| PART 3 |
| Article taken from the Adelaide, ADVERTISER. 20 October, 1978 |
| From page 1. The King Island flight service unit reported last night that wreckage would not be missed by an antensive search in such ideal conditions and the likelihood was that the plane was under water. The Department of Transport customarily treats reports of UFOs with scepticism. An official spokesman said the pilot was not an experienced night flyer. He had been flying for 18 months and was building up hours for a commercial pilot's licence. He had a night rating but had never flown to King Island in darkness before. " It is possible that he could have got disorientated", the spokes man said. " The aircraft could have inverted and he could have seen the reflections of the Otway and King Island lighthouse on the clouds above him". No explanation has been given for the long, loud metallic noice heard by Melbourne control. But officials admit it was not normal. Aviation experts were last night casting doubt on the department's official explanation that the pilot could have been flying upside down. The proprietor of Fogarty Fields Flying School, Mr. Terry Fogarty, said it would be impossible for a pilot to fly upside down for more than 30 seconds. Even then the pilot would be hanging in his seatbelt straps covered in dust and books and unable to speak coherently on the radio. In addition, the engine would fail becauce the Cessna 182 has a wet-sump engine which would be starved of oil. Mr. John Gordon, a private pilot who returned from King Island the same evening said he passed Cape Otway at 5.48 pm "There was not a cloud in the sky," he said. "Visibility was first rate". The Lack of cloud or humidity appears to rule out St. Elmo's fire - a phenomenon which had led to a number of UFO reports from pilots. In addition, it was scarcely dark at the time of the planes disappearance and that would have further reduced the liklihood of the pilot's becoming disoriented and flying upside down. Reports from the search are indicating that the sea temperture was around eight degrees above freezing. But searchers believe a pilot would stand a good chance of survival in the water if he was wearing a lifejacket. |
| Fredrick Valentich disappearance |
| Plane in UFO MYSTERY |
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| By Jeff Fausch Paranormal Field Investigators |