Also in this series: The Dragon's Treasure
October 21, 1978. A clear Spring night perfect for flying and a small Cessna plane takes off from Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne bound for King Island, a trip that should take just over an hour to complete. At the controls is a young pilot Frederick Valentich whose intention is to land at King Island, pick up some crayfish and return home to his parents.
With a full fuel tanks giving him five hours flying time and a range of 800 kilometres, Fred checks in with Melbourne Flight Service, and hugging the Victorian coastline, advises them when is over Cape Otway before heading over Bass Strait to the island. But six minutes out from Cape Otway, Fred contacts them again asking for information about any other aircraft in the area because there is something mysterious flying below him. What follows is a six-minute conversation in which he remains calm but confused about this other craft, which ends in a series of strange sounds followed by silence but which begins one of Australia's most baffling aviation mysteries. For no trace of Fred or his aircraft has ever been found...
Another in the History Hunter series, this is an intriguing story made all the moreso because not only is it true, but it is also recent and there will be many parents who remember the publicity surrounding the disappearance. Complete with the transcript of the conversation between Steve Robey of Melbourne Air Traffic Control Flight Service, the story details the flight of the Cessna and the subsequent search for it, including the many theories and sightings of what were then known as UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) and what are now labelled UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena). What was the strangely lit, cigar-shaped craft that seemed to be travelling faster than any known aircraft at the time, and able to come at him from every direction, turning almost at whim?
As with The Dragon's Treasure, this is a compelling read that raises more questions than it answers -because the mystery has never been solved - and while it is written for a younger readership, it is one that is going to appeal to anyone with an interest in real-life mysteries, aviation and UAPs. As well as the more-to-explore pages, a simple online search offers lots of avenues to find out more and rabbit-holes to wander down. Teaching notes can guide these explorations but the one question that remains unanswered, apart from what happened to Fred that night, is are we alone in the universe?
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
