Cash-Landrum Incident
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Betty Cash (51), Vickie Landrum (57), and Vickie's grandson Colby Landrum (7) encountered a diamond-shaped craft emitting intense heat and flames while driving on FM 1485 northeast of Houston, Texas. The craft was surrounded by approximately 23 CH-47 Chinook military helicopters. All three witnesses developed symptoms consistent with acute radiation syndrome in the hours and days following: nausea, vomiting, hair loss, skin blistering, and eye damage. Betty Cash required hospitalization and suffered lasting health effects until her death in 1998. The witnesses filed a $20 million lawsuit against the US government in 1981; the case was dismissed in 1986 because the government denied ownership of the craft. The case remains the most medically documented UAP-related injury case in the United States.
Key Facts
- ›Date: December 29, 1980, approximately 9:00 PM CST
- ›Location: FM 1485 near Huffman, Texas (northeast of Houston)
- ›Witnesses: Betty Cash (51), Vickie Landrum (57), Colby Landrum (7)
- ›Betty and Vickie had attended a bingo game; driving home on FM 1485 through pine forest
- ›Diamond-shaped craft observed hovering over the road, approximately 25 feet above tree line
- ›Craft emitted intense heat and intermittent bursts of flame from its base
- ›Betty exited the vehicle; the car hood became too hot to touch
- ›All three witnesses observed approximately 23 large CH-47 Chinook helicopters surrounding the craft
- ›John F. Schuessler (aerospace engineer, McDonnell Douglas) and MUFON investigator documented the case within days
- ›Betty Cash hospitalized January 3, 1981; symptoms included large fluid-filled blisters, hair loss, nausea, vision impairment
- ›Betty Cash: diagnosed with tumor in 1981; suffered recurring health crises; died December 29, 1998 - 18 years to the day after the encounter
- ›Vickie Landrum: hair loss, skin lesions, eye damage, chronic nausea following the encounter
- ›A separate married couple - Mr. and Mrs. Jerry McDonald - independently reported seeing a large diamond-shaped object and helicopters on the same night
- ›MUFON investigators confirmed 12 independent witnesses who saw helicopters in the area that night
- ›Cash and Landrum filed a $20 million lawsuit against the US government in 1981
- ›Case dismissed August 21, 1986: US Army, Air Force, and NASA all denied ownership of the craft