Siblings in Crime

The Haunting Last Radio Call - Frederick Valentich

Ally Rossell and Blake Murphy Season 2 Episode 76

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0:00 | 1:13:33

In 1978, 20-year-old pilot Frederick Valentich disappeared over Australia's Bass Strait after reporting a mysterious object circling his plane. His final transmission has become one of the most debated recordings in aviation history. Was it spatial disorientation, a staged disappearance, or something truly unexplained?

What do you think?

Sources

  •  Australian Department of Transport. Investigation into the Disappearance of VH-DSJ (Frederick Valentich), October 21, 1978.
  •  National Archives of Australia. Melbourne Flight Service Radio Communications Transcript – VH-DSJ, October 21, 1978.
  •  Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (Australia). Analysis of Cowl Flap Recovered on Flinders Island (1983).
  •  McGaha, James & Nickell, Joe. "The Valentich Disappearance: Another UFO Cold Case Solved." Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2013. 
  •  Brian Dunning. "The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich." Skeptoid Podcast
  •  Snopes. "Frederick Valentich's UFO Sighting and Disappearance." November 2024. 
  •  National Library of Australia (Trove Newspaper Archive). Contemporary newspaper coverage of Frederick Valentich's disappearance, October 1978. 
  •  Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News Archive. Coverage of the Frederick Valentich disappearance and subsequent investigations. 
  •  Civil Aviation Historical Society of Australia. Historical records relating to the disappearance of VH-DSJ and Bass Strait aviation incidents.