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The Cash/Landrum UFO Case

A

Anonymous

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For those unfamiliar, this is the case where a UFO emitting flames was seen by Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and her seven-year-old grandson, Colby. The UFO was seen to be escorted by over twenty Chinook helicopters. Following the encounter, Cash suffered severe health problems, and most importantly, attempted to sue the US government. The case was dismissed on the grounds that "the US government did not have such an object in their possession".

My question - were the witnesses really the types to be given to such flights of fancy? Is the situation they described plausible? Other witnesses were supposed to have seen a large number of helicopters on the night in question, if not the UFO itself.
If not an alien craft, what were the choppers escorting, and were the health problems and physical effects described and experienced by Cash unrelated?

Full Story:

Around 8.30 pm of December 29, 1980, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and her seven-year-old grandson, Colby Landrum were on their way home to Dayton. They just left a road side restaurant in New Caney and were driving on a quite so isolated road FM 1485, covered by piney trees and oak and dotted with swamps and lakes, near Huffman, Texas.
Suddenly they noticed a large light above the road in front of them. After rounding a curve on the road they witnessed a huge glowing object blocking the way and belching flames out of the bottom.

They were frightened by what they saw but two ladies stepped the car to see what was happening. They were only about 60 metres away from the observed object. Only Colby Landrum stayed inside and begged his grandmother all the time to get back in the car and hold him. After about three minutes Vickie Landrum did so and told Colby not to be afraid because "when that big man comes out of the burning cloud it will be Jesus". Betty Cash was still standing there outside the car and watching the UFO.
When the object began to move up and away she also got back to the car door. The doorhandle was so hot that it burned her fingers so she had to use her leather jacket to protect her hands. They switched off the heater and put on the air conditioner instead. Then the all together, sitting in the car, watched the UFO moving away.

At the same time, a large number of unmarked helicopters appeared overhead and escorted the UFO at a distance. The witnesses identified some twenty-four Chinook helicopters participating in the action. "They seemed to rush in from all directions...it seemed like they were trying to encircle the thing" Betty said. Then the UFO and the helicopters disappeared and Betty Cash with her friend and the little boy continued to drive home. Some minutes later they could see the UFO and the chasing helicopters again and followed it in their car for a period of time. The helicopters were clearly visible in the light reflecting from the UFO object. And the witnesses identified as many as 23 helicopters. Many of them were large double rotor CH-47 Chinooks, the others were very fast single rotor types and could be of the Bell-Huey type. The witnesses were not sure about that.

They reached home less that an hour after the incident. Betty dropped Vickie and Colby off at their home at about 9.50 and went home alone. Once home she tried to rest and waited for the sickness to pass. But it did not happen. Over the next few hours Betty's skin turned red as if badly sun burned. Her neck swelled and blisters erupted and broke on her face, scalp and eyelids. She started to vomit and continued to do so through out the night.

At the same time between midnight and two o´clock in the morning Vickie and Colby began to suffer similar symptoms.

The next morning Betty was moved to Vickie's house. They tried to help each other but Betty's condition became worse. On January 3, 1981 she was taken to hospital. She could not walk, her hair began to fall out and her eyes became so swollen that she could not see. After 12 days she left the hospital but she returned back for a treatment for the next 15 days. Vickie Landrum and her granson Colby improved slowly but the sores on their skin and the damage to their eyes still persisted. Vickie´s eyesight never completely recovered and her granson´s health was not good as he suffered hair loss and sores on his skin.

A specialist´s medical statement was the following:
"We have strong evidence that these patients have suffered damage secondary to ionizing radiation. It is also possible that there was an infrared or ultraviolet component as well."

Betty Cash, who was mostly exposed for the some kind of radiation, has been hospitalized at least 25 times. She has had two operations for cancer and has suffered blood and eyesight problems.

Other witnesses

There were also others who witnessesed the incident near Huffman, Texas. An off duty Dayton policeman and his wife were driving home from Cleveland through the Huffman area the same night. They observed a large number of double rotor Being CH-47 Chinooks, a special kind of the craft used by the Army and the Marines.
A man living in Crosby, directly under the flight path, also reported seeing a large number of heavy military helicopters flying overhead.
And Oilfield laborer Jerry McDonald was in his back garden in Dayton when he witnessed a large UFO flying over his head. At first he thought it was the goodyear airship, but quickly realized it was something else. "It was kind of diamond shaped and had two twin torches that were shooting brilliant blue flames out the back", he said. As it passed about 45 metres above him he saw that it had two bright lights on it and a red light in the center.

But the US army's Fort Hood press officer, Major Tony Geishauser, told the Corpus Christi Caller that no Fort Hood aircraft were in the Houston area that night.
"I don't know any other place around here that would have that number of helicopters," he said. "I don't know what it could be..... unless there's a super secret thing going on and I wouldn't necessarily know about it."
All other bases in Texas and Louisiana denied they were responsible for the helicopters seen at the incident.

The victims of this terrible incident sued the U.S government for $20 million but on August 21, 1986, the U.S. District Court judge dismissed their case, on the grounds that the American did not have such an object in their possession.
The official investigation was conducted by Lt. Col. George Sarran who concluded that "... There was no evidence presented that would indicate that Army, National Guard, or Army Reserve helicopters were involved".

http://www.ufoarea.bravepages.com/encounters_cash.html
More detailed account
 
one of my favorite cases!!

FLORIDA TODAY Space Online
"Planet Earth's best source for online space news"

Jan. 16, 1999

The business of America is business

By Billy Cox
A FLORIDA TODAY column

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The death of Betty Cash at age
69 in Alabama late last month generated no headlines,
and only the Mutual UFO Network saw fit to make note
of it. "She was devoted to family and friends,"
stated the press release, "and never allowed her
illness to prevent her from helping others to cope
with the trauma of UFO close encounters."

One different kind of obit.

I met Betty in 1983, when she was living outside
Houston, still brimming with fire and indignation
over her radiation poisoning. She, a friend named
Vickie Landrum, and Vickie's grandson, Colby, were
confronted by a blazing, diamond-shaped object
spewing off massive heat in the middle of a Texas
backroad on the night of Dec. 29, 1980. When she
braked and got out of the car, the thing hovered
away.

Within hours, Betty was vomiting, blistering, and
losing her hair; Colby and Vickie reported similar
symptoms. Betty was hospitalized for what doctors
deduced as exposure to ionizing radiation. Medical
records notwithstanding, what really juiced the story
was how the three reported seeing this object being
pursued by as many as 23 Army helicopters, most of
them twin-rotored Chinooks.

The newspaper got interested because the man leading
the unofficial investigation was a Johnson Space
Center space shuttle flight operations manager. John
Schuessler did thorough work, and he was able to
locate at least four other witnesses - including a
cop - who'd seen the choppers that same night, as
well as their military markings.

As a result of the publicity, the Army Inspector
General's office was forced to conduct an
investigation, but couldn't seem to find any evidence
of its own involvement. An attorney for Cash-Landrum
tried to sue the government for damages, only to have
a federal judge toss it out in 1984.

Now retired and living outside Denver, Schuessler
retraced Betty's ordeal, which ended on Dec. 29 when
she died from myriad cancer-related health
complications. "The judge never even looked at a page
of our evidence," Schuessler recalled. "They said
they didn't have choppers up that night - we have
multiple eyewitnesses. They said maintenance records
of their CH-47s are routinely destroyed after six
months - that's a lie, they're kept for the life of
the vehicle. This is the kind of thing we were up
against. We didn't really stand a chance."

Schuessler said he never figured out what happened to
Betty Colby, and Vickie (the latter are still alive)
on that damp, dark Monday night 18 years ago. "But
I'm not giving up," he said. "I suspect some of those
helicopter pilots were probably burned as well. I'm
hoping they'll step forward at some point and talk."

But even if they do, we already know how it'll end -
at the slammed door of a pathology called "national
security."

I dug this up.. and I agree you need a pilot or crew to come forward, but I know their signed to secret DOD oaths etc..
ruff
 
Around 8.30 pm of December 29, 1980.....a large number of unmarked helicopters appeared overhead

How did they know they were unmarked if it was nightime? Why emphasise a point which cannot be known or verified? Few people would notice any markings on a chinook even in good daylight. However, in a good UFO story there are always unmarked military vehicles......

And, even in America, sueing the government because you became ill after seeing an alien spaceship seems a little odd.
 
yes

and sueing the government, "period". Is a waste of time. remember the suits agaist area 51 employers ? the employees that came down with serious illnesses and such..it was also thrown out of court . because of "national defense"
 
The physical effects are what make that case stand out. No matter what you believe about others' interperations of the events, there's no denying that these people and their car were exposed to something.

Usually you don't hear about UFO witnesses suffering from symptoms like this. That really makes this object appear to be something the US government was playing with. Either a malfunctioning experimental device, or something rather nasty we were cooking up for the Soviets. The fact that it was off base and needed helicopters to tow it away strenghtens the impression of a malfunction.
 
philo

it sure does. Its one of the top cases around. also not far of date from the "bentwaters UK rendlestem forrest (spl?) incident 1980 december) I just can not believe the c/l case was "made up" not with the party involved . It is "high strangeness" indeed
 
Re: philo

ruffready said:
also not far of date from the "bentwaters UK rendlestem forrest (spl?) incident 1980 december)
Yes, the coincidence of dates is interesting.

Rendlesham is another fascinating case that has veered wildly between the extremes of being sure proof (of something...) and of being debunked.

Since many of the most interesting cases have military connections, I'm sure the military know more than is ever revealed. Whether it's aliens, or just secret technology testing, we may not know for a century or two, if then.

There was one filmed UFO report that was explained years later as a secret test firing of a submarine launched Trident prototype. (Can't remember much more, except it was off some eastern Atlantic islands - Azores, perhaps?)
 
Twenty four Chinooks? And not one of them crashed? Very implausible.
 
Cavynaut said:
Twenty four Chinooks? And not one of them crashed? Very implausible.

:laughing:

I knew a WO who'd walked, staggered or been dragged from the wreckage of five of the bloody things...
 
cavynaut

I swear! I was going to say that same thing!! but didn't!! lol!! (I went for the serious side on this one "for once" but thats exactly what I was going to post first!! ha ha ha ha ) per rynner
Yes, the coincidence of dates is interesting.
yes indeed!! I followed that case from the get go..I order "sky crash" by mail when I was a wee lad and read it gleefully (by dot street and "famous" jenny randles bfp 1979-80) and it really wowed me..and the case would evolve over the years, (you know all the different hypothisis) and the last book I bought a few years ago "left at east gate' by the "airman that was involved along with writting and investingating help of pete robins..what a case also!! cash/l & Rendlesham are small minorities of the "really good cases" that screem for more investigation because of the "time frame and possible witinesses coming out and speaking up !! unlike rosewell where its just to damned long agone etc....
 
Not to completely sidetrack this thread...

Has anyone heard Jacques Vallee's theory
that Rendlesham (Bentwaters) "had all the earmarks of being staged for the benefit of the witnesses, perhaps so that their psychological reactions could be studied."

http://www.conspire.com/val3.html

Could there have been a worldwide "exercise" going
on at the time?

The only drawback I have ever heard about the
Cash-Landrum case was their unfortunate association with
the horrible TV special (was it "UFO's: the Hidden Truth"... something like that) hosted by ex-MASH star Mike Farrell.

Poor Betty Cash...

TVgeek
 
ruffreddy

I'm just chuffed I got it posted before IJ thought of it!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

In the descriptions of the Cash/Landrum case that I've read, the vehicle is always, well almost always, described as 'triangular'. Wasn't the Belgian FT around at roughly the same time? Could there be a connection?
 
Re: ruffreddy

Cavynaut said:
In the descriptions of the Cash/Landrum case that I've read, the vehicle is always, well almost always, described as 'triangular'. Wasn't the Belgian FT around at roughly the same time? Could there be a connection?
No, this case was 1980 - the Belgian triangles were in the 90s. (No doubt a Google would turn up the right date.)
 
FYI, the witnesses described the object as diamond-shaped, not triangular.
 
jerry jerry jerry

FYI, the witnesses described the object as diamond-shaped, not triangular.
don't you know "diamonds are a girls best friend". they got diamonds on their brains (most women)so it could have been 'sort of' triangley-ish.:blah:
 
diamonds are forever or just winging it

Russian UFO Update
Moscow-based paranormal investigator, James L. Choron, has been following the mysterious crash of a "flying wing" shaped UFO into Kalingrad harbor which reportedly took place on April 18, 2003. He sends us this update:

Remains of Kaliningrad UFO Taken to Prominent Moscow Institute
by James L. Choron

http://www.wintersteel.com

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Tuesday, April 29, 2003) Almost ten full days into the ongoing investigation of the Unidentified Flying Object which fell, unexpectedly, into Kalingrad harbor, near the suburb of Baltisk, there are still more questions surrounding the incident than answers. Diving operations, at the scene, were suspended on Friday, owing to the apparent lack of any large pieces of debris, while dredging continues...cont. if you click site its at the bottom right 2nd page (once you enter site..whew!) look for UFO Crash - In Russian Harbor
 
This version of the Russian flying wing report I find easier to read on screen.

But it's preceded by these remarks by the submitter (who it seems is also the Journo who wrote the story):
I am trying to get still photos, at the moment, but am told that it will be several days before they become available, as an analysis is being run on all known photos, to try and determine the nature of this craft. I will send you what I get, as soon as they become available. My sources say that I will, in fact, be getting some very good prints, however, this needs to get out, now, as we are already aware of a black-out being thrown up by "western media".Contacts at CNN and Reuters have confirmed, to me, privately, that they have been "ordered" to ignore this story and not release anything related to it. Likewise, the local "foreign language press" is releasing it locally, but are not given access to the wire on this story. Moscow Tribune has tried, repeatedly to access it's AP wire, on this, but the story is rejected. I assume that others are encountering the same problem, but "Independnt Media", which owns the other two "foreign language" papers, and substantial interest in "Pravda" and "Pravda.ru", are refusing to answer questions, or denying knowledge of the incident, alternately... this is strange, since it is literally all over the television, and has been for two days, now.

I am compiling a videotape of all local news coverage...

Please post both my email and site address, along with this introductory note, as I will be glad to privately email information to any possible distribution point. They may contact me personally, or through the site. At times I encounter server difficulties, due to the quality of my line, so it is best to put up both contact points.
Perhaps this will have to go in Conspiracy...

Another versions here:
http://www.paranormalnews.com/article.asp?ArticleID=610
(Jim was certainly putting himself about!)
 
Re: jerry jerry jerry

ruffready said:
don't you know "diamonds are a girls best friend". they got diamonds on their brains (most women)so it could have been 'sort of' triangley-ish.:blah:

Ruff - that's utter rubbish. Aside from your daft views about women, there's no point trying to make this case into another triangle sighting when it wasn't. Back-engineering older cases to fit in with modern ones is pointless.
 
This is one of the first UFO cases I really read up on. I'm pretty sure it happened as described, but all the evidence points to an experimental craft rather than anything alien. The ineptness of its flight does tend to suggest significant governmental involvement.
 
Specific questions I have:

1) Are there any experimental craft that we know of which bear any resemblance to the craft that Cash/Landrum reported? Anything which may use the kind of propulsion system described? The way the craft is propelled sounds almost like a hot air balloon but there is no way the intensity, size or heat from the flames could be a hot air balloon.
2) The case was dismissed on the grounds that “the US Army didn’t possess such a craft”. Is this a legal loophole which does not include experimental craft (which may actually be in the hands of Boeing or equivalent) or precludes release of this kind of information due to National Security?
 
It doesn't resemble any experimental aircraft or concepts that I know of, and I consider myself pretty clued-up about such projects, past and present.
 
Dark Detective said:
The way the craft is propelled sounds almost like a hot air balloon but there is no way the intensity, size or heat from the flames could be a hot air balloon.
The fact that the victims apparently suffered radiation burns and sickness, suggests nuclear power.

Perhaps an experimental nuclear powerplant suffered some sort of meltdown? Might explain why it hasn't been heard of since.

I wonder if there's any way of checking whether the crews of the helicopters suffered radiation burns too? (Unlikely, since even the presence of the helicopters is not admitted!)
 
Some interesting points about the case:

The object slowly sunk to the ground, then the flame shot out, and the object rose again, implying:

1. the object was subject to the laws of gravity / inerta (many UFOs appear not to be) and was therefore a physical object, not a mirage/tulpa/hallucination
2. the "flame" provided some propulsive force (perhaps not intentionally?)

The report characterizes this as a slow, bobbing motion, which leads me to the interpertation that the object was relatively low in mass (a blimp, or... inertaless??). If this was "normal" "lunar lander" type device, the "engine" would be firing nearly constantly.
 
Yes, it would have to be very low in mass if a single propulsion unit was causing lift. Otherwise, to lift something that size would need one hell of a boost - it would vapourise half the forest.
 
Facts which may or may not be relevant:

Houston is home to the Johnson Space Center (and of course Mission Control). Part of NASA is the Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) based in California.
If there are any test sites around the Houston area (which is quite possible as there are vast areas of nothing in the environs) that may be significant. It also seems a plausible location as it would be less distance for workers, engineers and scientists at Johnson to travel.
 
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