Can a UFO Encounter Cause Burns?

Term: Close encounter of the second kind: a UFO encounter that leaves physical evidence, such as ground marks or effects on witnesses.

Term: Acute radiation syndrome: illness caused by a large dose of ionizing radiation. Symptoms include nausea, hair loss, and skin burns.

Term: Cash-Landrum incident: a 1980 Texas case in which three people reported a flaming diamond-shaped object and later fell ill.

Can a UFO Encounter Cause Burns?

Some witnesses say yes. The best-known case is the Cash-Landrum incident of December 29, 1980. Two women and a child in Texas reported a flame-spewing, diamond-shaped object, and all three became ill afterward. Doctors compared some symptoms to radiation exposure. No one has proven the cause, and the case rests largely on the witnesses’ own accounts.

The Cash-Landrum case

On the evening of December 29, 1980, Betty Cash, 51, Vickie Landrum, 57, and Vickie’s seven-year-old grandson Colby were driving home to Dayton, Texas, on an isolated two-lane road through dense woods. At about 9 p.m. they saw a light above the trees that they first took for an airplane. A few minutes later, they said, it was much closer and brighter.

They described a huge diamond-shaped object hovering at treetop level, with flame and intense heat coming from its base. Landrum told Cash to stop the car, and the women got out to look. They also said they saw a number of military helicopters near the object.

What happened afterward

The witnesses reported nausea, headaches, and skin damage in the hours and days after the encounter. Betty Cash had the most serious symptoms, including blisters and hair loss, and she was hospitalized. Doctors who treated her said her symptoms resembled radiation exposure. She had lasting health problems and died years later, always believing the encounter had caused them.

The three later sued the U.S. government for $20 million. The court dismissed the case, and no court found what the object was.

The doubts

Skeptical investigators, including Philip Klass and Brian Dunning, questioned the details and the authenticity of the case. The account rests mainly on the three witnesses. The symptoms that resemble radiation illness also have other possible causes, and no radiation source was identified. The dismissal of the lawsuit left the question of the helicopters and the object unresolved.

An older parallel

The Bible describes an affliction with physical marks. In Job 2:7, Satan strikes Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Some Christian researchers compare this to the skin injuries in UFO cases. The comparison is an interpretation. Job’s sores do not prove a link to any modern report, and the text says nothing about lights in the sky.

What is solid and what is not

Three people reported injuries after a night encounter, and there are medical records and a lawsuit. The cause of the injuries is not established, and no object or radiation source has been identified. Burns and skin damage are among the nine kinds of effects I discuss in my book Disclosure: They Are Not Extraterrestrials. This post gives the case and its limits. Disclosure is available on Amazon. You can find more of my work at ckqbooks.com.

Sources

Wikipedia, Cash-Landrum incident. Associated Press, September 1985, on the lawsuit (The Battalion, Texas A&M, September 4, 1985). Skeptical reviews by Philip J. Klass and Brian Dunning. Job 2:7 (King James Version).