The case of the missing pilot

On October 21, 1978 Australian pilot Frederich, age 20, took off from Melbourne and headed toward a small island.

It was the young man’s first solo night over water. It was still, clear evening, and from his Cessna aircraft Valentich had perfect view of the sky above and he sea below.

Shortly after taking off, however, Valentich reported to flight controllers in Melbourne that he was being followed by a UFO. “It is a long shape”, “he reported”, with a green light, sort of metallic like, all shiny on the outside. A few minutes later, he told the controllers. That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. After that, Valentich stopped talking. For the next fourteen seconds the traffic controllers heard a strange ringing sound. Then silence, Valentich and his plane never reached the island, and no trace of him or aircraft was ever found.

Several members of the public reported seeing strange phenomena in the sky over Melbourne that night. An amateur photographer produced a photo of what looked like a large object surrounded by vapor. A NASA scientist, Richard Haines, Heard about the story and began an investigation. He analyzed Valentich voice on tape and the strange sound heard at the end of the tape. But he concluded that it was “ unidentifiable”. He decided that there were four possible explanations for the mystery surrounding Valentich’s disappearance :

1. Valentich might have become confused and disoriented while flying his plane and finally crashed.
2. He could have staged a deliberate hoax.
3. He could have been the victim of a time of a top secret advanced weapons test.
4. He may have been captured by the occupants of a UFO.

Haines plans to continue with his investigation of the case until the mystery is solved.