Transcript

Valentich: MELBOURNE this is DELTA SIERRA JULIET is there any known traffic below five thousand

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET no known traffic

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET I am seems (to) be a large aircraft below five thousand

FSU: D D DELTA SIERRA JULIET what type of aircraft is it

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET I cannot affirm it is four bright it seems to be like landing lights

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

Valentich: MELBOURNE this (is) DELTA SIERRA JULIET the aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger and it it is a large aircraft confirm

Valentich: er unknown due to the speed it’s travelling is there any airforce aircraft in the vicinity

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET no known aircraft in the vicinity

Valentich: MELBOURNE it’s approaching now from due east towards me

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

// open microphone for two seconds //

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET it seems to me that he’s playing some sort of game he’s flying over me three times at a time at speeds I could not identify

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger what is your actual level

Valentich: my level is four and a half thousand four five zero zero

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET and confirm you cannot identify the aircraft

Valentich: affirmative

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger standby

Valentich: MELBOURNE DELTA SIERRA JULIET it’s not an aircraft it is // open microphone for two seconds //

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE can you describe the er aircraft

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET as it’s flying past it’s a long shape // open microphone for three seconds // (cannot) identify more than (that it has such speed) // open microphone for 3 seconds // before me right now Melbourne

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger and how large would the er object be

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE it seems like it’s stationary what I’m doing right now is orbiting and the thing is just orbiting on top of me also it’s got a green light and sort of metallic (like) it’s all shiny (on) the outside

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET // open microphone for 5 seconds // it’s just vanished

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

Valentich: MELBOURNE would you know what kind of aircraft I’ve got is it (a type) military aircraft

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET confirm the er aircraft just vanished

Valentich: SAY AGAIN

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET is the aircraft still with you

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET (it’s ah nor) // open microphone for 2 seconds // (now) approaching from the southwest

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET the engine is is rough idling I’ve got it set at twenty three twenty four and the thing is (coughing)

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger what are your intentions

Valentich: my intentions are ah to go to King Island ah Melbourne that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again // two seconds open microphone // it is hovering and it’s not an aircraft

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET

Valentich: DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE // 17 seconds open microphone //

FSU: DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE

There is no record of any further transmissions from the aircraft.

Seventeen seconds of open mike followed. No voice was discernible; there was only a loud, metallic scraping sound. That was the last message anyone would ever hear from Fred Valentich.

Searches and Theories

When the Cessna, apparently about 70 kilometers north-northwest of King Island at the moment of the last transmission, failed to arrive at its intended destination at the scheduled time of arrival, 7:28, light aircraft commenced a visual and radio search but found nothing. Conditions at the time were clear, with a mild northwesterly breeze accompanied by unlimited visibility. The Cessna was equipped with a life jacket and a radio survival beacon. Nothing had been heard from the beacon.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Orion, a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft sent from Edinburgh, South Australia, conducted a tracking crawl following the course taken by Valentich’s Cessna and continued searching all day Sunday. The only thing found that day was an oil slick some 18 miles north of King Island. On Monday the search continued, and ships were dispatched to sample the slick to determine whether it consisted of oil or aviation fuel. (Laboratory analysis suggested it was “marine diesel” rather than aviation fuel.) Items first thought to be debris turned out to be packing cases and plastic bags floating in the sea.

There were other searches before the effort was called off on the 25th, but no trace of Valentich or his plane would ever be found. The incident attracted worldwide publicity and generated numerous rumors and speculations of which the most obvious—that he encountered a UFO which snatched up him and his plane—was only one of many. The controversy would continue for years even in the absence of further information which could have shed light on the incident.

On December 9, 1980, the Melbourne Herald interviewed the only “witness.” Radio operator Robey discounted theories that Valentich had been disoriented or, as some speculators intimated, faked his disappearance. He also recalled “this open microphone, with just this metal pinging sound, like someone rapidly pushing the press-to-talk button—It started for five to six seconds, then broke briefly and started up again.”

Later, American scientist/ufologist Richard F. Haines acquired a copy of the pilot’s conversation from Guido Valentich, Fred’s father. The elder Valentich had acquired his copy directly from the Department of Aviation, which supplied it for humanitarian reasons but in confidence. The original tape was erased and reused by Melbourne Flight Service. A spokesman for the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation claimed in a letter to one inquirer that no further copies of the tape existed.

In a paper published in Journal of UFO Studies in 1983, Dr. Haines pointed out that in the 17-second period of “metallic” noises, containing “36 separate bursts with fairly constant start and stop pulses bounding each one, there are no discernible patterns in time or frequency as to these bursts.” Haines concluded that the effect was similar to that produced by rapid keying of the microphone, but he added that control tests using the same technique were noticeably different from the original sound.

In May 1982 the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation, operating within the Australian Department of Aviation, released an official report on the incident. That report—an Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary Report—was made available “only to parties having a bona fide interest in the occurrence.” Its conclusions:

Location of occurrence: not known.

Time: not known.

Degree of injury: presumed fatal.

Opinion as to cause: The reason for the disappearance of the aircraft has not been determined.

Apart from an early attempt to suggest that Valentich may have been flying upside down, totally disoriented, with lighthouse lights producing his perception of an “unidentified aircraft,” the Department of Aviation would never officially address the question of what Valentich may have been observing prior to his disappearance.

When ufologist Bill Chalker pressed the issue, at first Assistant Secretary (Air Safety Investigation) G.V. Hughes purported not to understand what Chalker meant by the expression “stimulus for Valentich’s apparent UFO observation.” He then wrote:

[A] great deal of consideration has been given to what Mr. Valentich might have been looking at when he described his observations. A considerable number of suggestions have been put forward by persons inside and outside this Department. All have been examined. The Department is not aware of any other official body having undertaken such an investigation into this occurrence. . . .

As you correctly state . . . the RAAF is responsible for the investigation of reports concerning “UFO” sightings, and liaison was established with the RAAF on these aspects of the investigation. The decision as to whether or not the “UFO” report is to be investigated rests with the RAAF and not with this Department.

In 1982, over four separate visits comprising six days, Chalker was given access to the RAAF UFO files in Canberra. He examined what was represented as every UFO-related document the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence (DAFI) had in its possession. He found nothing on the Valentich case. The DAFI Intelligence Liaison Officer told him that the RAAF had not investigated the incident because the Department of Aviation had not asked it to do so. The RAAF professed to see it as an “air accident/air safety” matter, the officer said; he then expressed his private view that Valentich had crashed after he became disoriented.

In November 1982 Chalker secured official permission to examine the Department of Aviation UFO files but was specifically denied access to the Valentich files on the ground that they were Air Accident Investigation files and not UFO files. As Air Safety’s G.V. Hughes explained:

The file concerning this occurrence is no more or less restricted than any other accident investigation file.

As a signatory to the International Convention on Civil Aviation, we subscribe to the Standards and Recommended Practices contained in Annex 13 to the Convention, in respect of aircraft accident investigation, specifically, when it is considered that the disclosure of records, for purposes other than accident prevention, might have an adverse effect on the availability of information in that or any future investigation, such records are considered privileged.

(...)People could only speculate as to what really happened, until a witness came forward with a firsthand account. Around the time of Valentich’s disappearance, an eyewitness and his family were returning from an afternoon outing when they noticed unusual activity in the sky. The witness has asked that we do not reveal his identity: “I looked up and saw this long green light about 1,000 or 2,000 feet above the aircraft. So we sat there and watched it for a few seconds. And the green light crept closer to the plane. I said, ‘That plane is coming down pretty steep. It’s on a 45 degree angle.’ I said, ‘I think it’s going to crash.”

The eyewitness account suggested that perhaps Valentich had an encounter with a UFO. He never saw whether the plane crashed. The only certainty was that Valentich had vanished. Six weeks later, an amateur photographer came forward with even more startling evidence. On the evening of the flight, Roy Manifold had been setting up to photograph a sunset at Cape Otway, which was almost directly under Valentich’s flight path: “I’d done the normal thing, had the camera on automatic exposure, and I took six photographs of the sun disappearing into the sea.”

When developed, Manifold said one of the photographs displayed a peculiar blemish: “I observed this mark on the print that looked like a developing error or something. They mussed it up. I said, ‘Just a minute, that night I took that is exactly the night that this guy disappeared.”

A leading Australian photo lab found neither dirt nor damage on the negative, determining that the strange mark was actually in the picture. The negative was later sent to the United States for computer analysis by a team of UFO researchers. They claimed that the blot was actually a solid, metallic object. To them, it appeared to be enveloped in a cloud of exhaust situated about a mile from the camera. A second, analysis, however, stated that the mark could be a developing error. Either way, Roy Manifold believes the photograph does show something of consequence: “Unfortunately, I didn’t see it, and I didn’t hear anything that night, either. First time I’ve had something on my printings, and I’ve done thousands of photographs, and without any incidence of anything like that on them.”

Thirty years have passed since Fredrick Valentich flew off to his uncertain fate. However, the questions raised by his mysterious disappearance are just as disturbing today. What exactly did Valentich see in the minutes before radio contact was lost?

Perhaps the secret of Fredrick Valentich lies many fathoms beneath Bass Strait, or perhaps it lies far from our planet, light-years beyond our understanding.

Source:  https://unsolved.com/gallery/ufo-disappearance/

Round the storm we flew into calm air under a weak lazy sun. I took out the sextant and got two shoots. It took me thirty minutes to work them out, for the engine kept back firing, and my attention wandered every time it did...  

Suddenly, ahead and thirty degrees to the left, there were bright flashes in several places, like the dazzle of a heliograph. I saw a dull grey-white airship coming towards me. It seemed impossible, but I could have sworn that it was an airship, nosing towards me like an oblong pearl. Except for a cloud or two, there was nothing else in the sky. 

I looked around, sometimes catching a flash or a glint, and turning again to look at the airship I found it had disappeared. 

I screwed up my eyes, unable to believe them, and twisted the seaplane this way and that, thinking that the airship must be hidden by a blind spot. Dazzling flashes continued in four or five different places, but I could not pick out any planes. 

Then, out of some clouds to my right front, I saw another, or the same, airship advancing. I watched it intently, determined not to look away for a fraction of a second: I'd see what happened to this one, if I had to chase it. It drew steadily closer, until perhaps a mile away, when suddenly it vanished. Then it reappeared, close to where it had vanished: I watched with angry intentness. 

It drew closer, and I could see the dull gleam of light on its nose and back. It came on, but instead of increasing in size, it diminished as it approached. When quite near, it suddenly became its own ghost - one second I could see through it, and the next it had vanished. I decided that it could only be a diminutive cloud, perfectly shaped like an airship and then dissolving, but it was uncanny that it should exactly resume the same shape after it once vanished. 

I turned towards the flashes, but those too had vanished. All this was many years before anyone spoke of flying saucers. Whatever it was I saw, it seems to have been very much like what people have since claimed to be flying saucers.

It was a perfect shape, it was, ... shaped sort of more like a pearl ... with a tail. 

And I watched this thing and suddenly it disappeared. And I was ... I thought well am I seeing things? I had a very grueling flight. I had been waiting for ... I had engine trouble, and I had been waiting for hours expecting to go in to the sea you know. 

However suddenly this thing reappeared coming towards me. Well I'm not going to let it go this time! I kept my look fixed on it and it [was] approaching fairly fast, and suddenly, gradually rather, it began to thin out and it vanished in front of me, before my eyes. It became a sort of ghost. I could see the water, the waves of the sea, through it in one instance. Then it vanished.

Up to four lights were reportedly seen at one time during the high point of UFO activity (However, lights were seen in many different places, so it is difficult to determine exactly how many UFOs might have been present.) Here are the essentials of the story from the beginning: The first sightings occurred around 12: 30 A.M., December 21-22, 1978, as an Argosy cargo plane owned by Safe-Air Ltd. departed Blenheim en route (along the eastern coast of New Zealand’s South Island) to Christchurch. Captain John B. Randle reported “a number of white lights,” near the mouth of the Clarence River “similar to landing lights,” in the sky. Five objects were confirmed by the powerful Wellington Air Traffic Control (WATC) radar and were considered unexplained.

Around 3: 30 A.M., a second Safe-Air Argosy, flying approximately the same course as the first, also encountered UFOs. WATC received five strong returns, which Captain Vern L. A. Powell and his copilot, Ian B. Perry, were asked to identify. Wellington said there was a large return on the port side of the plane at nine o’clock at a distance of forty kilometers. The two pilots looked out and there it was. Somewhat later, Powell blurted out over the radio: “Something is coming towards us at a tremendous speed on our radar. It has traveled some twenty-four kilometers [fifteen miles] in five seconds. 

Now it has abruptly veered off [at an estimated speed of 10,800 miles per hour]. It was moving so fast it was leaving a tail behind it on the radar screen,” Powell said. Air traffic controller Eric McNae at Wellington reported that one object paced the Argosy freighter for twelve miles along the Kaikoura coast before disappearing off their screens. On December 26, after a flurry of news reports in the New Zealand papers, Australian television Channel 0 in Melbourne decided to do a feature story on Vern Powell’s experience. Reporter Quentin Fogarty, vacationing in New Zealand at the time, was contacted for the assignment. Fogarty soon arranged for a camera crew (which turned out to be David Crockett and his wife, Ngaire) to accompany him on a similar trip to reconstruct for the television audience what had happened on the same flight path ten days before. 

The plane, an Argosy four-engine turboprop freighter, as before, left Blenheim at 9: 30 P.M. on December 30th for an uneventful trip to Wellington, where it would be loaded with newspapers for the trip south to Christchurch. Upon arrival at Wellington, Fogarty interviewed the controllers at WATC. Then, at 11: 46 P.M., the Argosy, piloted by Captain William Startup and First Officer Robert Guard, departed Wellington, with Fogarty, the Crocketts, and a full load of newspapers on board. At ten minutes past midnight, as the plane had just passed Cape Campbell below (twenty-five miles south of Wellington over Cook Strait), Startup and Guard observed some unusual lights in the direction of a town called Kaikoura. Meanwhile, Fogarty and the Crocketts were in the loading bay working on a “stand-up” to use in their story on the previous UFO sightings. Fogarty had just recorded this statement: “We are now approaching the Clarence River where the highest

concentration of UFOs was sighted on the morning of December 21. We’re at an altitude of 14,000 feet and we’re on exactly the same route taken by Captain Powell when he encountered those mysterious objects. It’s a beautiful clear night outside and naturally we’ll be looking out for anything unusual.” Just then, pilot Bill Startup yelled: “Get up here quick!” “There were bright globules of light pulsating and expanding and lighting up the foreshore and town of Kaikoura,” Fogarty said. A radio call to WATC confirmed that Wellington also saw radar targets located in the direction of Kaikoura, about thirteen miles from the plane. The encounter had begun. 

Over the next fifty minutes or so, until the aircraft landed at Christchurch, those on board were treated to a spectacular, and at times frightening, UFO display. Some of the activity was also captured on film, but because of the objects’ apparent ability to appear and disappear at will, filming was very difficult. There were times when Wellington radar confirmed an unidentified target on the tail of the aircraft. Reporter Fogarty, who did a taped commentary throughout the flight, perhaps best summed up the feelings of everyone on board, when he said: “Let’s hope they’re friendly.” Just before the aircraft landed, Captain Startup invited the television crew back on the return leg. December 31, 2: 15 A.M.: The Argosy took off for Blenheim. It was only a couple of minutes out of Christchurch when a bright object was observed outside the starboard window. 

The object was also picked up on the aircraft radar. At first it was within the twenty-mile range. Later it came as close as ten miles. This time the object didn’t disappear or fade, and David had a lot more success with his filming. He described it as having a brightly lit base with a sort of transparent dome. Fogarty, who was continuing his taped commentary, said at the time that it sounded suspiciously like a “flying saucer.” About thirty-seven nautical miles out of Christchurch, with the object still outside the window, Captain Startup decided to turn toward it. He put the aircraft into a 90-degree turn. 

The object kept its relative distance from the plane until Startup decided to get back on course. As he turned, the object maintained its location at the right of the aircraft, then approached the aircraft and passed beneath the right-hand side and disappeared. During the turn, the captain saw another bright object appear, at first higher than the aircraft and in front. This object then passed to the left and beneath. From this point until landing at Blenheim, those on board occasionally saw bright, pulsating lights. Some “objects” were also picked up by ground radar. About 10: 05 P.M., Fogarty, with the film firmly clutched in his hand, took off from Christchurch for Melbourne. News of the morning’s incredible events was already making headlines around the world. 

He arrived back in Melbourne as the New Year was dawning. Then began the major task of getting the story together for distribution around the world. A week after the sightings, the film was on its way to the United States for scientific analysis. Channel 0 chose NICAP for the task.

The investigation was conducted on behalf of NICAP by Dr. Bruce Maccabee, a Navy physicist. He spent ten days in New Zealand and a week in Australia interviewing the witnesses and analyzing the film. He subsequently presented his findings to several groups of scientists in the U.S. Not one of the scientists was able to explain the radar-visual-photographic sightings in conventional terms. Mr. Jack Acuff, former director of NICAP, said that his organization had never previously endorsed a UFO film as being genuine but added that the evidence in this case pointed to some new phenomenon that was probably related to other UFO reports. Dr. Maccabee has been a member of NICAP for twelve years. 

He is also op the Scientific Board of the Center for UFO Studies, and in that capacity he presented the evidence to Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Hynek stated his opinion that the New Zealand evidence clearly suggests some phenom enon that cannot be explained in ordinary terms. He criticized those in responsible scientific positions who had publicly stated that the New Zealand film showed Venus, Jupiter, meteors, etc., without even bothering to talk to the witnesses or to find out at what times and in which directions the various portions of the film were shot.

Some of the other scientists joining Dr. Maccabee and Dr. Hynek in the opinion that the film shows something unusual are Dr. Peter Sturrock, a plasma physicist; Dr. Richard Haines, an optical physiologist; Dr. Gilbert Levin, a biophysicist; and Neil Davis, an electronics specialist. Other scientists, most notably several government and industry radar specialists, requested that their names not be used because of their sensitive positions. —RONALD D. STORY

An extremely rare case of a plane flight for the express purpose of filming a UFO occurred on December 30, 1978, in New Zealand. Captain Bill Startup piloted an Argogy freighter, with Bob Guard as co-pilot. An Australian television film crew from Channel 0-10 would be assigned the unusual task of attempting to capture a photographic image of a UFO.

For some time, there had been a spate of UFO sightings in the area, and an investigation was called for. As the Argosy soared over the Pacific Ocean, northeast of South Island, they had their first sighting of a UFO. One of the television film crew members Quentin Fogarty, stated that he saw a row of five bright lights which were pulsating and grew from the size of a pinpoint to that of a large balloon. The whole sequence was then repeated, the lights now appearing over the town of Kaikoura, between the aircraft and the ground.

Air Traffic control at Wellington radioed the plane that they had a return for an unknown object following the Argosy. Startup took a 360 degree turn, in an attempt to confront the UFO. Although crew members could not see the UFO at this point, Wellington again radioed the plane:

"Sierra Alpha Eagle, you have a target in formation with you... target has increased in size."

Finally, the crew made visual contact with the UFO. The plane's navigational lights prohibited film being taken of the object. Startup turned off the lights, and the crew members could see a large, bright light. Television crew members were able to film 30 seconds of the object with a hand-held camera.

Startup reversed the plane's direction, and now the UFO was not visible, although Wellington was still getting a radar echo of the object. Finally, the Argosy landed at Christchurch with the UFO still visible on radar.

The very next night, the Argosy again took to the skies, and very soon had two UFOs in sight. One of the television cameramen observed one of the UFOs through his camera, describing it as a spinning sphere, with lateral lines around it. Only one of the UFOs showed a return on the plane's radar. Near the end of the flight, two lights could be seen. Wellington ground control still had the objects on radar.

The film taken by the Australian film crew would be shown all over the world. The BBC network gave a lead report on the film on an evening news show. Naturally, the film was quickly debunked by skeptics. They gave many alternative explanations for the UFOs. However, the Royal New Zealand Air Force had planes on full alert to confront the UFOs if it became necessary.

After the BBC aired the film of the Argosy UFOs, the Daily Telegraph (U.K. newspaper - noted for businesslike and scientific observations) remarked: "The scientist who suggested that all (on the aircraft) were seeing Venus on a particularly bright night can be safely consigned to Bedlam (insane asylum)!

Subsequently, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RZNAF), the police and the Centre Observatory in Wellington conducted a joint investigation into the sightings of the Argosy. The results were stamped "top secret," and archived in the Wellington National Archives in Wellington. One investigator who participated in the investigation, called it a lesson in debunking.

 The New Zealand Press quoted him as saying:

"They discussed how to deal with the problem of (UFO) reports and they all agreed to cooperate and investigate... but not tell the public they were exchanging information. Secretly they were trying to figure it out. No one wanted to deal with the problem of UFO reporting. They didn't know what to do about them, partly through a lack of resources to adequately investigate them."

The sightings made by the Argosy have never been adequately explained. 

RNZAF Sunderland ‘Flying Boat’ Encounters UFO 

Date: July 1953

Time: Unknown

Location: Near Guam

Aircraft: RNZAF Sunderland Flying Boat

Witness/es: Confidential at the time; Official Secrets Act

(Excerpt - see source at bottom of article) 

‘In July, 1953, an RNZAF Sunderland Flying Boat had an encounter with an object that the crew knew was neither St Elmo's Fire nor a known aircraft. An officer who asked for his name to be kept confidential - “I am still covered by the Official Secrets Act, you know” - explained the incident of this way. 

“We were flying at about 12,000 feet near Guam when this object formatted on us about 100 yards away. It didn't look like a flying saucer. It was more like a jet fighter except that it had no wings, no openings and no markings.” 

“I saw it for about 10 to 12 seconds until it put its nose up and moved off about 4000 mph. It was out of sight in a few seconds.” 

He said the object was about 15 metres long and about 4 metres in diameter. When it first appeared he thought it might be an American fighter, “coming up to have a look at us,” which often happened when they flew near US bases. However, his second look, which revealed that the craft had no wings, caused a rapid double-think. 

“There was no sign of windows or markings; no flashing lights; no nothing”, he said. “It was gun-metal coloured but not polished. The sun rose shortly after the object went into its climb and vanished.” 

Source: Excerpt from ‘Strangers In Our Skies - UFOs Over New Zealand’, by Mervyn Dykes, Chap. 9, p169

Planet Venus azimuth & altitude 31 October 1955, 8:10 p.m.: 

G.H.A. 290.55. L.H.A. 175.05 E. 

Latitude 38° S Longitude 175 E. 

Declination S18.26 

Azimuth 246° T Altitude -0.39 at sea level 

Mr I. L. Thompson, Director of Carter Observatory, Wellington, calculated that Venus’s setting time as for aircraft flying at 8000 feet with 8.19 p.m. on the 31st October 1955 (presumably allowing for 6° refraction effect). 

Copy of Capt. Rainbow’s official report to the Director of Air Intelligence, Wellington:

Squadron Leader Golding 

Director of Intelligence 

Wellington, 

Dear Sir, 

On the night of the first of November 1955, I was Captain of Flight 108 proceeding from Wellington to Auckland. We departed from Paraparaumu in excellent weather, and conditions remained so until we ran into a warm front, which was lying across our track at Raglan Reporting Point and extended up to the west where it lay on a NE to SW direction. 

After sunset, visibility was excellent, due to a full moon and little cloud over the air route. At 2006 hours as I was looking towards the south west direction, a very brilliant light caught the corner of my eye. This light was positioned above 8/8ths cloud, the tops of which appeared to be about 6000 feet and also below scattered middle cloud. 

My first impression was that it was a meteor, or a planet setting in the southern declination, but after closer investigation I could see that it was moving by about 2000 feet above the cloud tops, and it was changing its light intensity from a bright hard light to a brilliant light in a cycle of approximately 3 seconds, and changing colour from white-yellow-orange to red. 

It appeared to be to the west of Waitara and at the same altitude to us. I then asked the co-pilot, First Officer S. Trounce, to have a look towards our tail and to tell me what he thought the light could be. At first his impressions were the same as mine, but he could not understand the change of brilliance and the light, its colour, or the fact that it was overtaking us at the same altitude. He also suggested that I opened the window to eliminate any refraction error, but it made no difference to the object. 

I then asked him to go to the cabin and ask a Mr Tuckett, who is a Civil Aviation Officer and an experienced pilot, to watch the light and to ask if he thought it was a planet. During the co-pilot’s absence, I called Wellington Air Traffic Control and asked if there were any known aircraft to the west of New Plymouth, and their answer was negative. I next called them and told them there was a bright light to the west of New Plymouth, and to ask Flight 135 if he could see it; the last part of my message was jammed by Wellington Control who were at that same time just doing fact. I next called up and said that this bright light was changing colour, and passing to the west of us at a distance, of, if I remember rightly, of 10 - 15 miles, and at the same time giving that the incorrect call sign Flight 135. 

F/O Trounce then returned to the cockpit, when at this time the object was just west of our wingtip and still at the same altitude as ourselves. Our auto-a pilot was engaged on the same course of 330° compass, as it had been for the last 10 minutes since Ohura checkpoint, and this I checked to ensure that I was not turning towards the west and so explain the object’s changed position in relation to our course. I could also see the object flying in and out of a few tops, as the cloud was now building up as we approached the front. After a further close look and discussion with the co-pilot, I then told him to go back to the cabin and awaken Air Commodore Cohen, and to get him to have a look at this object, and so confirm what we were seeing. As the co-pilot was in the cabin, we entered the front, and knowing that there were no aircraft on the air-route, I climbed up to the 9000 feet whereupon the object was easily picked up below us and ahead. After several more minutes of observation, I obtained our clearance to come down to 4000 feet in preparation for landing at Auckland, and so lost contact upon entering cloud again. 

During the descent, the co-pilot returned to the cockpit and informed me that the Air Commodore stated that it was a planet and took no further interest and went back to sleep. Then I went back to the cabin and spoke to Mr Tuckett and asked if he thought it was a planet, and to this he said no, and that he had not seen anything like that before. He also noticed the object overtaking us and changing its position in relation to us. A Mr Hume and the seat ahead of him, also confirmed all that Mr Tuckett, Trounce, and myself had seen. I then approached the Air Commodore and asked his opinion, to which he remarked that it was a planet low down on the horizon, but he made no further comment when I said that it had definitely passed us at 8000 feet. 

Upon arrival at Whenuapai, I notified at the officer on duty at Whenuapai, and as far as I was concerned there the matter rested. 

Points of Interest Concerning the Object: 

It was a small bright light then and increasing to brilliant in a cycle of three seconds, but its change of intensity did not appear to be constant during the whole observation.

• It changed colour from white - yellow - orange (gold) to red.

• It did not appear to have any tail or trail behind it.

• It did not appear as a soft reflected light.

• It traveled from west of Waitara to a position approx. west of Waikato River -mouth during the same time as we traveled from approx. 3 miles south of Albatross Point to just north of Raglan reporting point.

• It maintained a steady altitude and overtaking speed.

• The light appeared to be revolving such as a beacon on the top of Whenuapai Control Tower, at a distance of 10 miles.

If it was there during the previous 30 - 45 minutes, we would have seen it ahead of us approaching Ohura due to excellent visibility in that area, in other words, it just appeared in our view from the south. 

A planet does not overtake at a steady altitude from SSW and disappear to the NNW …. 

At 2006 hrs we called Wellington concerning this light, and the planet Venus was below the horizon at 2010 hrs, therefore, for the previous hour and its 15 degree travel, the planet was below and behind the cold front lying out to the west, and it would account for us not seeing the planet during the night. This would also apply to Flight 135, southbound. We still had this object in sight after the time that the planet Venus was below the horizon. A similar object was seen in the area two hours later by two men. 

This object was in view for approximately 5 - 10 minutes, and was seen clearly by 3 pilots and one civilian, and was seen briefly by Air Commodore Cohen. 

A planet’s light could change its intensity due to the proximity of cloud, but this object was well clear of any cloud at first and still it did not appear as a steady light. 

Signed, 

Captain W. T. Rainbow 

****************************

Excerpts from (the late) Harold Fulton’s Editorial from ‘Civilian Saucer Investigation (N.Z.)’, written in response to the findings of the Air Force’s official investigation into Capt. Rainbow’s and crew’s sighting.

Civilian Saucer Investigation (NZ) 

Official Quarterly Journal 

Christmas Issue 2/6, Vol. 3 - No. 3 1955 

Edited by (the late) Harold H. Fulton 

Who are you kidding Mr. Quarles? 

Colourful ‘flying light’ causes stir. New Zealand's first official enquiry. 

‘Towards the end of September, and increasingly with the progress of October, we noticed from press cuttings and correspondence that ‘unidentified flying objects’ were once again showing promise of giving more than average attention to Australasian territories. This followed the greater activity being experienced in Great Britain and the USA. The NZ reports were only mentioned by the press local to the event, so the public were completely unaware of this new appearance. 

On the 20th of October, however, ‘flying saucers’ hit the headlines throughout the world's press. Donald E. Quarles, Secretary of Air, US Airforce, made a dramatic announcement. 

“There are no flying saucers. The air force is winding up its 8-year investigation - BUT shortly you'll start seeing the real flying saucers. We are making them,” stated Mr Quarles. 

Never in the history of our subject have I read such a disgustingly deceptive official statement. Press Association wires were good enough to carry a mild version of my reactions. I pointed out that this was the third time since 1947 that the US Airforce had officially wound up its ‘saucer probing’. They had in this time, changed the code name for saucer investigating teams five times. (Projects Saucer, Twinkle, Sign, Grudge, and lastly, Blue Book). 

Civilian investigators will wholeheartedly agree with Mr Quarles’ assertion that shortly, “Revolutionary saucer-like American aircraft will take the sky and give the illusion of saucers.” But, Mr Quarles, we predicted three years ago that future ‘explain away experts’ would pounce on this very tangible explanation of UFO sightings as soon as such terrestrial unorthodox aircraft showed promise of taking the air. We know too, that the numerous UFO sightings expected to follow the close approach of Earth to Mars next September, may well be further explained as balloons, rockets, artificial satellites, experiments and tests etc, let loose by many scientists practicing for the International Geophysical Year July 1957 - December 1958. 

No sooner had the diminishing the ranks of sceptics cupped their hands in thanks-giving following Secretary Quarles’ statement, than an extremely local UFO incident captured prominent press mention throughout New Zealand, and rocked them back on their heels. Sure, it was only a ‘flying light’, but any ‘light’, capable of behaving and the manner of this one must have been attached to some ‘thing’ more agile and local than a planet winking on the horizon. 

The National Airways Corp. crew report was quickly followed by the first (publicly announced) official enquiry in New Zealand. Mr Shand, Minister in charge of Civil Aviation, on learning the details of the report state, “I have called for a full immediate report. This is the first circumstantial and apparently reliable report on such an object we have yet had, and I am especially interested because of the character of the witnesses, whose reputations cannot be questioned.” 

Mr Halstead, the Acting Minister of Defence, called on the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall W. H. Merton, for the fullest cooperation and the inquiry. 

Immediately following the press report of the N.A.C.'s crew’s observation, I contacted Capt. Rainbow, and a little while later Mr Tuckett, and First Officer Trounce, by phone. The three pilots confirmed the press reports of their experience, cleared up some slight inaccuracies, and gave me added details of the incident. I have subsequently interviewed Capt. Rainbow a number of times privately, and once on stage at our November public meeting. 

I regret to report that the official investigation of this incident has apparently climaxed just the way we expected, and even predicted on stage at our public meeting. The N.A.C. crew were called to Wellington (NZ capital and seat of Government) and interviewed by the Director of Air Force Intelligence. At the close of a day-long study of the incident, and a thorough checking of the planet Venus’s position in the western sky, and its setting time, the playing back of the tape recorded radio conversations between Air Control and the crew during the observation, and eliminating the possibility of other aircraft being in the area, Intelligence Officers could not identify the source or find a natural phenomena explanation of the ‘flying light’. 

The press obtained and published a statement to this effect on the 5th November, inclusive of the statement that Air Dept. investigators completely ruled out Venus as a source or cause of the report. They had, reported the press, made allowance for the planet’s later setting time as for an aircraft flying at 8000 ft. Following this stage in the probe, Mr Halstead stated that he was now calling in the Meteorological Dept. in order to find a simple solution for the N.A.C. crew's report. 

Close on this announcement, the press reported on November 8 that “on new reckonings and fixings being of the planet Venus's position and setting time provided to the investigators by Mr I. L. Thompson, Director of Carter Observatory, Wellington, Mr Halstead stated that the Air Force investigators now agreed that the planet Venus could have been the cause of the ‘flying light’ observation, however, the speed and movement of the light reported by Captain Rainbow remained unexplained. Mr Halstead, Deputy Minister of Defence, concluded by stating that “all other press releases made during the investigation were not from official sources.” 

As Editor of this Journal and Dominion President of the organization this Journal represents, I consider, as I am sure the majority of our 380 financial associates will, that the last part of Mr Halstead's statement constitutes a rather nasty rebuke to the Air Force Intelligence people, who were responsible for the investigation and released to the press the day-to-day progress, and objective search for the truthful answer to the mystery. 

Up until the time Mr Halstead made this last statement, the investigation had been showing real promise. There has been no further press mention of the affair. To CSI (Civilian Saucer Investigation) this was a stage when the official probe ‘blew cold’ as expected. 

What happened at this juncture to cause the Minister to step in and white-wash the incident away and insist that earlier official statements made by equally responsible people were now to be considered unofficial? Did a US Air Force Pentagonian Officer of the distinguished ‘silence group’ flash out to NZ via a super-jet (could explain the sudden appearance of high contrails or vapour trails sighted in many places), and whisper in the Minister's ear, or did our official investigators (top directive) get cold feet and fear to make a finding contrary to the mighty US Air Force? Remember the 26th October US Air Force statement by Mr Quarles? It was bound to have a far greater intimidating effect on other official investigators of the UFO problem than on the now well-seasoned and hardened members of the civilian research. 

When the official investigation that was first ordered by Mr Shand, Minister of Civil Aviation, I, on behalf of CSI, telegraphed our glad tidings and offered our assistance. True, our assistance was not called for, nor did we expect to be summoned to give voice at the enquiry. By virtue of my long and serious study of numerous, thoroughly authenticated UFO observations, plus the assimilation of a wealth of extremely helpful investigatory data published by other serious fact-finding civilian researchers, I feel I can speak with real authority on these matters. Civilian researchers around the globe, whose by-word has been integrity and honesty, have made a unanimous finding. We have established via accepted scientific standards that ‘saucers’ do most positively exist, and the only answer that fits all the fact is to accept that they are of extra terrestrial origin.’ 

‘In conclusion of this Editorial, I would like to add our appreciation of the ‘flying light’ incident. Firstly, having accepted the integrity and reliability of Captain Rainbow's observation, so nobly endorsed by Mr Shand, Minister of Aviation, we make the following observation. 

We are positive that the planet Venus played no part in the incident, nor any other natural phenomena of our experience. We point out that the incident has numerous other equals and the annals of the Air Force and Civil Aviation dossiers around the world. Many of these cases have occurred in broad daylight. Strange craft, clearly outlined against the blue sky, have paced or raced past our aircraft at extremely close proximity. Even in daylight, the eerie radiance or surrounding glow has been visible to the observers. Many have reported the changing colour pattern and regular pulsation of light intensity which accompanies these objects in flight. 

We have not room on this issue to list the many other ground observations received from NZ press and private sources since the beginning of October, but we must mention that at least six other sightings, some witnessed the same evening as the NAC report, and others a little later, bear remarkable resemblance is to Capt. Rainbow's observation. 

We are extremely grateful to Capt. Rainbow and the other officer’s cooperation and assistance given us in our study of their 31st October 1955 experience. We share their disgust at the official white-washing of the incident and hope they will pass on to us the details of any other observations which they may have in the future. At lease one of these officers has avowed to us that he will not be reporting any future occurence, which may befall him, to Government sources. 

When highly skilled and experienced observances are forced to adopt this attitude to protect themselves against the belittlement and ridicule (has also many equals) the unpleasant smell of an unequalled high-level conspiracy radiates freely in all directions; even a dodo could detect it.’ 

Source: Harold Fulton’s Editorial, Civilian Saucer Investigation (NZ) magazine. 

“In January 1974 I was an instructor of recruits in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Early in that month I was on duty at night and was in charge of what was then the Airman Cadet School (now known as the General Service Training School). Two new flights of recruits had arrived earlier that day and, as with a large number of young people away from home for the first time, excitement was high and sleep was hard to come by for those young people. As a result, a lot of my time that night was spent patrolling the various barrack blocks and dormitories getting these young people into bed and making them stay there. This was akin to one of the seven labours of Hercules. 

After about 5 or 6 attempts to maintain some sort of order I decided to get the whole lot of them outside and give them a chance to burn off their excess energy by having them running around the weapon training area. This was simply a patch of grass about 100 metres by 200 metres adjacent to the barrack block the recruits were domiciled in. I had the whole 60 or so running around the outer perimeter on the weapons training area. 

It was a fine, warm night with a stiffish sort of breeze which made it a pleasant night for a gentle jog. After about 10 minutes or so, one recruit approached me and asked me what it was that was flying along the top of the hills immediately to our north. This is a range of hills called the Richmond Range, and varies in height from about 1,500 feet to 4,500 feet. The distance from RNZAF Woodbourne to the UFO was about 6 to 7 kilometres, but even at that range it was pretty big. There was no sound, and the object was travelling on a south-westerly direction at, I guess, around 200-250 miles per hour. 

The best way I can describe the object is that it reminded me of an old fashioned bar-bell, of the type that circus strongmen used in days gone by. There were 2 large globes glowing with the same sort of light one sees from a fluorescent light and they seemed to be joined together by a gold glowing bar. The light seemed to come from within and one globe seemed to be smaller that the other, although this could have been due to the angle it was viewed from. 

The weather conditions at the time were as follows: low broken cloud with a large area of clear sky, with a light to strong north-westerly breeze. Visibility was excellent. The object was in view for about 3 minutes, and when it passed behind a cloud, the light from the object could be seen showing through. 

I feel I must mention that I spent a good deal of my life working in and around aircraft having served for 5 years in the RAF as an airframe mechanic. I worked on all kinds of aircraft including Spitfires, Hurricanes and Ansons, and this craft went against all the rules of aerodynamics that I was privy to. It had no lifting surfaces, like mainplanes, that I could see. No rudder or fin, no navigation lights and no flashing strobe light. Friends have suggested that it might have been a ‘lost’ weather balloon, but this is complete nonsense. Weather balloons do not glow and they do not fly against the wind. This thing was also huge. There was a moon and the night was quite bright. The time of the sighting was around 23.30 and although I enjoy a drink, I was not allowed to drink whilst on duty and I was stone cold sober. 

As I have stated I have spent a lot of time working in and around aircraft and I can find no logical explanation as to what the object was that I, and 60 or so cadets saw. I know full well that the RNZAF had nothing even close to the size of the beast that I saw. At that time the biggest aircraft that the RNZAF possessed was the C130 Hercules, and the big ‘Jumbos’ of Air New Zealand never came down here as the runway at Woodbourne is too short. In any event a ‘Jumbo’ would not have been flying that low at night without having a lot of hysterical passengers on board, and without someone hearing about it. 

I saw this thing at a distance of some 7 kilometres which is slightly less than four and a half miles, and with the weather conditions prevailing at that time, I am cast iron certain as to what I saw.” 

And an excerpt from a further letter written by Officer Chatfield, providing an interesting piece of information: 

“A brief thought concerning my last letter was that about 3 or 4 months later, when I was discussing the sighting with a colleague, I went and got the ‘Incident Book’ that all duty NCOs have to fill in on completion of their tour of duty. I was surprised to discover that the page on which I had recorded the sighting had been removed. I asked about this but no one could throw any light on the matter at all. The page had not been ripped out or torn, but quite neatly cut. What happened to that page, I simply do not know. It was shortly after this, that I discovered that the Civil Aviation Authority has a printed form issued to all Air Traffic Control Centres throughout New Zealand, specifically for UFO sightings. Food for thought don’t you think?” 

Source: Report courtesy of Philip Mantle, UK.

Piper Cherokee Pilot observes UAP in Close Proximity to F27 Fokker Friendship

Date:  July 1 1977

Time:  2.10 pm

Location/position:  near Temuka, South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand

Aircraft:  PA 28 (Piper Cherokee), F27 Fokker Friendship.

Witness:  Private pilot M. Aronsen

Witness details:

Mr. Aronsen had been a pilot for 13 years and was a former traffic officer.

Duration of sighting:

Approximately 15 seconds.

Astronomical/weather data:

Weather conditions at the time were 1/8 to 1/4 cloud cover at approximately 20,000 feet.

Aircraft location:

The pilot was on a short flight in the vicinity of Temuka when he observed a UAP.  He was aware of an F27 (Fokker Friendship) transport aircraft in the area inbound to Christchurch Airport.

Incident description:

Artists Impression

The pilot was at an altitude of approximately 7,500 feet AMSL.  He was aware of an F27 (Fokker Friendship) transport aircraft inbound to Christchurch Airport, and had heard the local air traffic service advise the F27, that a Cessna 180 was northbound in the area.  He could see the F27 on long finals about 5 miles northwest of Temuka, at an estimated altitude of 2,000 feet, about 1 mile west of his position.

His attention was captured by what he at first thought to be the C180 in close proximity to the F27.  However, upon closer observation he realized the F27 was being followed by a UAP that was positioned to the starboard rear and slightly above the F27 at a distance of approximately 400 metres.  It was maintaining position.

From the pilot’s angle of observation, the UAP was approximately 30 degrees below from 7,500 feet AMSL.  He estimated the object was at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,000 feet.

The pilot watched the UAP for about three seconds, and then told his passenger to, “Have a look at that thing.”  However the passenger was unable to visually locate even the F27.  The fact the passenger in PA 28 was unable to spot the UAP did not concern the pilot, as the passenger was a ‘non-flying type’ and the visual location of an aircraft in flight is a matter of practice.

UAP description:

Pilot Aronsen stated he observed a black cigar-shaped object about 10 to 15 metres in length.  It was enveloped in a ‘heat haze’ (shimmering air).  The pilot’s drawing shows an object slightly more oval than cigar-shaped, bisected by a horizontal flange or ring.

Speed:

Aronsen estimated the UAP was travelling at approximately 110 kmh (then later to an unknown speed).

Action taken:

Upon realizing the UAP was not a conventional aircraft the pilot turned his PA 28 towards the object and commenced a dive to intercept it. He reached maximum airframe speed in doing so.

At this point the UAP stopped dead and hovered for approximately 2 seconds, before reversing its course when the pilot began his dive to investigate.  It then accelerated sharply away on a heading of approximately 290° magnetic.  The rate of climb and acceleration was far in excess of anything the pilot had seen before, and the object was lost to sight in about five seconds.

General comments:

The crew of the F27 would not have been aware of the presence of the UAP.

The pilot stated that in his 13 years of part-time flying he had never seen anything to compare with it.  At the time, he was startled to see a transport aircraft being followed by a UAP, but he elected to remain silent at the time due to “lack of evidence.”

This report is interesting considering that the following year on December 31 1978/January 1 1979, a UAP appeared to approach close enough to an Argosy aircraft that their ‘blips’ merged on Wellington International Airport ATC radar screens.  It is also interesting to note the comparison that when the Argosy was approaching Christchurch airport, a UAP followed it in and overshot the runway. (These incidents were part of the ‘Kaikoura lights’ events).

Summary:

The pilot’s diagram of the incident shows the UAP stopped before reversing its course and leaving at an extreme unknown speed.  This would not be the flight characteristic of a conventional aircraft.

The UAP observed by pilot Aronsen was within normal flight altitudes near an international airport, had mass, and was clearly visible to the PA 28 pilot.  The movement, position and location of the UAP posed a potential hazard to the F27, as well as other aircraft in the area of Christchurch International Airport.

Source:  Fred & Phyllis Dickeson’s ‘Xenolog’ Magazine, Summer Edition 1978

Air New Zealand DC 10-30 Near-Collision with Cylindrical Object

Captain Richardson is a retired NZ airline pilot who flew DC 10-30 and Boeing 747-200. He has an Airline Transport Pilot License and Recreational Pilot License, with a total of approx. 18,000 flying hours. Capt. Richardson was involved with commercial aviation from 1961 to 1991, and was also a NZ Air Traffic Controller from 1961 to 1965. He was co-pilot at the time of this event which occurred in September 1978, at 0130 local time.

The DC 10-30 aircraft was at cruise flight level of 33,000 feet, on a northerly heading just north of Samoa on the NZAA-PHNL track (Auckland to Honolulu). The air conditions were stable with flat stratus cloud, some stars were visible, but no moon. Capt. Richardson described the night as “pitch black, very dark”, but recalls they may have had the small aircraft nose light on. 

On this evening Captain Richardson stated the aircraft was “skipping along over the strata-form”. He was looking directly ahead out the cockpit window when he noticed a very bright white light rapidly approaching above the clouds and stated, “Traffic on our left,” to the Captain. The light was moving west to east from 270 to 090 degrees magnetic and crossed the DC10’s track from left to right. The aircraft was on a northerly heading of roughly 010M, and the UAP was tracking east at the same level. The UAP crossed their path at close proximity directly in front of them – around 150 feet apart. For a few seconds, the pilots believed they were going to collide with it.

https://ufocusnz.org.nz/aviation-sightings/

1965 - Pilots sight ‘V-shaped’ UFO formation 

1977 - Civilian Pilot Encounters Black Cigar-shaped UFO 

1978 / 79 - Argosy pilots sight the now famous 'Kaikoura lights' UFOs 

New Zealand Military UFO / UAP Sightings:

1953 - RNZAF Sunderland ‘flying boat’ encounters UFO 

1954 - RAF members and Shackleton crew report unexplained green UFO 

1955 - RNZAF Navigator sights speeding blue UFO 

1956 - Unidentified UFO echoes mystify Air Force Base radar operators 

1963 - RNZAF Pilot sights brilliant white flashing UFO  

1974 - RNZAF Officer sights glowing 'bar-bell' UFO 

1978 - Flight Service Officer sights 'Kaikoura lights' UFOs near Woodbourne Airbase