Are people ever hurt by UFOs?
People occasionally report feeling pain or receiving an injury during a UFO encounter or abduction. Physical effects include eye irritation, sunburn, skin cuts, and sickness. After the experience, witnesses may have nightmares and feel anxious, and they may undergo personality changes or changes in their beliefs about important life issues. Witnesses, especially abductees, claim later UFO encounters and other experiences with the paranormal, such as poltergeist activity or the development of psychic powers.
One of the most famous UFO sightings resulting in injuries to witnesses involved two women, Betty Cash and Vicki Landrum, and Mrs. Landrum's grandson, Colby, as they drove along a deserted Texas road during December 1980. In front of them, they saw a huge, brilliant, diamond-shaped object with flames shooting out from the bottom. Cash stopped the car and got out to have a better look at the UFO. The object radiated intense heat that softened the dashboard of her car.
Terrified, Cash returned to the car and with the others, watched the UFO move away. As it did so, a squadron of helicopters appeared and surrounded the UFO. The witnesses followed the object and the helicopters until they disappeared in the distance. By the time the three reached home, all were feeling ill.
Within a few hours, they developed sunburn like blisters, nausea, and diarrhea. Betty Cash's symptoms were the most severe, and she eventually sought medical treatment and was hospitalized as a burn victim. Her doctor concluded Cash was exhibiting symptoms of radiation sickness. The witnesses later sued the United States government, claiming it was responsible for their injuries. (They had identified the helicopters as Chinook twin-rotor helicopters used by the U.S. Army.) Their lawsuit was unsuccessful because they could never prove the UFO or the helicopters were devices owned and operated by the American government.