Pilots are trained observers. They know the difference between Venus and a landing light, between a weather balloon and a fast-moving contact. Which is why reports from aviators carry a weight that casual sightings do not. From the 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting that gave the world the term “flying saucer” to the US Navy’s officially […]

When Melbourne Flight Service told Frederick Valentich there was “no known traffic” near Cape Otway, many took it as proof he was alone in the sky. The truth is more complicated. In 1978, radar coverage over south-western Victoria was patchy at best. Below certain altitudes and beyond certain ranges, an aircraft, or anything else, could […]