The Cash/Landrum UFO Case

[maximus otter]

A vague possibility occurs to me: Chinooks are notable for being able to carry large underslung loads:

Is it possible that a major exercise involving a large number of helos was in progress when it was discovered that one such load - lubricants? fuel? ammo? - had caught fire? (IIRC only one of the witnesses reported any particular shape to the UFO, the rest simply describing something to the effect of "A column of fire under a vague dark shape.")

This might also account for the fact that the helos appeared to be escorting the "UFO", as crews of associated aircraft would remain close to the stricken airframe to offer guidance and advice.

maximus otter

 

[Bigphoot2]

i think you are probably correct.

What I've never understood is why the noise from all those Chinooks is never mentioned by the witnesses. I've heard a single Chinook approaching and fly overhead on many occasions and they make a right racket. There are eight Chinooks in that sketch - and "twenty" in total - the noise would have been deafening and heard for miles around.

It's not just the noise, I often get Chinooks flying near my place and if they are close there is quite a bit of vibration too. And twenty low-flying Chinooks would cause one hell of a downdraft - it'd be like a combination of an earthquake and a hurricane.

 

[BS3]

A vague possibility occurs to me: Chinooks are notable for being able to carry large underslung loads:

Is it possible that a major exercise involving a large number of helos was in progress when it was discovered that one such load - lubricants? fuel? ammo? - had caught fire? (IIRC only one of the witnesses reported any particular shape to the UFO, the rest simply describing something to the effect of "A column of fire under a vague dark shape.")

This might also account for the fact that the helos appeared to be escorting the "UFO", as crews of associated aircraft would remain close to the stricken airframe to offer guidance and advice.

maximus otter

Yes, as in my previous post only Colby claimed to have seen a (dark) diamond shape above the flames. The others saw nothing or a merely implied object - at least until post-hypnosis. Lambright's illustration, also attached to my post, shows the sort of effect they might have actually been trying to describe.

 

[Carl Grove]

Excellent article. I can't help suspecting that getting a man with his own UFO agenda to do hypnotic regression of witnesses probably did a lot more harm than good -- we have seen the damage caused by other biased and self-taught "hypnotists" on many occasions over the years. (Same point is relevant to the Randlesham case, except in that instance I suspect hypnosis was likely used to plant disinformation.)

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Another factor is that this all took place in the evening and by all accounts after dark. I have lived in areas with military night flying including Chinooks and it is really hard to identify what you are seeing:, usually it is just a flashing red navigation light, a fleeting silhouette.and the noise.

Do we know if it was a moonlit night?

Edit: the moon was a last quarter phase, the weather for Houston recorded as drizzle and mist

 

[BS3]

Note that there is a thing called a 'helitorch' which was first approved for use in, I think, the late 1970s.

This was a canister containing jellied gasoline or napalm (!) slung under a helicopter and used for forest fire control.

I find myself wondering if the military had been fooling around with something similar.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Note that there is a thing called a 'helitorch' which was first approved for use in, I think, the late 1970s.

This was a canister containing jellied gasoline or napalm (!) slung under a helicopter and used for forest fire control.

I find myself wondering if the military had been fooling around with something similar.

https://ktvl.com/helitorch-is-hella-good

So a helitorch and a Nightsun searchlight combining to give a dazzling light and shooting flames underneath...?

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Hang on, this all took place took place near Houston, Texas on 29 December 1980, right? Look what was else is linked to that date:

"Dec. 29, 1980 – Heavy, blast-proof steel louvers seal the large windows of the Launch Control Center’s firing rooms against mishaps could occur when the first flight of a space shuttle is launched from Pad 39A 3.5 miles away. Launch staff, intently watching their computer readouts and TV monitors during the critical moments of launch, will cheer and wave miniature American flags when Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen complete their fiery rocket ascent safely"

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/launch-control-center-sts-1/

"Preparations for the inaugural flight of space shuttle Columbia passed a major milestone at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 29, 1980, with the rollout of the vehicle stack from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to its seaside Launch Pad 39A."

https://www.nasa.gov/history/40-years-ago-space-shuttle-columbia-rolls-out-to-launch-pad-39a/

Have to say the description of the UFO shooting flames, emitting intense heat and a dazzling light are strikingly similar to a rocket engine test or launch at night. The shuttle would have been all over the local news that day, it seems one major coincidence. I wonder if the witnesses had watched one of the previous rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, even if from some distance away? Helicopters were involved in the recovery of Apollo capsules, so all the elements of their encounter also existed in the Apollo missions. Feel there might be a clue in all of this.

 

[charliebrown]

I had to go back and look this up.

Consensus think it was odd that the Cash-Landrum observers were harmed by ionizing radiation causing years of health problems.

A policeman and his wife in the area confirmed 12 helicopters, but Cash insisted 23 helicopters.

It was odd this diamond object had problems staying in the air.

It was odd that a federal judge threw out of court Cash wanting money from her health problem saying the military had no such object of a diamond shape.

It was odd parts of Cash’s car melted.

The whole case is just bizarrely odd.


.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

That the witnesses stuck to their story arguably makes this a strong case of something beyond the normal. This is especially true of Colby who could have elaborated upon the events over the years if he wanted attention and/or money, however he has stuck to the original events.

 

[BS3]

That the witnesses stuck to their story arguably makes this a strong case of something beyond the normal. This is especially true of Colby who could have elaborated upon the events over the years if he wanted attention and/or money, however he has stuck to the original events.

I think the closeness of the event to the shuttle launch is intriguing and brings in the possibility, at least, that even if not directly connected, the imagery of rocket launches may have some way influenced the witnesses' perception of whatever it was they saw - which in the end seems to have been largely a brilliant, flaming light, plus the accompanying helicopters.

 

[charliebrown]

There was definitely lasting ionization radiation injuries.

How do you explain that even though the federal judge would not accept that these people were injured by the military ?

As they say “ something is not kosher “.

 

[Kondoru]

Was there physical evidence?

 

[BS3]

The problem is that if there had been radiation sufficient to cause the reported effects the witnesses would probably have died.

This suggests the injuries were a combination of other things - thermal, possibly chemical injuries, even perhaps an element of stress.

 

[eburacum]

There was definitely lasting ionization radiation injuries.

Probably not, as BS3 says above.

Radiation oncologist and APRO consultant Dr. Richard Niemtzow reviewed my findings and agreed that the symptoms did not match those expected for ionizing radiation syndrome.

Skeptic Gary Posner, MD, looked at the reported symptoms and came to the same conclusion. If radiation were involved, according to Posner, the reported symptoms would have indicated a fatal dose. Since both women lived many years after the incident—and Colby is still living - nobody received a fatal dose of radiation, and the reported symptoms, if correct, must be caused by something other than radiation.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/03/p28.pdf

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Probably not, as BS3 says above.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/03/p28.pdf

Good point.

We have to remember radiation was very much on the public's consciousness at the height of the Cold War when there was unfortunately a good chance it might be the thing that slowly kills you once it all killed off. 'When the Wind Blows' by Raymond Briggs is a great example of this.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

The Missing Man: Bill English on Opening the Cash-Landrum Investigation​

"William English was the first UFO investigator to speak to a Cash-Landrum witness after the incident was reported, but very little is known about this gap in the case history. I contacted Bill English by email asking if he’d be willing to discuss his involvement in the Cash-Landrum case. He responded, “Interesting, since MUFON has taken all of the credit for that particular one. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have.”

Also:

"He stated that he’d unsuccessfully tried to locate the source of the helicopters reported in the incident, and advanced the theory that the helicopters were also UFOs, unmanned probes in the service of the larger one" [my bold]

Read on:

https://www.blueblurrylines.com/2014/02/the-missing-man-bill-english-on-opening.html

 

[Paul_Exeter]

From the excellent Blue Blurry Lines blog:

https://app.box.com/s/wehhv92v81bcps8f35nqlq33yvwihf7y


Preliminary Cash-Landrum report by John Schuessler and Project VISIT, March 4, 1981
John F. Schuessler’s report on interviewing the witnesses and visiting the sighting location.
PDF of the original 35-page report to MUFON by John Schuessler and Project VISIT.

https://www.blueblurrylines.com/2013/07/resource-guide-for-cash-landrum-ufo-case.html

I find it interesting that there up to 400 oil industry helicopters based at Houston and that they were able to fly under visual flight rules and therefore not in contact with air traffic control. I mention this as a "deep red light" that lit up the sky and "roared like thunder" whilst emitting intense heat sound rather like an oil well accident. But of course if this was the case, why was no such accident reported?

 

[Carl Grove]

The Missing Man: Bill English on Opening the Cash-Landrum Investigation​

"William English was the first UFO investigator to speak to a Cash-Landrum witness after the incident was reported, but very little is known about this gap in the case history. I contacted Bill English by email asking if he’d be willing to discuss his involvement in the Cash-Landrum case. He responded, “Interesting, since MUFON has taken all of the credit for that particular one. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have.”

Also:

"He stated that he’d unsuccessfully tried to locate the source of the helicopters reported in the incident, and advanced the theory that the helicopters were also UFOs, unmanned probes in the service of the larger one" [my bold]

Read on:

https://www.blueblurrylines.com/2014/02/the-missing-man-bill-english-on-opening.html

I was waiting for someone to advance that theory. It was clearly a secret project disaster, but some ufologists are so obsessed with the ET theory that even the obvious is ignored.