A young pilot. A small plane. A disappearance over Bass Strait in 1978. Frederick Valentich was 20, flying Cessna 182L VH-DSJ with about 150 hours on a private licence, when he reported an object and vanished. He believed in UFOs and had told his father, Guido, he feared an attack by one. Sceptics McGaha and Nickell later proposed a graveyard spiral at dusk, while ufologist Paul Norman blamed a UFO. His case anchors the Bass Strait Triangle lore behind the 1944 Beaufort pacing incident, and was recalled alongside the Bilbul Light of 1977.
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The Valentich Disappearance over Bass Strait
46Partially documented
20-year-old pilot of Cessna 182L VH-DSJ, who reported the object and vanished