The Valentich UFO Disappearance (Abduction)

In 1978, pilot Frederick Valentich disappeared during a flight over the Victorian coast, whilst reporting that he was being followed by a UFO.

Amazingly, newly revealed documents released by the National Archives of Australia also show how Valentich had previously told his girlfriend that he had already been taken (i.e. abducted) by a UFO in the past.

On the night that Valentich disappeared, there were numerous reports from the general public of a "fast moving brilliant white light". However, this was assumed to be the result of a meteorite stream by Mt. Stromlo Observatory near Canberra.

It has been suggested that Valentich was already fascinated with aliens and UFOs and that he had attempted to fake his own UFO abduction, which presumably went horribly wrong. His family reject such claims.

In actual fact, there was a wave of unexplained UFO sightings both immediately before Valentich's disappearance and immediately afterwards and Valentich had reported that his engine had failed whilst being followed by the UFO. Nothing was ever heard from him again.

Despite a four-day search of Cape Otway by eight vessels and an Orion craft, no debris was found and it was concluded "it seems likely that the aircraft did not crash in the sea between Cape Otway and King Island".

Months before his disappearance, Valentich had accessed confidential RAAF reports of UFOs which led him to become a true believer and which could not be discussed with his family and friends.

After seeing such reports, Valentich had become concerned about the capability and true nature of UFO's and as indicated by the declassified Australian documents, it appears that Valentich may have already been abducted by UFOs in the past.

Newly released Air Safety Investigation documents also show how an engine cowl flap from the exact same model plane he was flying, a Cessna 182, had washed ashore five years later at Flinders Island. If this indeed a part of Valentich's aircraft, it's possible that testing could confirm whether it was in the salt waters of the Bass Strait for five years or not.

However, Valentich had reported that he was being followed by a long, metallic aircraft which had four bright lights which moved at high speed and orbited above his aircraft, just as his engine started failing.

The engine cowl flap was found washed ashore on 16th May 1983, showing partial serial numbers that matched the 182L model. However, the Air Traffic Controller who was speaking to Valentich that very night, Steve Robey, does not believe that the cowl flap was from Valentich's aircraft.

According to Robey, NASA analysts assessed the audio transcript of the event and confirmed that Valentich was under genuine stress and that there was no indication of any kind of hoax or disorientation on Valentich's part and that he spoke about the incident in a "matter of fact" way.

Additionally, five days after Valentich's disappearance whilst working on Air Traffic Control, Robey received a radio transmission from another pilot who claimed to have been passed three times by a jet-speed, unidentified, intensely bright light which came so close it forced him to land his aircraft.