Mail In one of Australia's greatest aviation mysteries, a young pilot and his light aircraft vanished off the Tasmanian coast on October 21, 1978. Frederick Valentich, 20, a keen pilot and a member of the RAAF air training corps, was flying a Cessna 181 plane from Melbourne to King Island during the evening when he reported a strange aircraft. Valentich radioed to air traffic control the object had bright lights and had flew close to him a number of times at great speed. READ MORE: Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese sign critical minerals deal in chummy first White House meeting Australian pilot Frederick Valentich was a member of the RAAF training corps and a UFO enthusiast. (Supplied) He said It was orbiting about 300m over his plane and described it as having a green light with a shiny surface. Valentich thought it may have been a military plane and requested confirmation as he flew over the Bass Strait. Then it suddenly vanished. Valentich confirmed to air controllers he was continuing his flight to King Island, where he intended to collect crayfish. But moments later, he reported the strange object was back, saying "it's not an aircraft". The Cape Otway light-house in the Bass Strait, near where Valentich and his plane vanished in 1978. (Sydney Morning Herald) They were the last words from Valentich as all radio contact with him was lost. The young pilot and his single-engine plane were never seen again. The disappearance triggered a major sea and air search over a 2600 square kilometre area. The RAAF deployed an advanced P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane as part of the efforts, but the search found nothing. Valentich's mysterious disappearance made headlines in Australia and across the world. The theory that a UFO was behind it gathered momentum after authorities received hundreds of reports of unknown shining objects in the sky across Victoria on the night Valentich disappeared. Authorities deployed an RAAF P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane in the search for Valentich. (Sydney Morning Herald) Aviation safety officials also discovered Valentich was a keen UFO enthusiast, and he hadn't told King Island airport he intended to land there. This fuelled theories he was planning his own mysterious disappearance, or was going to take his own life. But family and friends of Valentich insisted he was a mature and well-adjusted young man. In 1982, a coronial inquiry into the case found an open verdict, finding Valentich was missing, presumed dead. DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play . Continue reading Source: https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history—october-21-what-happened-on-this-day/cbb22f89-4d84-4a96-b2f4-5159b2b25162