OPENED CLOSED Folio No. Referred10

I e[If-q,/( 7 CLEARED OFTRANSPORT fjd',G I FILENUMBER CLEAREC , PART /-/RelatedFiles ShownInside CLEARED DaleFolio No . Referred10DaleFNI'OI .Referred10Dalel--- --I 0 . Ini lialsInitialsIniti a ls ----I-- l--- -- - l---i. -. - 1-- ---l------l - --n JJ r() I :n < z 0 r () --i 0 Z NUMBER PartNo. ,...-' Relak'll TITLE FILEDIVISIONNOTICE Thelargenumberofpapersprocessedinrelaliontothe subjectofthisfilehasnecessitatedadivisionofthe originalfileatthispOint. Earlierpapersareheldonthefollowingparts. DateOpenedFolios N (5-IE.Iy'/I-f t3 L(J-e- I4H bWH . a.H.M.S. COMMONWEALTHOFAUSTRALIA If not del_ within 7 doya.mum ID DEPARTMENTOF TRANSPORT -----_._---------_._----A.S:. a. {),toF r fXf,It off(Ir"2-_ (Lt-"*( o.tD"I v. fLo.~ r k - ; : '(J..>Lu&-ItoP/'OVu: ~,11-('5"4eJL!""/1) --,{)-JetA;(tt/;j'64.- :- c\~.. --I .,. .. , .. -' V116/ 783/ 1047 '",.111' .. ,_.1 "'11'.po"I,.... ,., /1.4It,.th.Sec,.'.'"u.. 4 ....... p,."I,I ...... fAi,", 1,."0"R.,,,I.,io....21](1) 1.LOCA TlOIIOFOCI;UJlRENCIE I Ho"h,. 0.'0Tl_ (lou!! 'Z_. Notlmown21.10.78NotknownEST 2.THEAIRCRAFT ... keOM..... 1R"".tl_ I February1968 Cessna182LVH-DSJ (.'kat.01a.g"trohOft".1Iedto 0,.,.,.,D."f _ '0alrc,.h CephusDay,SASSouthernAir Services,Notknown 33ReserveRoad,NorthernAvenue, DIM'"."0,1,.4.""., -Beaumauris .VictoriaMoorabbinAirport,Victoria O.facil.... 10 ,.4 -3.THEFLIGHT La,'.,nl ...cI ... 4.,."",. ,oin'Ti _.1d.,.""".N ,,., .. ,of;.. , ....... t.".Ii",P"" f1I.,htCI ....1 .,. " .... Moorabbin1819 hoursKingIs1andTravelPrivate 4.THECREW H._ St.,u..,. CI 1 lIeo"caH.",. 0"I,.,.T.,.I ho ...... D."1 '"''''', Frederick VALENTI CHPilot20Private Not150 PresumedFatal known( Approx.) 5.OTHEP.PER5OH5(Alt,............IMI",n. IlIlureei0..around) H._ S,., .... D."...1 'nl .... , H._ St., .... 0 ......fIftl ..... '. 6.RELEVAHTEVENTS -Thepilot obtainedaClassFour instrument rating on 11May1978andhe wastherefore authorised to operate at nightin visual meteorological conditions(VMC).Onthe afternoonof21October 1978 he attended theMoorabbinBriefingOffice,obtained ameteorological briefing and,at 1723hours,submitted aflightplan foranight VMCflightfromMoorabbintoKingI sland andreturn.Thecruising altitude nominated inthe flight plan wasbelow5000 feet,withestimated time intervalsof41minutesto CapeOtway and28minutesfrom Cape Otwayto KingIsland.Thetotal fuelendurance wasshownas 300minutes.Thepilotmadenoarrange-mentsfor aerodromelightingto be illuminated for hisarrival at KingIsland.He advised thebriefing officer andthe operator'srepresentative that he wasuplifting friendsat KingIsland andtook fourlife jackets in the aircraft withhim. Theaircraft wasrefuelled tocapacity at 1810 hours anddepartedMoor:ibbinat 1819 hours.MOOr departure thepilot established two-wayradio communications withMelbourneFlight ServiceUnit(FSU). ThepilotreportedCapeOtwayat 1900hoursand thenext transmission received fromtheaircraft was at 1906:14hours.Thefollowingcommunications bet weentheai rcraf t andMel bourneFSUwererecorded fromthis time:(Note:Theword/ wordsinbracketsare open toother interpretations.) TIMEFROMTEXT 1906:14 VH-DSJMELBOURNEthisis DELTA SIERRA JULIETisthere anylmown trafficbelow fivethousand :23FSUDELTA SIERRA JULIET no lmowntraffic , :26VH-DSJDELTA llIERRA .;ruLIETIam seems(to)be alarge aircraft below fivethousand ~ .--- , 6.RELEVANTEVENTS(cont'd) TIMEFROM :46FSU :50VH-DSJ 1907 :04FSU :32VH- DSJ :43FSU :47VH-DSJ :57FSU 1908:18VH-DSJ :28FSU :42 :49VH-DSJ 1909:02FSU :06VH-DSJ :11FSU :14VH-DSJ :18FSU :28VH-DSJ :46FSU 1909:52VH-DSJ 1910:07FSU :20VH-DSJ :43FSU TEXT DDDELTA SIERRA JULIET whattypeof aircraft is it DELTA SIERRA JULIETIcannot affirmit is fourbright itseemstomelike landinglights DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNEthis(is)DELTA SIERRA JULIETtheaircraft hasjustpassed over over me at least athousandfeetabove DELTASIERRA JULIETrogerandit it isalarge aircraft confirm er unknownduetothespeedit ' stravelliog is there any airforce aircraft inthe vicinity DELTA SIERRA JULIET noknown aircraft inthevicinity MELBOURNEit's approachingnowfromdueeast towardsme DELTA SIERRA JULIET II openmicrophonefortwosecondsII DELTA SIERRA JULIET it seemstome that he'splayingsome sort of gamehe's flyingover me two three timesat atime at speedsIcouldnotidentify DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger whatisyouractuallevel mylevelis four andahalf thousandfour fivezerozero DELTA SIERRA JULIET andconfirm youcannot identifytheaircraft affirmative DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger standby MELBOURNEDELTA SIERRA JULIET it's notanaircraftit is II openmicrophone fortwosecondsII DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNEcan youde scribetheer aircraft DELTA SIERRA JULIET asit's flyingpastit's alongshapeII open microphone forthreesecondsII (cannot)identifymore than(that it hassuchspeed)II open microphonefor3secondsII beforemeright nowMelbourne DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger andhowlarge wouldtheer object be DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNEit seems likeit's stationary whatI'm doingrightnowis orbiting and thethingis just orbiting ontopofme also it's got agreenlight andsort of metallic(like)it's allshiny(on)theoutside DELTA SIERRA JULIET --- - ... 6.RELEVANTEVENTS(cont'd) TIME :48 :57 1911:03 :08 :14 :17 :23 :37 :52 1912:04 :09 :22 :28 :49 FROM VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU TEXT DELTA SIERRAJULIET/ /openmicrophonefor5seconds/ /it'sjust vanished DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE wouldyouknowwhat kindof aircraft I've gotisit(atype)military aircraft DELTA SIERRAJULIET confirmtheer aircraft just vanished SAYAGAIN DELTA SIERRA JULIETistheaircraft stillwithyou DELTA SIERRAJULIET(it'sahnor)/ /open microphone2seconds/ /(now) approachingfromthesouthwest DELTA SIERRA JULIET DELTA SIERRA JULIETtheengineisisroughidlingI've gotit set at twentythree twentyfourandthethingis(coughing) DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger whatare your intentions myintentions are ahto gotoKingIsland ahMelbournethatstrange aircraft is hoveringontopof me again/ /twosecondsopenmicrophone/ /it ishoveringand it ISnotanaircraf t DELTA SIERRAJULIET DELTA SIERRAJULIETMELBOURNE/ /17secondsopenmicrophone/ / DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNE Thereisnorecordof anyfurthertransmissionsfromtheaircraft. The weatherintheCapeOtwayarea wasclear withatraceofstratocumuluscloud at 5000to 7000 feet,scattered cirrus cloudat 30000feet,excellent visibility andlightwinds.Theendofdayli ghtat CapeOtwaywasat1918hours . TheAlert Phase of SARprocedures wasdeclared at 1912hours and,at 1933hourswhentheaircraft didnot arrive at KingIsLand,theDistressPhasewasdeclaredandsearch actionwascommenced.An intensi veair.seaandlandseatchwascontinueduntil25Octobet1978,but notraceoftheairctaft 'l'asfound . 7OPINIONASTOCAUSE Thereasonforthedisappearanceof the aircraft hasnot heendetermined. \ .pp.o.... dfo'l ~ h A... ,1.. (A.R.Woodward) Ieo,. pubI.e: ol ,O"27 .4.1982 . D.I.llat.aft".S.Cf.fa'l' .----. , TlI0' Au.TIlAUA0' ... eI'et"I(.e..... .. _'AIRCRAFTACCIDENTINVESTIGATIONSUMMARY REPORT V116/ 783/ 1047 " .... lie.,I.I'I.f "'11,.,0" i._"'.,"e4",....S.CI.t.,,,"nct.'.... "... III_ f"IrH... I,."otlA.,.. loti .....28) (1) 1.LOCATIONOFOCCURRENCE I Hol,"1.D.,.ll_ILK.I) I Not known21.10.78NotknownEST 2.THEAIRCRAFT ... "".,... ..... _ ..io, ,ion I C.,iffeo'.ofAirwOf'hl ...... Cessna 182LVH-DSJValid from14February 1968 C"'kol.of-.gi."ot_iuved.. 0,.,.,_ D."f4._._ I lrer.h CephusDay,SASSouthernAir Services,Notknown 33ReserveRoad.NorthernAvenue,0 ..... ,".'.'" "' -Beaumauris.VictoriaMoorabbinAirport.Victoria D.f.e" .iu.... ' -3.THEFLIGHT L ., o.,nlond.dd.p ' .....,oinlTi_ .f 4.'0""'.1'1 ,,.int .1;tI' ...:I.4101'l.in,P .... , ....f 11.,10., Cloll.1....'.,. " Moorabbin1819 hoursKingIslandTravelPrivate 4.THECREW .. - 5'0'''' .,.CI ....fIIco_.H.",. 0"ty,.T.,.1........ D.,,. f'"I'''' Frederick VALENT! CHPilot20Private Not150 PresumedFatal known( Approx.) 5.OTHEP.PERSONS(All,. .......... _ftdper..... I"iured." ,r.und) .. - SI.lut D.......fi"i"'''.. - St.lul O.,._.f '"'''',. 6.RELEVANTEVENTS .--Thepilot obtainedaClassFour instrument rating on 11May197 B andhe wastherefore authorised tooperate at nightinvisualmeteorological conditions(VMC).Onthe afternoonof21October 1978he attended theMoorabbinBriefingOffice,obtained ameteorologicalbriefing and.at 1723 hours,submitted aflightplan foranight VMCflightfromMoorabbintoKingI sland andreturn.The cruisingaltitude nominatedinthe flight plan wasbelow5000feet,withestimated time intervalsof41minutesto CapeOtwayand28minutesfrom CapeOtwayto KingIsland.Thetotal fuelendurance wasshownas 300minutes.Thepilotmadenoarrange-ments foraerodromelightingto be iUuminated for hisarrival at KingIsland.Headvised thebriefing officer andtheoperator'srepresentative that he wasuplifting friendsatKingIsland andtookfourlife jackets in the aircraft withhim. Theaircraft was refuelledtocapacityat 1810 hoursand departedMoor:ibbinat 1819 hours.After departure thepilot established two-wayradio communications withMelbourneFlight serviceUnit(FSU). Thepilot reported CapeOtway at 1900 hours andthenext transmissionreceived fromtheaircraft wasat 1906:14hours.The followingcommunicationsbet weentheaircrlttandMelbourneFSUwe rerecorded fromthistime:(Note:Theword/ wordsin bracketsare open toother interpretations.) TIMEFROMTEXT 1906:14 VH-DSJMELBOURNEthisis DELTA SIERRA JULIETis thereanyknown trafficbelowfivethousand :23FSUDELTA SIERRA JULIET no known traffic , :26VH-DSJDELTA ;lIERRA ,JULIETIamseems(to)be alarge aircraft below fivethousand .-- -6.RELEVANTEVENTS(cont'd) TIMEFROM :46FSU :50VH-DSJ 1907:04FSU : 32VH-DSJ :43FSU :47VH-DSJ :57FSU 1908:18VH-DSJ :28FSU :42 :49VH-DSJ 1909:02 .FSU :06VH-DSJ :11FSU :14VH-DSJ :18FSU :28VH-DSJ :46FSU 1909:52VH-DSJ 1910:07FSU :20VH-DSJ :43FSU TEXT DD DELTA SIERRA JULIET whattypeof aircraftisit DELTA SIERRA JULIETIcannot affirmit is fourhright it seemstomelike landinglights DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNEthis(is)DELTA SIERRA JULIETtheaircraft hasjustpassed over overme at least athousandfeetabove DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger andit it is alarge aircraft confirm erunknownduetothespeedit'stravellingisthereanyairforce aircraftinthe vicinity DELTA SIERRA JULIET no knownaircraft inthe vicinity MELBOURNEit'sapproachingnowfromdueeast towardsme DELTA SIERRA JULIET II openmicrophone fortwosecondsII DELTA SIERRA JULIET it seems tome that he'splayingsome sort of gamehe's flyingover metwothree times at atime at speedsIcouldnotidentify DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger whatisyour actuallevel mylevel isfour andahalf thousandfour fivezerozero DELTA SIERRA JULIET and confirm youcannot identifythe aircraft affirmative DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger standby MELBOURNE DELTA SIERRA JULIET it's not anaircraft it isII openmicrophone fortwosecondsII DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNEcan youdes cribe theer aircraft DELTA SIERRA JULIET asit's flyingpast it's alongshapeII open microphone forthreesecondsII (cannot)identifymore than(thatit hassuchspeed)II open microphonefor3secondsII beforemeright nowMelhourne DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger and howlarge wouldtheer object be DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNE it seemslikeit'sstationary whatI'm doingright nowis orbiting and thethingisjust orbiting ontopofme also it's got agreen light and sort ofmetallic(like)it's allshiny(on)theoutside DELTA SIERRA JULIET --- -6.RELEVANTEVENTS(cont'd) TIME :48 :57 1911:03 :08 :14 :17 :23 :37 :52 1912:04 :09 :22 :28 :49 FROM VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU VH-DSJ FSU TEXT DELTA SIERRA JULIET/ /openmicrophone for5seconds/ /it'sjust vanished DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNEwouldyouknowwhat kindof aircraft I've got isit(atype)military aircraft DELTA SIERRAJULIET confirmtheer aircraft just vanished SAYAGAIN DELTA SIERRA JULIETistheaircraft still withyou DELTA SIERRA JULIET(it'sahnor)/ /openmicrophone2seconds/ /(now) approachingfromthesouthwest DELTA SIERRA JULIET DELTA SIERRA JULIETtheengineisisroughidlingI've gotit set at twentythree twentyfour andthethingis(coughing) DELTA SIERRA JULIETroger whatare your intentions myintentionsare ahtogotoKingIsland ahMelbournethatstrange aircraft is hoveringontopof me again/ /twosecondsopenmicrophone/ /it ishoveringand it ISnotanaircraf t DELTA SIERRAJULIET DELTA SIERRAJULIETMELBOURNE/ / 17secondsopenmicrophone/ / DELTA SIERRA JULIETMELBOURNE Thereisnorecordof anyfurthertransmissionsfromtheaircraft. TheweatherintheCapeOtwayarea was clear withatraceofstratocumuluscloud at 5000to 7000 feet,scattered cirrus cl oudat 30000feet,excellent visibility andlight winds.Thee ndofdaylight at CapeOtwaywasat1918hours. TheAlert Phaseof SAR procedures wasdeclared at 1912hours and,at 1933hourswhentheaircraft didnotarrive at KingIsland.theDistressPhasewasdeclaredandsearch actionwascommenced .An intensiveair.seaandlandsearchwascontinueduntil25October1978.butnotraceoftheaircraft ,asfound . 7.OPINIONASTOCAUSE . Thereasonforthedisappearanceoftheaircraft hasnotheendetermined. , (A. R.Woodward)100" I27.4.1982 Australian Government NATIONAL ARCHIVES OFAUSTRALIA DO NOT OPEN This acid freemask contains.. . ...folios with the date range.... ..9.2. .... .. .... .. The contents of the mask are: oExempt frompublic access under paragraph(s) .... .. .......... .... .. .. ........ .. ..of the Archives Act 1983. Youhave a statutory right to seek a review of the exemption. Not inthe open period asdefinedby the Archives Act1983. oWithheldpending agency advice Date mask applied . .. 6.. ..2,P.! ...... .. .. . Signature.. .. ..... CJ) (I)

(I) III ::J o :f --J ..Q () o ::J 00+ a III '< 3 0" o --.,. DepartmentofDefence RANResearchLaboratory Reference : R420-3-17 T J.II! RECEIVED 24OCT1981 New BeachRoad, Edgecliff, New SouthWales P.O. Box 706DarlinghurstN.S.w. 2010 Telegrams :RANRl. Telex :27142 Contact : Telephone : DNAFTNo: 8-23-3940. Vocadex: (02)329254 Telephone:(02)322211or 32 9251 TheSuperintendent BureauofAirSafetyInvestigation Box1733P,GPO MELBOURNE,VIC3001 DearSir, 14Oct83 I OLIO ReO2 1 OCT 1983 FilE DRIFTOFMARINE/ISo Irefertoyourletter 6July1983 whereyoudiscussaircraftpartswashedashoreonFlindersIsland . ExaminationofourrecordsofnearbottomcurrentsattheKingfishB site(380 36 ' S,148011'E)showedunusuallylargecurrentsonJulian day81,1983(thatresultedfromastorm)andagainonJulianday96. Thebottomcurrentsonday96exceededO. Sm/swhentheflowwasinan easterlydirection(totheeast) .Suchlargecurrentsconstitutean unusualevent.Ourresultsarestoredas17minutesaverage3andonly 2in1000exceedO. Sm/s . Thusit wouldseemreasonabletospeculatethatthestormon day96inducedlargebottomcurrentsovermuchofeasternBassStrait andmovedyouraircraftpartstowardsFlindersIsland.Moreusual currentscouldthenhavecompletedtheprocessofwashingthecomponents ashore . IfIcanbeofanyfurtherassistancepleasefeelfreeto contactmeon(02)322211 . Yoursfaithfully, (JR..(IANJONES) OceanSciencesDivision RANResearchLaboratory .. ,. t ,rr'-- ,, , \ ,, \ I V116/783/1047 :mI.S.F.JONES R. .ll.RESEARCHLllllORATORY P.O.BOA'106 llAllLllJ;HURSTN'SW2010 DRIF'l'OFHARDIEWREXXAGE JCS : JB 6. 7. 83 11< Recentlyapieceofanaircraftwasfoundwashedashoreonthe westcoastofFlindersIsland(Tas).It wasfoundonthebeachatParry's Bay. oppositethenorthernendof IslandAerodrome.Thedateoffinding was15Ilay1983.andthereisreasontobelievethepiecehadnotbeenonthe beachmorethanafewdays. Theparthasbeenidentifiedashav1n8comefromaCessna182 aircraftbetweenacertainrangeofserialrrumbers.Thepartisanengine cowlflap,forcontrolofairflowewertheengine.It is300cmtlongby 210mmwide,and40mmatits deepestpOint.It hadtwosidepanelswhenfirst found.ThepiecewasonCIIwhite(acrylicpaint).andismadeofaluminium composition.nowgreatlyeroded.Theoperatingbolt.ofsteel,whileheavily co=oded.appearetohavefailedonimpactorinflight(i.e.notbyco=osion). ACessna182aircraftonaflightfrom1I00rabbintoKingIslandlast reportedpoSitiona tCapeOtway,Victoria.at1900hoursESTon21October1978. Theserialmnnberofthisaircraftfailswi thintherangeofserial mnnbera appl icabletothepartfound. Frompreviousknowledgeofaircraftparts"walking"acrossthefloor oftidallakesandrivers.it iswonderedif suchapieceasdescribedoould travelfromanareabetweenCapeOtwayandthenortherntipof KingIsland.or fromapositionnearthedescribeda.undertheinfluenceofoceancu=ents. Whileit is notunknownfortheoow1flaptoseparatefromtheaircraft in flight,toourknowledgetherehavebeennorecentcasesintheViotoria/ Taaman1aarea,andnowreckageofaircrafthavebeendumpedatseatoour knowledGe,norareotherCessnaaircraftmissinginthewatersofBassStrait. Anyinformationyoucouldpassconcerningthelikelihoodofthis particularitembeingableto"travel" ,eweraperiodofoloseto5years, wouldbeasteptowardsolvingthemysteryofthedisappearanceofthisaircraft anditssoleoccupant,toitslocation. Pleasedonothesitatetocalltodiscussthematter.Attached pleasefindamapshowingtheareaoffindingandtwophotographsofthe1 tem. .) "RilnSCAL -R,xJ. Coose. I': 005IS. o BA}';-ChaO, \Reef 1.lIIeChilli.. ,Is. TriO" 3J-.....,; " '58bellaIs PARR1 S 8A )' .. Rod. I,. Island Rocl.. DoughBar N r.o.:;,jl...'" ( '.r 125 -\ I I I 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 I 1 'T,,,, . ."0.1 P.., .611( D R\RR ?'1. 01 ---:3560" 0_1 1 1 I 1 1 -I I 1 1 BUREAUOFAIRSAFETYINVESTIGATIONREPORTREFERENCE // Caption (above): Caption (below): PHOTOGPAPHS PAGE MINUTE 11,{.J. JNJ>Il,.C()Ck !If ftl. J)Hr(i4/114=fi 0,.f --j-L I IV iJ f(..s.:..L s.J) It-s- fJ ElC/..oj'yI.J\--//-n.f7we:,$ELIV'70Jk. 111-1GS AI?e:A . ,JU"'CTIOt-JOFSTRIP, 572",OF ot-JOS/23RUI-JWAY 2. 00 '"OFR;E:SHe:e:r01-.1 OS/Z3 Te:MPOI?ARYTAXIWAYQI..J IMARKe:DBY COJUE:5 . e;"'TRYFOR5QUIPM6JUTGRAVE.L . ISLAND

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