UFO over Melbourne CBD, Australia April 12, 2024 (with Video)

ManInBlack

Active Member
Location Melbourne CBD/Southbank

On April 12, 2024 I was travelling north bound through the Kings Way bridge (see below) in the evening at around 6-7pm. The sky was a little cloudy on the night and I noticed a large bright light hovering in between the clouds. What I did find weird about it was that it was quite bright and it seemed to be lower than a star however I just thought it was Mars or Venus so I didn't take much note of it. I had eyes on it for about 3-4 minutes. There was no indication that it was a plane or a helicopter, and there was no signal lights. As I got closer to the Kings Way bridge with seconds I saw it descend rapidly from above the clouds and then it disappeared from my vision. I thought that's strange, however there is a helicopter service that goes through that area and so I expected to see the helicopter as I exited the tunnel or at least hear it but there was no sound, nothing. I had seen drones in that area but they have all had green & red lights, and not travelled that quickly. Being a restricted flight zone due to the helicopter service the ones I have seen a usually small DJI style drones and definitely not that high. What I also found strange was that the size of this object/drone? was that it didn't look small, I would say it was the size of a off-road buggy or larger. So larger than a commercial filming drone. Unfortunately I was unable to get any photos or footage so I didn't think much of it, I was catching up with a friend at the time and I mentioned it, just saying I saw something weird and went on with my life.

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Almost a year passes and talking to the same friend, he says randomly a short reel came up on his YouTube feed of that thing, I saw last year. I had no idea what he was talking about at the time but he sent me the footage and I couldn't believe it. Someone else had witnessed the very same thing (possibly a day apart?) and actually got footage.


Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/RF3eVoY-6Sc?si=wnzzo5qu2W1AZd2A


From what I can see the footage was taken from somewhere around or at the Yarra Botanica. The footage seems to align to the google maps location.

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The witness also left a statement on the video:

For people who may know, don't planes and drones have green/red flashing lights to indicate aircraft position? Or some flashing/strobe light. Was stuck in the same place above the clouds for 10 minutes after we noticed and just happened to choose to record it when it moved. It covered a pretty sizable distance from a complete standstill

I have ruled out that it was a plane, helicopter or consumer drone. It also moved to quickly to be a balloon, and it wasn't a meteor because it was stationary for a decent amount of time.
 
Location Melbourne CBD/Southbank

On April 12, 2024 I was travelling north bound through the Kings Way bridge (see below) in the evening at around 6-7pm. The sky was a little cloudy on the night and I noticed a large bright light hovering in between the clouds. What I did find weird about it was that it was quite bright and it seemed to be lower than a star however I just thought it was Mars or Venus so I didn't take much note of it. I had eyes on it for about 3-4 minutes. There was no indication that it was a plane or a helicopter, and there was no signal lights. As I got closer to the Kings Way bridge with seconds I saw it descend rapidly from above the clouds and then it disappeared from my vision. I thought that's strange, however there is a helicopter service that goes through that area and so I expected to see the helicopter as I exited the tunnel or at least hear it but there was no sound, nothing. I had seen drones in that area but they have all had green & red lights, and not travelled that quickly. Being a restricted flight zone due to the helicopter service the ones I have seen a usually small DJI style drones and definitely not that high. What I also found strange was that the size of this object/drone? was that it didn't look small, I would say it was the size of a off-road buggy or larger. So larger than a commercial filming drone. Unfortunately I was unable to get any photos or footage so I didn't think much of it, I was catching up with a friend at the time and I mentioned it, just saying I saw something weird and went on with my life.

View attachment 75937

Almost a year passes and talking to the same friend, he says randomly a short reel came up on his YouTube feed of that thing, I saw last year. I had no idea what he was talking about at the time but he sent me the footage and I couldn't believe it. Someone else had witnessed the very same thing (possibly a day apart?) and actually got footage.


Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/RF3eVoY-6Sc?si=wnzzo5qu2W1AZd2A


From what I can see the footage was taken from somewhere around or at the Yarra Botanica. The footage seems to align to the google maps location.

View attachment 75938


View attachment 75939

The witness also left a statement on the video:



I have ruled out that it was a plane, helicopter or consumer drone. It also moved to quickly to be a balloon, and it wasn't a meteor because it was stationary for a decent amount of time.

I'm curious to know how you ruled out that it was a drone?The way it's hovering and accelerating looks to me like a multi-rotor drone with a high-lumen searchlight.
GoDownloader.App_469276469_18104870011454523_458090646862671935_n.jpg
GoDownloader.App_469382872_18104869720454523_3057680864370904841_n.jpg
 
I'm curious to know how you ruled out that it was a drone?The way it's hovering and accelerating looks to me like a multi-rotor drone with a high-lumen searchlight.View attachment 75941View attachment 75942
My immediate thought is it is a drone. Some things I found unusual was the following:

- The size, 'it seemed' larger than the drone you have displayed above (I have seen the drone pictured hover over my house before doing a test flight). Of course a search light could have made it look bigger.
- I saw it move and I have never seen a large drone move that fast. In the video I hear one of the witnesses make that exact same comment. I have only seen a small race drone move that quickly.
- It definitely had no green/red signal lights, so it wasn't being operated legally if it is a hobby drone.
- It descended in a helicopter high traffic area (as stated above).

I have been searching to see if there are any flight safety reports because there is a control tower just next to the casino. If it was observed it would have been reported due to the flight safety risk.
 
Im thinking you may have watched a plane - landing lights land at Tulla Melb airport.

When looking north from Kings way the Airport north south run way aligns and jet landing lights are very bright. ( In between the city buildings)
On good clear nites i can watch planes landing from Mornington foreshore 40 clicks away the light appears to hover as plane approaches over Sunbury then drops below sightlines as they finish the landing the distance and front on perspective gives the illusion of hovering


melb tulla.png


um couple of things to clarify, King way bridge? could that have been Spencer street as has better north views between buildings & King way is a tunnel

I think that Utube vid over Yarra river is a hobbyist drone we are all adjusting to these new things in the sky

anyhoo hope helps or eliminates other possible
 
The sky was a little cloudy on the night and I noticed a large bright light hovering in between the clouds. What I did find weird about it was that it was quite bright and it seemed to be lower than a star however I just thought it was Mars or Venus so I didn't take much note of it. I had eyes on it for about 3-4 minutes. There was no indication that it was a plane or a helicopter, and there was no signal lights. As I got closer to the Kings Way bridge with seconds I saw it descend rapidly from above the clouds and then it disappeared from my vision.
It's difficult to assess this information at night with a single light source, especially in the sky. Our brains cannot determine size, distance, and speed in that sort of situation. Visual perception is well documented to make serious errors tricking our intuition. Your perception might have been correct, but it could've also massively underestimated some variables.
I had seen drones in that area but they have all had green & red lights, and not travelled that quickly. Being a restricted flight zone due to the helicopter service the ones I have seen a usually small DJI style drones and definitely not that high.
A police drone would explain these things. I looked it up and Melbourne has 50 police drones. It regularly deploys them for a variety of purposes from crowd monitoring, search and rescue, and providing support for officers on the ground (typically if the officers are on foot in a dark area, a drone can hover as long as needed to provide real time communication and light for officer safety). These drones have very bright floodlights that would make the smaller navigation lights impossible to see given the size and intensity of the floodlights. In addition, police drones are permitted to fly in restricted zones since they are in communication with air traffic control.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...crowds/video/ae830c3fe61b086382b0b508ef83982c
https://www.criticalcomms.com.au/co...o-aid-victoria-police-s-sar-efforts-542017571


Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/RF3eVoY-6Sc?si=wnzzo5qu2W1AZd2A

From what I can see the footage was taken from somewhere around or at the Yarra Botanica. The footage seems to align to the google maps location.

View attachment 75938

If it was a police drone, it appears to have been hovering over the train tracks on the other side of the river which would be a dark area at night. If police were searching for something or someone on foot it would make sense for the drone to provide air support in such a situation. In addition, when the drone flies off, it appears to fly west in the direction of the Melbourne police station, which is only a few blocks away
The witness also left a statement on the video:

I have ruled out that it was a plane, helicopter or consumer drone. It also moved to quickly to be a balloon, and it wasn't a meteor because it was stationary for a decent amount of time.
That would also align with the police drone hypothesis. In the video I heard at least one other person clearly identifying it as a drone. Keep in mind the drones police use can go 70km/h which doesn't seem too far off from what we see in the video if the light source is hundreds rather than thousands of feet in the air. At the end of the video it almost appears navigation strobes might become visible as the main light dims? Too difficult for me to tell definitively with that video but someone else might be able to see it better.

Out of curiosity I checked news reports for the day you mentioned, April 12, 2024. Incidentally, early that morning there was a shooting in Ringwood and a subsequent manhunt for the two perpetrators who were at large. The Lilydale transit line goes directly from Ringwood to the station across the river. It's plausible there would be increased drone activity under such circumstances and you might try following up with the police who probably track and log all flights. It could been unrelated standard police activity as well
https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...k/news-story/d1bfac4a18907b8a9ac9ae1aa72c5e5e
 
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It's very difficult to assess this information at night with a single light source. It's impossible for all of our brains to determine size, distance, and speed in that sort of situation. Visual perception is well documented to make serious errors tricking our intuition. Your perception might have been correct, but it could've also massively underestimated some variables.

A police drone would explain these things. I looked it up and Melbourne has 50 police drones. It regularly deploys them for a variety of purposes from crowd monitoring, search and rescue, and providing support for officers on the ground (typically if the officers are on foot in a dark area, a drone can hover as long as needed to provide real time communication and light for officer safety). These drones have very bright floodlights that would make the smaller navigation lights impossible to see given the size and intensity of the floodlights. In addition, police drones are permitted to fly in restricted zones since they are in communication with air traffic control.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...crowds/video/ae830c3fe61b086382b0b508ef83982c
https://www.criticalcomms.com.au/co...o-aid-victoria-police-s-sar-efforts-542017571


If it was a police drone, I appears to have been hovering over near the train tracks on the other side of the river, which would be a dark area at night. If police were searching for something or someone on foot in the area, this would make sense for the drone to provide air support. In addition, when the drone flies off, it appears to fly west in the direction of the Melbourne police station, which is only a few blocks away.

That would also align with the idea of a police drone. In the video I heard at least one person clearly saying they thought it was a drone. Keep in mind the drones police use can go 70km/h which doesn't seem too far off from what we see in the video if it is indeed a drone. At the very end of the video it almost appears as the brightness dims navigation strobes might become visible? Too hard to tell definitively with that video that someone else might be able to see it better.

Out of curiosity I checked news reports for the day you mentioned, April 12, 2024. Incidentally, early that morning there was a shooting in Ringwood and a subsequent manhunt for the two perpetrators who were at large. The Lilydale transit line goes directly from Ringwood to the station across the river. It's pure speculation, but it's conceivable there were ground searches going on near connected transit stations. It's obviously speculation, but it might provide a lead if you wanted to follow up with the police. It could been unrelated standard police activity as well.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...k/news-story/d1bfac4a18907b8a9ac9ae1aa72c5e5e
Totally agree, nowadays there are many cities are vigorously developing multi-rotor drones with various functions, the most common ones in the city are police, firefighting, power overhauling, rescue and disaster relief, photography, construction as well as road mapping drones, among which the drones that need to wear high lumens are mainly the police, photography as well as disaster relief drones.Considering the environment and the scenario in the video, the police drone is indeed the most probable one
 
This is subjective, but to me it is odd that the camera seems to start panning pretty much exactly when the light starts moving. It suggests that either the camera movement is causing the light to move (which would suggest a reflection except that they do not seem to be filming through window glass) or foreknowledge of what the light was going to do, and when it was going to do it. If that was done "on the fly," my complements to the reaction time of the photographer!
 
The light is neither between nor above the clouds, it is below the height of the building with the blue lights, it's flying in front of it. My guess is a drone.
That building is the Rialto Tower which is 251m tall.
IMG_6061.jpeg

The towers are ~515m away from the filming location. This would confirm the UAP was flying at an elevation lower than 250m.


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The green circle is the camera location in the video. The blue circle is the Rialto tower top. The red circle is the heliport for the Melbourne Police Department. My hypothesis would be that the drone was taking the approximate flight path shown in purple.
 
I did a quick search for what drones the police force in Melbourne (the Victoria Police) use and then looked for their maximum speeds and the ones that I've found named, are the Matrice 210 and Mavic Pro.

The Matrice 210 is named is in the video linked below (at 00:11) of an interview with the head of Victoria's Police's drone unit.
https://www.9news.com.au/videos/victoria-police-launch-drone-patrols/cjxw7xrci00060go0ctgxapwn

The Mavic Pro is named in the article linked below.
https://dronebelow.com/2019/07/16/melbourne-police-soon-will-be-monitoring-crowds-with-drones/

According to the manufacture of the the Mavic Pro (DJI) it has a top speed of 40mph.
https://www.dji.com/uk/mavic/info

The Matrice 210 (also made by DJI) has a top speed of 51.4mph.
https://www.dji.com/uk/support/product/matrice-200-series
 
I did a quick search for what drones the police force in Melbourne (the Victoria Police) use and then looked for their maximum speeds and the ones that I've found named, are the Matrice 210 and Mavic Pro.

The Matrice 210 is named is in the video linked below (at 00:11) of an interview with the head of Victoria's Police's drone unit.
https://www.9news.com.au/videos/victoria-police-launch-drone-patrols/cjxw7xrci00060go0ctgxapwn

The Mavic Pro is named in the article linked below.
https://dronebelow.com/2019/07/16/melbourne-police-soon-will-be-monitoring-crowds-with-drones/

According to the manufacture of the the Mavic Pro (DJI) it has a top speed of 40mph.
https://www.dji.com/uk/mavic/info

The Matrice 210 (also made by DJI) has a top speed of 51.4mph.
https://www.dji.com/uk/support/product/matrice-200-series
As I have stated above my thoughts are that it is a drone. However it is not a police drone, or a 'off the shelf' DJI. The reason I know this is because (as stated above) it had no flight warning lights.

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This leaves some kind of large hobby drone. Curious to know what someone would be doing with that in a restricted flight zone.

I checked the aviation safety database and there were no records on that night.
 
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