Cash-Landrum incident
Encyclopedia
The Cash-Landrum Incident was a reported Unidentified Flying Object
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...

 sighting from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1980, which the witnesses insist was responsible for damage to their health. It is one of very few UFO cases to result in criminal court proceedings.

It can be classified as a Close Encounter of the Second Kind
Close encounter
In ufology, a close encounter is an event in which a person witnesses an unidentified flying object. This terminology and the system of classification behind it was started by astronomer and UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek, and was first suggested in his 1972 book The UFO Experience: A Scientific...

, due to its reported physical effects on the witnesses and their automobile.

Skeptic Peter Brookesmith
Peter Brookesmith
Peter Brookesmith is an English writer on occult topics, especially the belief in UFOs. He has appeared often in the Fortean Times as well as speaking at their UnConvention.-Bibliography:...

 wrote:
"To ufologists, the case is perhaps the most baffling and frustrating of modern times, for what started with solid evidence for a notoriously elusive phenomenon petered out in a maze of dead ends, denials, and perhaps even official deviousness."

Incident

The evening of December 29, 1980, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and Colby Landrum (Vickie's seven-year-old grandson) were driving home to Dayton, Texas
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 in Cash's Oldsmobile Cutlass
Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....

 after dining out.

At about 9.00 p.m., while driving on an isolated two-lane road in dense woods, the witnesses said they observed a light above some trees. They initially thought the light was an airplane approaching Houston Intercontinental Airport (about 35 miles away) and gave it little notice.

A few minutes later on the winding roads, the witnesses saw what they took to be the same light as before, but it was now much closer and very bright. The light, they would claim, came from a huge diamond-shaped object, which hovered at about treetop level. The object's base was expelling flame and emitting significant heat.

Vickie Landrum told Cash to stop the car, fearing they would be burned if they approached any closer. However, Vickie's opinion of the object quickly changed: a born again Christian, she interpreted the object as a sign of the second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

 of Jesus Christ, telling her grandson, "That's Jesus. He will not hurt us." (Clark, 175)

Anxious, Cash considered turning the car around, but abandoned this idea because the road was too narrow and she presumed the car would get stuck on the dirt shoulders, which were soft from that evening's rains.

Cash and Landrum got out of the car to examine the object. Colby was terrified, however, and Vickie Landrum quickly returned to the car to comfort the frantic child. Cash remained outside the car, "mesmerized by the bizarre sight," as Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note....

 wrote. (Clark, 175) He went on,
The object, intensely bright and a dull metallic silver, was shaped like a huge upright diamond, about the size of the Dayton
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

, with its top and bottom cut off so that they were flat rather than pointed. Small blue lights ringed the center, and periodically over the next few minutes flames shot out of the bottom, flaring outward, creating the effect of a large cone. Every time the fire dissipated, the UFO floated a few feet downwards toward the road. But when the flames blasted out again, the object rose about the same distance." (Clark, 175)


The witnesses said the heat was strong enough to make the car's metal body painful to the touch—Cash said she had to use her coat to protect her hand from being burnt when she finally re-entered the car. When she touched the car's dashboard, Vickie Landrum's hand pressed into the softened vinyl, leaving an imprint that was evident weeks later. Investigators cited this handprint as proof of the witnesses' account; however, no photograph of the alleged handprint exists.

The object then moved to a point higher in the sky. As it ascended over the treetops, the witnesses claimed that a group of helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s approached the object and surrounded it in tight formation. Cash and Landrum counted 23 helicopters, and later identified some of them as tandem-rotor CH-47 Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...

s used by military forces worldwide.

With the road now clear, Cash drove on, claiming to see glimpses of the object and the helicopters receding into the distance.

From first sighting the object to its departure, the witnesses said the encounter lasted about 20 minutes. Based on descriptions given in John F. Schuessler's book about the incident, it appears that the observers were southbound on Texas state highway FM 1485/2100 when they claimed to have seen the object. The initial location of the reported object, based on the same descriptions, was just south of Inland Road, approximately at 30.0926°N 95.1109°W .

Other witnesses

Investigators later located a Dayton police officer, Detective Lamar Walker, and his wife who claimed to have seen 12 Chinook-type helicopters near the same area the Cash-Landrum event allegedly occurred and at roughly the same time. These other witnesses did not report seeing a large diamond-shaped object. Detective Walker investigated this incident but was misled on numerous occasions by high ranking military officials, including those reportedly from the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

.

One day in April 1981 a CH-47 flew into Dayton. As Colby watched he became very upset. Vickie decided to take him to the spot where the helicopter had landed in the hope that it would seem less frightening on the ground. When they reached the landing zone they found a lot of people there already and had to wait some time before they were allowed to go inside the helicopter and talk to the pilot. Vickie and another visitor both claim that the pilot said he had been in the area before for the purpose of checking on a UFO in trouble near Huffman. When Vickie told the pilot how glad she was to see him, because she had been one of the people burned by the UFO, he refused to talk to them any more and hustled them out of the aircraft. (Corpus Christi Caller)

Health problems

After the UFO and helicopters left, Cash took the Landrums home, then retired for the evening. That night, they all experienced similar symptoms, though Cash to a greater degree. All suffered from nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...

, vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...

, diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...

, generalized weakness, a burning sensation in their eyes, and feeling as though they'd suffered sunburn
Sunburn
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, which is produced by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, commonly from the sun's rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV...

s.

Over the next few days, Cash's symptoms worsened, with many large, painful blisters forming on her skin. When taken to a hospital emergency room on January 3, 1981, Clark writes, Cash "could not walk, and had lost large patches of skin and clumps of hair. She was released after 12 days, though her condition was not much better, and she later returned to the hospital for another 15 days."(Clark, 176)

The Landrums' health was somewhat better, though both suffered from lingering weakness, skin sores and hair loss.

A radiologist who examined the witnesses' medical records for MUFON wrote, "We have strong evidence that these patients have suffered secondary damage to ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...

. It is also possible that there was an infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 or ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 component as well." (quoted in Clark, 176)

However, Brad Sparks contends that, although the symptoms were somewhat similar to those caused by ionizing radiation, the rapidity of onset was only consistent with a massive dose that would have meant certain death in a few days. Since all of the victims lived for years after the incident, Sparks suggests the cause of the symptoms was some kind of chemical contamination, presumably by an aerosol.

Investigations

Vickie Landrum telephoned a number of U.S. government agencies and officials about the encounter. When she telephoned NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

, Landrum was steered towards NASA aerospace engineer John Schuessler, long interested in UFOs. With some associates from civilian UFO research group MUFON, Schuessler began research on the case, and later wrote articles and a book on the subject. Astronomer Allan Hendry
Allan Hendry
Allan Hendry is an American astronomer and ufologist. UFO historian Jerome Clark calls him "one of the most skilled investigators in the history of UFO research." He was the main investigator for the Center for UFO Studies in the 1970s....

 of CUFOS also investigated the Cash-Landrum case.

Due to the Chinook helicopters' presence, the witnesses presumed that at least one branch of the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 witnessed the object, if they were not escorting or pursuing it. However, investigators could find no evidence linking the helicopters with any branch of the military.

In 1982, Lt. Col. George Sarran of the Department of the Army Inspector General began the only thorough formal governmental investigation into the supposed UFO encounter. He could not find any evidence that the helicopters the witnesses claimed to have seen belonged to the U.S. Armed Forces. Sarran did conclude that "Ms. Landrum and Ms. Cash were credible … the policeman and his wife [who claimed to have seen 12 helicopters near the UFO encounter site] were also credible witnesses. There was no perception that anyone was trying to exaggerate the truth." (quoted in Clark, 177)

In 1998, journalist and UFO sceptic Philip J. Klass
Philip J. Klass
Philip Julian Klass was an American journalist and UFO researcher, known for his skepticism regarding UFOs. In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass tends to inspire strongly polarized appraisals. Klass has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy"...

 found a few reasons to doubt the story related by Cash and Landrum:
when Schuessler inspected Betty's car in early 1981 and used a geiger counter to check for radioactivity, he found none. Presum-ably [sic] he also checked for radioactivity when he visited the site of the (alleged) incident, and found no abnormal radiation ... [Schuessler] provides NO medical data on Betty's health PRIOR to the UFO incident. Nor does he provide any medical data on the prior health of Vicki or Colby. (emphasis in original)http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/klass_files_volume_53/


Other UFO researchers point out that high-energy ionizing radiation of the kind that can cause damage to human beings (e.g. gamma radiation) does not induce radioactivity in objects, and would not have left behind any residual radioactivity in the area.

Similarly, Brookesmith writes, "Sceptics have always asked a blunt and fundamental question: what was the trio's state of health before their alleged encounter?"

Legal action

Eventually, Cash and Landrum contacted their U.S. Senators, Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...

 and John Tower
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...

, who suggested that the witnesses file a complaint with the Judge Advocate Claims office at Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located seven miles southeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War...

. In August 1981, Cash, Landrum, and Colby were interviewed at length by personnel at Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base
Bergstrom Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located seven miles southeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War...

, and were told that they should hire a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, and seek compensation for their injuries.http://www.cufon.org/cufon/cashlani.htm

With attorney Peter Gersten taking on the case pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...

, the case wound its way through the U.S. Courts for several years. Cash and Landrum sued the U.S government for $20 million.

On August 21, 1986, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed their case, noting that the plaintiffs had not proved that the helicopters were associated with the U.S. Government, and that military officials had testified that the United States Armed Forces did not have a large, diamond shaped aircraft in their possession.

Later Years

In 1981 Vickie Landrum appeared on That's Incredible, a popular ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 television program. Vickie was hypnotized in front of a studio audience; under hypnosis she recounted the UFO incident. Vickie Landrum and Betty Cash both appeared on the 1989 U.S television special, UFO Cover Up? Live!, hosted by Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....

. They related their account of the UFO encounter and their subsequent medical problems and legal battles. In 2009 Colby Landrum appeared on UFO Hunters: Alien Fallout.

Coincidentally, Betty Cash died at the age of 71 on December 29, 1998, exactly 18 years after her claimed close encounterhttp://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/klass_files_volume_56/.

Vickie Landrum died in 2007.

Trivia

The Cash-Landrum event was depicted on the television programs Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...

and Sightings
Sightings
Sightings was an American paranormal documentary and news television series that originally aired from April 17, 1992 to August 1, 1997 on Fox. The program began as a special titled The UFO Report: Sightings on October 18, 1991...

. It has also been the subject of inquiry on UFO Hunters
UFO Hunters
UFO Hunters is an American television series that premiered on January 30, 2008 on The History Channel, produced by Motion Picture Production Inc., and ran for three seasons....

.

This incident occurred only one day after the Rendlesham Forest Incident
Rendlesham Forest Incident
The Rendlesham Forest Incident is the name given to a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of a craft or multiple craft of unknown origin in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980, just outside RAF Woodbridge, used at the time by the U.S....

 was said to have happened in the UK.

External links

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