Frederick Valentich Disappearance (1978)

On October 21, 1978, 20-year-old Australian pilot Frederick Valentich disappeared during a training flight over Bass Strait between Melbourne and King Island. His final radio transmissions to Melbourne air traffic control were recorded and describe a large unknown aircraft hovering above his Cessna 182. He reported: 'It is not an aircraft.' The object had four bright lights, was metallic and shiny, and orbited his plane. His last transmission was: 'That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again... it is hovering and it is not an aircraft.' This was followed by 17 seconds of unidentified metallic scraping sounds, then silence. No trace of Valentich or his aircraft was ever found despite an extensive sea and air search. The Department of Transport's official conclusion: 'The reason for the disappearance of the aircraft has not been determined.' Five witnesses on the ground independently reported seeing a green light moving erratically over Bass Strait that evening. This is one of the only cases where a pilot's final words describe a UAP encounter in real time, recorded by air traffic control, followed by complete disappearance. The audio recording exists. The pilot is still missing.