Cash-Landrum incident (1980).
documentedclose_encounterLandmark High-Strangeness Cases
[DOCUMENTED injuries/lawsuit; cause DISPUTED] Dec 29 1980 near Dayton TX: Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum & grandson Colby reported a diamond-shaped craft venting flame on the road, escorted by ~23 helicopters (described as CH-47 Chinooks). All three fell ill; Cash had burns, hair loss & symptoms her doctor called 'classic radiation injury.'.
Most medically documented US UAP-injury claim. Treating physician Dr. Bryan McClelland deemed Cash's illness a 'classic radiation injury'. MUFON's John Schuessler (NASA/McDonnell-Douglas aerospace engineer) was principal investigator; an Army IG probe (Lt. Col. George Sarran, 1982) found no military link but excluded classified records. Via 'UFO lawyer' Peter Gersten they sued the US government for $20M under the Federal Tort Claims Act; dismissed Aug 21 1986 - injuries acknowledged genuine but no proof the craft/helicopters were government-operated. Skeptical points [DISPUTED]: Schuessler's own Geiger check of the car found no radioactivity; some posit a classified/contractor aircraft leaking radiation (CH-47 escort theory). Cash died 1998.