checking the National Archives of Australia's RecordSearch database, I found a two part file which also relates to the disappearance.

 

The new file is NAA file series B638, control symbol M116/783/1047 parts 1 and part 2;  barcodes 10499635 and 10499636. Series B638 is comprised of 299 air safety, accident and incident files, where M stands for Melbourne.

I immediately requested that the files, whose status was "Not yet examined" be examined. On 18 December 2015, I was advised that both parts of the file were now "open." I then submitted a request to have the file digitised, and paid the relevant fee.

The file, when "open" is titled "Accident on C182L - Moorabbin Vic/King Island Tas - 21 October 1978. VH-DSJ [including multiple newspaper cuttings regarding incident folder contains two piles.]"

The file had just been digitised.

What is on the file?



Perhaps firstly, the question is, where did this new file originate? We know that the already known file, NAA file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047, was owned by the Department of Civil Aviation, Victoria-Tasmania region. However, this new file NAA file series B638 control symbol M116/783/1047 was owned by the Department of Civil Aviation, Central Office.

 

Part one of the file is 200 pages, with part two being 139 pages long. Between the two, there are:

 

* dozens and dozens of newspaper clippings about the disappearance, perhaps the largest collection of articles I have come across

 

 

 

* numerous documents where statements were taken from individuals such as aircraft refuellers; pilots; and briefing officers. We have previously seen all of these statements on NAA file series A4703 control symbol 1978/1205 and NAA file series B1497 control symbol V116/783/1047

 

 

 

* a few, previously unseen typed and handwritten official minutes between individuals. However, even these really add very little to the debate as to what caused the disappearance.

 

 

 

One interesting set of papers is a letter from Allan Brunt, Regional Director for South Australia for the Bureau of Meteorology. Allan was open to taking a look at UFO reports, and he and I had a series of discussions about specific sightings, such as the 1988 Knowles car lift case.

 

 

 

On 3 August 1982 Allan forwarded a three page letter to the Department of Transport about the disappearance. Amongst his comments was one in regards to the fact that the UFO reported by Valentich was not seen continuously but on three separate occasions. Allan wrote "This type of sighting is consistent with a multiple meteor observation or a "meteor shower" with not just one, but several phenomena in procession. From the evidence available, I am unable to rule out the possibility that the pilot of VH-DSJ was frightened by the appearance of one or more meteors and, fearing a collision, took evasive action, or being seriously distracted by the frightening phenomena, flew into the sea."

 

You can view the file

 

To take a look at the file for yourself, or to download the file's PDF, go to http://www.naa.gov.au and on the home screen type "dsj" into the "search the collection" window, and click on "go."

 

 

Finally, yet another Valentich file revealed

 

We now know of three Australian government files relating to the disappearance of Valentich. However, the latest file's inside cover reveals yet another, unknown file. This is a Department of Transport file number 123/1/30 titled "ASIB requests for information regarding accident to Cessna 182L aircraft VH-DSJ on 21/9/78." (This date of 21/9/78 is incorrect, it should be 21/10/78.) I checked the NAA's RecordSearch and this fourth file is not listed. I checked using words within its title, but found no trace of it in RecordSearch. Yet another mystery. 

King Island UAP reports - around the time of Valentich disappearance

Hi all,

Readers of this blog will be aware that I am a keen supporter of the concept of locating original documentation on events. Readers will also be aware that I have been following the trail of material on the Frederick Valentich disappearance of 1978. So far we have:

1. Access to the two official Australian government files on this incident. (To read my earlier posts on the contents of these files click here and here.)

2. Reports on UAP from Victoria, Tasmania and Bass Strait between the 18th and 23rd October 1978 (Valentich disappeared on 21st October 1978.) To read these reports, and my analysis of them, click here.

One of the additional mysteries of the Valentich incident, is the number of UAP reports which came from King Island in 1978. King Island (click here for map) was the destination which Valentich recorded on his flight plan. I am therefore very thankful to Keith Roberts of the Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre (click here to go to their website - well worth a look) for taking the time to go through their files, and compile a listing of UAP reports for 1978, from King Island. We share these reports below, for your perusal.

1. January. Egg Lagoon. 0200hrs.
Witness up early to attend to children. Noticed low to the north, a fire coloured sphere. The sphere was estimated at 2m diameter and some 3m above the ground. It was situated 300-400m distant over open paddocks. The sphere remained in the same location as the witness viewed it for about 15 minutes before the witness returned to bed. No fires or burn offs were known to have occurred in the area at the time. [TUFOIC sighting form and interview. Unidentified.]

2. July. Currie. Night.
A slow moving object with light, followed a vehicle down North Road to Currie. It then disappeared towards the nearby lighthouse. Other sightings reported in Currie that night. Up north, witnesses saw a strange light pass over their house. On going out to investigate, the light had disappeared. [King Island News 20/9/78. Anonymous letter to editor.] No follow up with witnesses possible.

3. 24 August Saguenay Rock and Cape Wickham. 2100-2130hrs.
Fishermen report flare like lights, including a large green light off Cape Wickham. Whilst investigating, the Police witness what looked like six hand flares 3km off shore. The flares came on after the blue flashing Police light was turned on. An area search by sea and air the next day, failed to locate any vessel in trouble. No ships were unaccounted for. A pilot landing at 2100hrs reported a meteorite disintegrating into sparks. [Burnie Advocate 25/8/78.]

4. Early September. New Year Island. Night.
Lights and flares reported from area. [Verbal, probably from King Island News.]

5. 12 September. Cam Creek. Night.
Large oval light noted. Lights up the area like daylight. [King Island News 20/9/78. Anonymous letter to editor.] No follow up possible.

6. 20 September. Reekara. 2130hrs.
Bright white, oval shape, seem by three witnesses following a shooting trip. They followed the light as they headed south towards Currie. They described the light as 10 times the size of a star. It looked to go out of sight behind a hill to the south-west. It was briefly seen again as a  weak light in the distance towards the ocean. The event lasted about 15 minutes. A Nursing Sister reported to Paul Norman [VUFORS] she had also seen a bright light (the same light?) crossing the sky. VUFORS followed up but were unable to obtain any more information. [King Island News 27/9/78. TUFOIC sighting form and contact] Unidentified.

7. Early October. Currie? Night.
King Island News receives report of more lights seen. Passed on witness contact some months later to TUFOIC. TUFOIC unable to locate witness, who, it appears, had moved from King Island.

8. 21 October. Currie. 1400hrs.
Report of witness sunbathing when something sighted high overhead. TUFOIC obtained sighting form with information on the event. Description given as twice the size of a small aircraft (not a golf ball) Paul Norman (VUFORS) interviewed the witness and gave an estimate of the elevation around 1500m. The initial cloud from which the object emerged was almost overhead. The round white shape moved at first to the west, then headed back towards the east in the west-south-west sky, at an elevation of 70 degrees. The movement was slow, described as slower than a light aircraft. The witness watched for about 10 minutes before having to leave and did not observe the "shape" again. The weather was noted as clear. [King island News. TUFOIC sighting form. VUFORS interview.]
Unidentified.

If any blog readers have further information on cases from King Island, around this era, naturally, I would like to hear of them.

Book alert - "UFO Conspiracy" - McLaren - which mentions Westall

Dear readers,

A beautiful, cloudless, blue sky winter's day here in Adelaide, South Australia. A chilly 3 degrees C at the start of the day, rising to a cold 14 degrees this afternoon. I was up at 6.30am this morning to take a look at the planets Venus and Jupiter, which were close together in the pre-dawn sky in the north-east. I have the luxury of a non-working day so earlier dug down to the bottom of the "book pile by the bed." There I found "UFO Conspiracy" published last year by Schiffer Publishing of Atglen, PA in the USA. ISBN 978-0-7643-3893 for those who might want to buy a copy for their personal UFO library.

The author:

Carmen McLaren in the "About the author" section is described as follows. "Since the age of 9, he has  read every book, article and periodical; watched every movie, documentary and special on television; and attended as many conferences/symposiums concerning UFOs and related phenomenon as possible."  He has been a member of APRO, CUFOS and is currently a MUFON member.

What are his views?

"...for over six decades the government and their lackeys, namely the vocal debunker/pseudo-experts and the media, have created a fiction surrounding the UFO phenomenon...They have intentionally mislead the general public...They have withheld the truth..." (pp6-7.)

"Having studied the UFO phenomenon for over thirty years, I can say wholeheartedly that UFOs are real...I concentrate on sightings by credible people only, with little or no mention of crashed UFOs and abductions to muddy the waters...My main aim is to disprove the notions of the UFO phenomenon that the government and the debunkers would like you to believe..." (pp.7-8.)

The book's introduction concludes with "I feel safe in saying that when you are finished reading this book, you will be among those of us who want answers to what these things are, where they come from, who the overlords are that operate these UFOs - and most importantly: why they are here!" (p.14.)

The contents:

The main body of the book contains chapters in chronological order starting with "
From Primitive Man to the Victorian Era" progressing through eras labelled " The Early 1950's - The Korean War Years" and " "1966-1969 - The Golden Age of UFOs" to "2000 to the Present - New Millennium, Same Old Story."

Each of these chapters has a similar format. They contain dozens of case summaries on individual UFO reports from  around the world, drawn from a range of books, UFO magazines and more recently the Internet.

Living as I do, in Australia, I thought that one way of sampling the case summaries, was to focus on those UFO reports in the book, which come from Australia. The "Location Index" pages 346-352 told me there were summaries on Clayton (p.178); Cressy (p.143); Grafton (pp 183-184); King Island (pp230-231) and Mackay (p.161.)

Clayton (Westall):

I first took a look at the summary of the Westall High School case. The summary reads:

"On April 6th, a science class witnesses this object or one very similar to it as it performed in Australia. Andrew Greenwood was busy about the business  of teaching his students scientific principles at the Westall School, just outside of Clayton, Australia."

There is a reference number at this point which indicates that the source of the material on this case was "Lorenzen, 273." However, looking at the bibliography in the back of the book one finds that the only book by the Lorenzens (p.338) is "The Great Flying Saucer Hoax," 1962. This book, published in 1962 , of course. cannot be the reference for a case which happened in 1966. So the cited reference is incorrect.

The book's account of Westall continues:

" His attention was averted to the classroom windows, when he saw a strange object rise up from its resting place, behind a row of pine trees some distance across the schoolyard. He moved towards the window, and saw upon closer examination that it was a large, gray, cigar-shaped object, now clearly visible through the classroom windows as it began moving toward downtown Clayton. Soon the class had joined their teacher at the window and all watched intently as the object hovered and flew around the sky in a somewhat erratic fashion. The class had watched the object for over twenty minutes, when it disappeared from sight at the conclusion of one of its strange maneuvers. Australian authorities did nothing in the way of investigating the object."

Anyone who has read the original Australian sources material on Westall will recognise that the above account, wherever it came from, contains many inaccuracies of detail.

Other Australian cases:

Next, I checked the entries for Cressy (Sourced to vallee 1965); Grafton (sourced to Edwards 1967); King Island (sourced to Good 1988) and Mackay (sourced to Edwards 1966.)

Most of the details given on these cases appears more accurate than the Clayton account. It is a pity though that the author used no Australian books, magazines, or researcher's first hand notes when compiling these case summaries. This reliance on non-Australian sources leads to errors of fact which distort the picture. For example, in the King Island (Valentich) incident summary in the book we find "...flying instructor Frederick Valentich..." (p.230). Valentich was not an instructor. "At 6.19pm while flying over the Bass Straight..." (p.230) when the aircraft did not take off until 6.19pm. "At 7.12pm...the plane disappeared off radar." (p.230.) The aircraft was flying below radar sight from Melbourne long before 7.12pm. Finally, "...the last anyone has ever heard from Richard Valentich..." (p.231.) The pilot's first name was Frederick, not Richard.

Looking at the bibliography list, the same, non-use of the material form other countries, for their UFO case summaries, could also be made. It leaves me with a sense that many of the non-US case summaries may carry errors of fact.

US examples:

Moving away from Australian cases, I did enjoy reading the many US examples given in this book and felt that the author lived up to his promise to "...show you that, contrary to what the afore mentioned parties have claimed, many honest, competent, scientific community and leaders in the government, have all witnessed these things we call UFOs." (p.10.)

Appendices:

Appendix A lists "UFO organisations from around the world" but contains only seven entries (one for Australia.) Likewise, with Appendix B, "UFOs on the World Wide Web," which is also a short list centred on the US.

As mentioned before, the bibliography is heavily loaded with books published in the USA and the "Periodicals/Journals" listing is almost entirely US based. David Clarke's "The UFO Files" is listed as a "Periodical/Journal" when it is in fact a book.

Conclusion:

All in all, in my opinion, this book is just an average read, with several of the Australian case summaries containing errors of fact, which could have been so easily corrected by using Australian source material.

"Destroyed" Frederick Valentich file turns up in National Archives

Hi all

In 2004, in response to a Freedom of Information request which I submitted to the federal government Department of Transport, I was advised that the air safety investigation report on Frederick Valentich had been destroyed.

In fact, it is actually in the National Archives of Australia. For details see http://anomalies-australiancomments.blogspot.com/2011/10/destroyed-frederick-valentich-file.html

Second Valentich disappearance file digitised

Hi all,

Introduction:

In the last post I advised details of the Australian Government Department of Transport's Air Accident Investigation file on the 1978 disappearance of Australian pilot Frederick Valentich. Now, thanks to the work of Andrew Arnold and his Melbourne based team at Victorian UFO Action, we have access to the digitised version of a second file on the Valentich disappearance.

There is information on this file which does not appear on the Air Accident file, and both the files need to be read to completely understand the incident.

National Archives of Australia (NAA) file series A4703, control symbol 1978/1205 is titled "VH-DSJ Light aircraft overdue King Island," barcode 11485989, and held at the Canberra office of the NAA. The file, of 292 pages was owned by the Department of Transport's Marine Operations Centre, and is a MARSAR (Marine Search and Rescue) file.

Contents:

The file contains:

Details of aircraft which completed:

* a coastal search between Torquay and Cape Otway to Warrnambool and return
* a search of 15NM radius based on latitude 3925S and longitude 14352E
* a land search of King island.

By 25 Oct 1978 there had been air searches:

* of the complete coastline of King Island (twice)
* of the northern part of King Island ( four times)
* of the Victorian coastline between Torquay to Warrnambool (6 times)
* of the coastline between Cape Otway and Torquay (3 times).

There were sightings of:

* Boxes in the water at 3917S 14406E
* An oil slick at 3919S 14401E
* An underwater object at 3919S 14354E
* Two objects in the water at 3847S 14400E
* 4 pieces of material 400m off 90 Mile Beach.

The file contains ten references to "UFO" which includes:

* Aircraft VH-DRB a C421 enroute Tennant Creek to Darwin at FL180 which reported "...a brilliant white light at level 30 miles north of him, in the Tindal area, on descent then disappearing." VH-CKU a C402 from Mataranka on the same track and lower saw some things at 0946Z on the 22 Oct 1978. "Brilliant white light falling fast and irridesent, nothing in area, nothing on radar, cannot explain it..."

* "Report from Empress of Australia may be relevant to plane search in strait. 3rd mate and lookout both reported what they describe as a brilliant white light moving very fast, no indication of height, moving from E to W of them. Posn 3952S 14534E 1245pm last night (221445z) course of ship 334/17.0."

Read the second file for yourself:

1. Go to http://www.naa.gov.au/
2. Click on search the collection
3. Click on Begin your search
4. Upcomes RecordSearch
5. In the keywords box type VH-DSJ
6. Up comes this file
7. Click on the View digital copy icon.

Comments:

As with my previous post, I'd appreciate blog readers comments about this second file, in the comments section of this post.

A UFO film - "The Nullarbor."

Introduction

There are two Australian UFO cases, of which almost all researchers have heard. The first is the 1978 disappearance of Victorian pilot Frederick Valentich. The second, is the 1988 Knowles family encounter on the Nullarbor Plains of Western Australia, which is the subject of this post.

Background

In the early morning hours of 20 January 1988, members of the Perth based Knowles family, were travelling by car from Perth to Melbourne, driving through the night over the isolated Nullarbor Plains near the Western Australia/South Australia border. They reported seeing an unusual light, near ground level, which they believed then attempted to lift their car off the ground, during an extended encounter.

Their story made headlines around the world, and locally was investigated in depth by members of UFO Research of South Australia. Now, the story is to be told in a full length feature film.

IMDb

The International Movie Data base shows that a film titled simply, "The Nullarbor" is in pre-production. It is scheduled as a 90 minute, "action, drama, sci-fi." The plot given there is, "On a dark and lonely road an ordinary family encounter something extraordinary. This is their story."

The IMDb provides the following information regarding cast and crew.

Main cast

Jane Badler plays "Helen Fields," Jane is an American actress who relocated to Australia and is best known for her role as the evil reptilian Visitor leader "Diana" In the NBC mini series "V.""

John Brumpton plays UFO rsearcher "Keith Basterfield."

Katherine Grinlaw plays "vic."

Paul Todd plays "Patrick Knowles."

Marty Rhone plays truck driver "Porky."

Tony Markulin plays truck driver "Graham Henley."

Adam La Rosa plays police Constable "Dean Matthews."

John McCullough plays "Professor Glen Moore."

Isaac Still plays "Sean Knowles."

Serge De Nardo plays police "Seargent Trebilcock."

Director is Matt Poidevin.

Writers are Kerryn Markulin and John Smithers.

I am unaware of when production will commence.

"Westall the movie"

While on the subject of UFO cases from Australia; what news on a possible full length movie film based on the 6 April 1966 Westall incident?

I am aware of at least three individuals, all Victorian based film makers, who have shown interest in this subject.

One such film maker, who coincidentally was born in 1966, who is also a film director and film producer, has long shown an interest in making a "Westall the movie." I understand that a script has been finalised.

The second individual, a Melbourne based film maker, is looking for their next project, after completing a series for pay television.

The third individual is Matt Poidevin, director for "The Nullarbor." A search of the IMDb found that Matt's "Westall" is "In development,"

Does any blog reader know of other Australian films being made, based on local UFO cases? If so, please share your knowledge with us by sending an email to keithbasterfield@yahoo.com.au

Update 25 June 2018

I decided to check the IMDB using the word "Valentich" and was surprised to find that a 14 minute short story titled "The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich was made in 2017 by director Luke Robson.

Found: two more Australian government files on the 1978 Valentich disappearance

Hi all,

On 28 June 2012, I advised that I had located an Australian government file on the 21 October 1978 disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich, over Bass Strait. During that flight, he reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. His disappearance and the associated UAP report, generated intense international interest. To read my original post please click here.

That file

National Archives of Australia (NAA)  file series B1497, control symbol V116/783/1047 was titled "DSJ-Cape Otway to King Island 21 October 1978 - Aircraft missing (Valentich.)" I arranged for a digitised copy of this file to be placed in the public domain on the NAA website. It contained 315 pages of documents.

Andrew Arnold

At around the same time, Melbourne researcher Andrew Arnold located a second file dealing with the disappearance. This was file series A4703, control symbol 1978/1205, titled "VH-DSJ - light aircraft overdue - King Island." It contained 292 pages of documents. We arranged for this file to also be digitised and placed on the NAA website for anyone to read.

Further files

I recently discovered that the NAA holds two further files on the disappearance, which have never been seen by anyone outside of the Australian government, namely:

1. File series B638, control symbol M116/783/1047 part 1, titled "Accident on C182L - Moorabbin Vic/King Island Tas - 21 October 1978."

2. File series B638, control symbol M116/783/1047 part 2, titled "Accident on C182L - Moorabbin Vic/King Island Tas - 21 October 1978."

The status of both files is "Not Yet Examined." Immediately on finding them, I requested they be examined for release. This process can take up to six months. Once the files have a status of "Open," I will arrange for them to be digitised so anyone can read them. What they might contain is unknown at this time.

UAP occurrences in the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's former OASIS aviation database

Hi all,

Introduction:

In a previous post (click here) I examined the role of various Australian Government agencies in air safety in Australia.

In 2004, I submitted a request under the Australian Freedom of Information Act, to the federal government's Department of Transport and Regional Services. The request was responded to by Rob Graham, Director, Safety Investigations, whose response included:

"The relevant documents from a search of the ATSB's OASIS aviation occurrence database are listed below..."

Findings:

I have chosen to list the cases from the database, together with anything else I have been able to find out about that particular event.

"Occurrence number 196901691
Occurrence id 129813. 2 July 1969. Burn marks rep on 2 golf courses. Reported as poss UFO landing. RAAF notified."

On National Archives of Australia file series A703 control symbol 580/1/1 part 12, pp42-44, I found the following (my summary.) 23 June 1969. St Michael's Golf Club. La Perouse, NSW. Unusual ground marks discovered. 0800hrs. Not there night before. When discovered grass of course had heavy dew but no evidence of footprints or tyre tracks. Assistant green keeper noted an "oily residue" which had gone by the time RAAF investigators visited on 25 Jun 1969. RAAF said "could have been the work of a clever hoaxer, but it would have been a very difficult job..."

The comment about "oily residue" suggests to me the possibility of the marks being caused by slime mould. I have personally investigated trace cases where rings or arcs of an oily substance have been found on grass. It disappears within a few days.

"Occurrence number 196902473
Occurrence id 130595. 31 Jan 1969. Diamond Creek, Vic. Rep sighting a UFO white in colour moving very fast in a straight line."

A check of NAA RAAF file series A703 control symbol 580/1/1 part 11, which covers the period around this time, carries no report of this event. However, there are two other possibly relevant reports. On 21 Jan 1969 at Rosanna, Vic between (2125-2130)hrs, duration 1.5 seconds, a round, white light was reported to have travelled across the sky in a straight line. Also, on 5 Feb 1969 at Ferny Creek, Vic, at 2350hrs, duration (2-3) mins, an airline pilot reported seeing a bright, white light, point source travelling west to east.

"Occurrence number 197502943
Occurrence id 91062. 12 Jan 1975. Albury, NSW. UFO sighted on radar at 20,000 ft in CTA. Not possible to identify."

This is an intriguing summary! No RAAF UFO files currently available through the NAA cover this date. A search of the ATSB's current "Aviation safety investigation and reports" database found no reference to the event. A search on the internet turned up nothing further.

"Occurrence number 197703195
Occurrence id 77512. 16 Apr 1977. Near King Island, Tas. UFO report from pilot. Passed to RAAF for study. CFT beacon abeam VH-KRY. Cessna 401."

In view of the 21 Oct 1978 disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich on a flight between Melbourne and King Island, the details of this occurrence should be illuminating! However, no known RAAF file in the NAA covers this time period. A search of the current ATSB aviation occurrence database finds no reference to the sighting. An internet search for VH-KRY turns up the history of this aircraft and three photographs of what appears to be the correct Cessna 401 (click here) One of the photographs was taken at Moorabbin Airport in July 1977, three months after the event cited in the ATSB database.

"Occurrence number 197802563.
Occurrence id 70857. 21 Oct 1978. Near Cape Otway, Vic. Plt reported UFO then rough running eng. TX ceased - ACFT missing Cessna 182L."

This is the well known Valentich case. There is no listing in the current ATSB's "Aviation safety investigation and reports" database on their current website, even though we know a full investigation was conducted by the Department of Transport. In fact the relevant investigation file has been located in the National Archives of Australia and a request submitted for access to it.

In addition, a search of the NAA's files in 2012 revealed that NAA file series A9755 control symbol 4, formerly 5/6/1/Air part 8, has papers on it regarding Valentich's disappearance, including a couple of dozen UFO reports from around the 21 Oct 1978.

"Occurrence number 197904600
Occurrence id 66734. 22 Sep 1979. Near Banka Banka, NT. Object in area. ACFT found burnt trees and white ash but no object (sneaky Martians.) Misc UFO consisting of white trailing smoke, sighted by three witnesses. F27 pilot reported white."

No relevant RAAF UFO file have been located covering this date. There is no such event in the current ATSB aviation occurrence database. An internet search found no details.

"Occurrence number 197904657.
Occurrence id 66791. 19 Oct 1979. Near Broken Hill, NSW. Acft however no know aircraft in area. Misc F27 crew sighted UFO whilst on climbout. Flashing white light similar to strobe on high flying Fokker. B.V. F27 MK200."

There is no known relevant RAAF UFO file available. No such event is located in the current ATSB aviation occurrence database. Nothing further turned up on an internet search.

"Occurrence number 198300234.
Occurrence id 40550. 7 Apr 1983. Near Manly West, Qld. No known acft or balloon activity in area. Inside radar coverage but no radar return. UFO reported silvery object size of Cessna without wings flying from east to west at 2000ft."

There are no known RAAF files covering the date. The current ATSB database does not carry the event. An internet search found no details.

"Occurrence number 199804923.
Occurrence id 164236. 8 Nov 1998. 28km NW Perth Aerodrome WA. The pilot reported an unidentified flying object, bright red/orange in colour 100 ft below and travelling very fast as the aircraft passed 9000ft. The object was approximately 2 metres across and the pilot believed it may have been a model aircraft."

There are no known RAAF UFO files available for this date. The event is not listed in the ATSB's current aviation occurrence database. An internet search found no details.

New FOI requests:

In order to check for more recent ATSB occurrences involving UAPs/UFOs, I have just submitted fresh FOI requests to Air Services Australia; the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the ATSB. I will advise the outcomes of these requests when they are available.

The search through Australian government UAP records - 2012 to 2016

Introduction

After the success of the Disclosure Australia Project (2003-2008) in locating and arranging to have digitised, a large number of Australian government UAP files, I returned to the search in 2012 to locate further such files.

In 2013, I was joined in this search by Melbourne researcher Paul Dean. This blog post aims to provide readers with a summary of what  has been found in the period 2012 to 2016.

1. File series A9755

In 1994, when the Royal Australian Air Force got out of the UAP business, RAAF bases across the country closed off their UAP files and sent them off to RAAF HQ. Once bundled together, the 24 files were sent in one batch to the National Archives of Australia (NAA.)

The NAA 'top numbered' these files, and they became NAA file series A9755 part1 through to 24. During 2012 to 2016, I requested that this series be examined by the NAA, opened and digitalised. Paul Dean and I paid for this digitisation. Thus, almost all of the papers on these files, some as late as 1994, are today, available for anyone to view, via the NAA's website.

However, there were some documents on this file series, which were outside of the date range available through the Archives Act. I therefore submitted a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Department of Defence for those papers with a date range such that they were available under that Act. I received copies of many of these files and reported on their contents in a series of posts on this blog. About 95% of all the papers in this series are now publicly available. The other 5% still sit on the files, outside the date range of the Archive Act, but inside the date range of the FOI Act. The reason I have not obtained these pages is that in 2015/2016 the Department of Defence wished to charge the fees to provide them to me, which I felt was an unreasonable amount. In due course as the years go by, they will fall inside the date range of the Archive Act and thus become available in this way.

Anyway, we already know the details of the contents of all these files, as in the mid 2000's, Dominic McNamara and I, spent 18 hours at Edinburgh RAAF base in Adelaide, going through these exact files. We reported on the contents in a series of Disclosure Australia Newsletters, published at the time.

2. Previously unknown files

During the 2012-2016 time period, Paul Dean and I located a number of previously unknown NAA UAP files. These included:

1. NAA files series J63, control symbol 5/51/Air - about radar sightings from the Townsville area.

2. K95, control symbol 1986/871 - A Western Australian Aviation Department file.

3. Uncited file - A collection of already known papers, but being collected by someone in the DOD at Woomera, up to as late as 2006 (remembering the DOD got out of the business in 1994.)

4. M1148, control symbol "Unidentified Flying Objects" - The personal papers of the Rt. Hon. R G Casey, former Australian Prime Minister.

In addition, under the FOI Act, I located a Bureau of Meteorology file, date range 1982-2006.

Previous blog posts have reported on the contents of all the above files.

3. Files concerning the disappearance of Frederick Valentich

Despite the fact that the Department of Transport had advised me in 2004, that they believed that the main file relating to the disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich, in 1978, had been destroyed by the NAA, I found it, and two others in the NAA. The files were:

1. NAA file series B1497, control symbol V116/783/1047.

2. B638, control symbol M116/783/1047 part 1.

3. B638, control symbol M116/783/1047 part 2.

Melbourne based researcher Andrew Arnold located another Valentich file:

4. A4073, control symbol 1978/1205.

4. FOI Act requests

During the period, I also submitted FOI requests to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB); Air Services Australia (ASA); and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) asking for any documents they held on "Unidentified Flying Objects."

CASA responded that they had no such file holdings. ASA provided correspondence between themselves and various outlets, plus between themselves and a private individual seeking aircraft movements as possible explanations for sighting reports. The ATSB provide me with a number of proforma on incidents reported to them. However, I already had most of these details from an earlier ATSB FOI request. I posted about these requests earlier in this blog.

Paul Dean also submitted a number of FOI requests to the ATSB; ASA, and the Department of Defence, again, seeking documents relative to UAP. In addition, he submitted FOI requests to the DOD seeking documents about current areas of the DOD which might be concerned with tracking unknown objects over Australia. The DOD responded and provided numerous internal documents and manuals concerning tracking 'contacts of interest.' Paul has reported his findings in a series of posts on his blog.

5. A listing

An updated listing of Australian government UAP files may be found on the Project 1947 website.

6. Current situation

Paul Dean and I, and sadly no other Australian researchers, continue to look for further NAA UAP files. One I recently found was file series A4090, control symbol 529/1/16 part 1 titled 'DSTO records of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' with a date range of 1974-196. I have a request in with the NAA to have this examined, (its current status is 'closed;' 'with held pending advice'), opened and digitised.

There is no doubt, that other NAA files on UAP are yet to be located within the NAA. It would be good if other Australian researchers contributed to this work.

Update as at 26 September 2016.

No sooner had I written the above, then a new file pops up.

http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/the-national-archives-of-australia.html

New FOI result - Australian Transport Safety Bureau

Hi all,

Introduction:

Following my recent Freedom of Information Act request to Air Services Australia, (click here to read the results) I submitted a separate request to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB.)

Who is the ATSB?

According to their website, "The Australian Transport safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's prime agency for the independent investigation of civil aviation accidents, incidents and safety deficiencies. The ATSB is governed by a commission and is entirely separate from transport policy makers, industry operators, and from transport regulators such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA.)"

FOI Act request:

I asked for:

"1. Any documents held by the ATSB, on the subject of "unidentified flying objects" (UFO), including a search of the ATSB's OASIS aviation occurrence database, or other similar databases."
2."A copy of all papers dated 1 January 1983, on an  Air Accident Investigation file, file reference V116/783/1047 titled "DSJ-Cape Otway to King Island 21 October 1978-aircraft missing."

Results;

I have already posted the details of documents I received as per request 2 (the Valentich disappearance) (click here to read my post on these.) This post will therefore report on the documents received as per part 1 of my request above.

I received copies of the following "Occurrence detail reports." Each report was a two sided proforma filled in with very little information, as follows:

1. 2 Jul 1969: 196901691.

"Burn marks rep on 2 golf courses reported as poss UFO landing. RAAF notified." Sydney, NSW.

2. 31 Jan 1969: 196902473

At 21:25 hrs at Diamond creek, Vic.
"A (deletions made under section 22 of the FOI Act) of Rosanna rep sighting a UFO white in colour moving very fast in a straight line."

3. 12 Jan 1975: 197502943.

At 9:09hrs at Albury, NSW 15W. "UFO sighted on radar at 20000ft in CTA - Not possible to identify."

4. 16 Apr 1977:  197703195.

At 22:45hrs near King Island, TAS. A Cessna 401 pilot on a charter flight from Melbourne to Hobart. "UFO report from pilot - passed to RAAF for study. CFT beacon abeam." Altitude 7500ft. At night (dark). Wind speed 6-10. VMC conditions.

5. 21 Oct 1978:   197802563.

At 19:12hrs near Cape Otway, Vic. VH-DSJ Cessna 182L. "Plt reported UFO then rough running eng. Tx ceased - Acft missing." Flying Moorabbin Vic to king Island Tas. VFR. 4500ft. Visibility 15km. Dusk.

The ATSB provided me with a copy of the Aircraft Accident  Investigation Summary report. Also a copy of an article by a Rolf Rebner titled "Valentich Plane Disappearance: a seismic solution."

6. 22 Sep 1979:  197905600.

At 7:05hrs near Banka Banka, NT. "Object in area. Search acft found burnt trees and white  ash but no object. (Sneaky Martians?) Misc - UFO consisting of white light trailing smoke sighted by three witness. F27 plt reported white."

7. 19 oct 1979:  197904657.

At 19:45hrs near Broken Hill, NSW. An F27 MK 200. Flight Broken Hill to Adelaide. "Acft, however no known acft in area. Misc- F27 crew sighted UFO whilst on climbout. Flashing white light similar to strobe on high flying." Night (dark). Wind speed 6-10.

8. 7 Apr 83: 198300234.

At 14:27hrs near Manly West, Qld. "No known acft or balloon activity in area. Inside radar coverage but no radar return. UFO reported silvery object size of Cessna without wings flying from east to west at 2000ft.

9. 8 Nov 1998: 199804923.

At 15:51hrs 28km NW Perth Aerodrome, WA. "The pilot reported an unidentified flying object, bright red/orange in colour 100ft below and travelling very fast as the aircraft passed 9,000ft. The object was approximately 2 meters across and the pilot believed that it may have been a model aircraft." 8900ft.

10. 25 Jan 2011:  ATSB telephone notification form.

23:29hrs Mackay, Qld. "Reported  seeing a bright orange light with a dark centre appearing from the horizon, turning 90 deg and took off into the distance at high velocity with no sound. The object was captured on the iphone. (2 photos and a movie.) I referred him to the UFO hotline."

Previous post:

In a post dated 18 Jun 2012 (click here to read) I provided the results of a 2004 FOI Act request to the federal Department of Transport and Regional Services. This request resulted in a response from Rob Graham, Director , Safety Investigations, and utilised the OASIS aviation occurrencee database of the ASTSB.

Comparing the 2004 and 2012 FOI Act requests reveals that of the occurrence detail reports mentioned in this current request, numbers 1-9 were also provided to me in 2004 (although with less details.) Only number 10 of the current request is new, perhaps due to its date of 2011.

It is also interesting to note that the 25 Jan 2011 report was referred to a UFO Hotline, presumably that run by AUFORN. A check of the 2011 reports on the AUFORN website database (click here to look at hundreds of their report) failed to locate any such report made to them. I contacted AUFORN directly and Rob Frola advised me he had never heard of this report.

In conclusion:

I have now completed my FOI Act requests to the two main Australian Government agencies which are likely to receive UAP reports from civilian airline pilots. As you can see they responded with limited data.

Prior to the closure of the RAAF's UFO investigations, there were dozens of pilot reports to the RAAF. The question therefore remains as to whether the number of UAP observations by pilots has declined in recent times, or whether pilots simply do not report sightings of unusual objects in the skies?

I'd appreciate hearing from any blog readers who are also pilots.

New study of UAP reports around the time of the Valentich disappearance

Hi all,

In June 2012 I located the Australian government Department of Transport's file, in the National Archives of Australia (NAA), about the disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich in 1978. (Click here to read details) After reading it, I thought to myself that I must make some time to take a look at all the surrounding UAP reports.

At about the same time, I also found the RAAF's 1978 UAP file, NAA file series A9755, control symbol 4, which contained UAP reports made to the RAAF at that time, October 1978.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make the time to take a look at these observations from October 1978. I did a literature search, and was very surprised to learn that no-one, in the 35 years since that event, had ever compiled a catalogue of these reports. I was less surprised to find that no-one had published an analysis of these reports from that era.

So, with the assistance of a number of other Australian researchers, I have compiled a catalogue of UAP reports from the states of Victoria and Tasmania, here in Australia. I then undertook an analysis, report by report. As with any series of sightings, some proved to be explainable in conventional terms, while others remained in the "unknown" category. You will be surprised at some of my findings.

The Project 1947 website has kindly added this new study to their collection of others I have previously compiled. You can read a copy of my new study by clicking here.

I welcome comments, corrections, additional cases etc, on both the catalogue and my analysis. These can be directed to me either via the "comments" area on the blog, or by email to keithbasterfield@yahoo.com.au

New book alert - Miller & Osborn

Dear readers

Adelaide's cooler and wetter summer continues this year. Traditionally today would be sunny, and 40 degrees Celsius. Instead it is a maximum of 24 degrees and rain has been steadily falling for several hours. So, it will be wet for the start of the Adelaide Fringe, a performance festival of several hundred, diverse shows at dozens of venues scattered through the City.

This post takes a look at a new Australian book titled "Something is Out There" by authors Julie Miller and Grant Osborn, published by Arena/Allen & Unwin. 2010. Crows Nest, Sydney. ISBN 978-1-74237-132-0 363pp. My copy from my local library.

Three parts:

This book is a three part work. Part one is the "Supernatural;" part two "UFOlogy" and part three "Cryptozoology." This post will concern itself only with part two.

The book has been compiled from the authors' travels through Australia talking to UFO witnesses and researchers.

Chapter 13 looks at "Wycliffe Well-Australia's UFO Capital." It starts with the authors own "UFO" encounter with a white light travelling behind their vehicle for a while before disappearing into "thin air." They then interview the owner of the Big4 Holiday park at Wycliffe Well, Len Farkas, where Farkas informs them that the light "It's an alien probe...from the big craft."

Self-promotion has seen Wycliffe Well, a small, remote, locality in the Northern Territory elevate itself to some prominence on the world UFO scene. Farkas himself, has seen "Scores of alien craft in his 25 years at Wycliffe Well." (p.144.) While there, the authors interviewed employees and others about their own sightings.

Other Northern Territory sightings are related in this chapter including a photograph which "Shows Australian soldiers posing at nearby Devils Marbles in October 1942, with a small silver craft hovering nearby, clearly in shot." (p.146.)

"The UFO Hunter"

Interestingly, this chapter starts off with a tirade against some UFOlogists. " An irksome obstacle often encountered when investigating the UFO underground is the secretive and paranoid nature of many research groups. Phone messages are not returned, emails remain unanswered and personally written requests sent to anonymous postal boxes seem to wind up in the dead letter office." (p.153.)

The authors then introduce Alan Ferguson of Darwin, who "...claiming as he does to have photographed more than 30 mysterious aerial craft..." They review his methods and results.

The "Tully saucer nest" is the subject of a subsequent chapter which also recounts details of other circular markings.

Next, the authors cover the 1966 Westall case and their visit to Clayton South to meet one of the female witnesses. The authors also do a little academic research by contacting the Department of Defence, the national Archives of Australia and local police, but find, as others have done before them, that there are no official documents to be found on this case.

Valentich:

No Australian book on UFOs would be complete without the mention of the Frederick Valentich aircraft/ufo encounter and subsequent disappearance of the aircraft. Chapter 18 covers this event, while chapter 19 looks at the topic of "min min" lights.


The final chapter "UFO hotspots" discusses the authors' thoughts on where to go to see UFOs in Australia and their list includes, the Northern Territory, the Grampians in Victoria and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

Comments:

I found this book extremely light weight, with little to no, analysis of the events described in it. Interestingly, the book contains no details on the authors. Every other book I have read tells you who the authors are, their backgrounds, why they are interested in the topic they write about; their qualifications in writing the work, and their thoughts on the topic, plus how to contact them. There is nothing of this kind here.

There is no index and the references cited are almost always to other books.

All in all, not a book I would buy to add to my library.