The Pentagon UFO Program: Documents Released

Update: The AAWSAP - AATIP documents on the DIA website under the heading "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” were temporarily removed. After two weeks the folder was (mostly) restored under the new name, "Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program."

John Greenewald shared this statement on Twitter from Pentagon Spokesperson Susan Gough:

"DIA mistakenly selected UAP as the tab label for those documents.  We’re working with them to change it to a more accurate name. As we have said before, while the AAWSAP contract allowed for research drawn from a wide variety of sources, including reports of UAP, the examination of UAP observations was not the purpose of AATIP nor the AAWSAP contract."

As a result, the links below to the DIA site for the documents no longer lead to the intended results. They will be updated once the documents are re-posted by the DIA. For now, use the link to the collection hosted by The Black Vault at the end of the main article.

Documents recently released from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) provide more insight into the inner workings of the alleged Pentagon UFO program. The DIA’s FOIA Electronic Reading Room has been updated with a section for “"Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program." About 50 documents relating to AAWSAP/AATIP recently released under the Freedom of Information Act are now hosted there.

The disclosure finally makes it clear that the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program (AAWSAP) and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) were the same entity. AATIP was the “Unclassified Nickname” used by Senator Harry Reid when asking for Special Access Program status and funding for the project.

More than 30 of the documents are the subject studies, Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs), subcontracted contracted by Bigelow Advanced Aerospace Space Studies (BAASS) to fulfill the requirements of the primary objective of their contract with the DIA. The other documents include the contract proposal, PowerPoint presentations on AAWSAP progress reports, and correspondence requesting and rejecting SAP status for AAWSAP/AATIP. As of this writing, there is no documentation that AATIP existed beyond the termination of the contract with Bigelow Advanced Aerospace Space Studies (BAASS) in 2012.


Was AAWSAP/AATIP a U.S. government UFO Program?

The 2021 book, Skinwalkers at the Pentagon was written by two participants of AAWSAP, James T. Lacatski and Colm A. Kelleher, along with journalist George Knapp. The authors state that AAWSAP was definitely a UFO program, but it also studied associated phenomena, such as the strange paranormal events reported at Skinwalker Ranch. In an appendix at the end of the book, it lists over a hundred reports BAASS produced under the contract, all supposedly delivered to the DIA. James Lacatski’s interest in the topic caused him to contact Robert Bigelow and work with Sen. Harry Reid to develop the program with the government.

The AAWSAP contractor bid form 

The BAASS contract with the DIA contains no reference to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, UFOs or any such terminology. If it was a UFO project, it was camouflaged. As a result, there has been speculation that AAWSAP was just what the language stated, a study into future developments in aerospace technology that could pose a threat to the US. It’s clear that Bigelow was conducting UFO research with funding under the contract, and that Lacatski approved it. The question is: Was the UFO research secret outside the program? Apparently, yes.

The newly released documents show that the DIA was aware of only the DIRDs and made their decisions about the program based on those studies. From the DIA visit with Senator Harry Reid, Nov. 19, 2009:

“To our knowledge, the senator did not receive copies of these draft reports [DIRDS], although he was aware of the general topic list. Thus, we can not find a direct link between the content of the reports and his letter.” [Later] “Senator Reid cites the ‘identification of several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace-related findings' that will 'require extraordinary protection.’ Although most of the unclassified reports discuss unconventional aerospace technologies, DIA is unaware as to which ones the senator believes are sensitive.”

As a result, their conclusion was:

“Based on the content of the delivered FY09 and expect FY10 technical reports, DIA can not find sufficient grounds under DoD regulations to establish a restricted SAP.” 

They did state however, that if the project moved instead into technological “research, development and acquisition (RDA) effort that lies outside the DoD Intelligence Community's purview.”


Where Did the Money Go?

To the DIA, the DIRDs were all that AAWSAP produced, but there was something justifying further expenses for FY10 (fiscal year 2010). In the PowerPoint presentation from mid to late 2009, “Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Contract – Update,” slide 7 is “Option Year 1 (FY10) Deliverables.” At the bottom, it contains a box stating:

“FY10 $12M also covers BAASS overhead, staff, facilities, IT, security, databases, etc.”

In a previous article, The Pentagon UFO Money Trail, we tried to trace how the $22M was used by BAASS. That’ll give a more comprehensive look at what was treated as miscellaneous associated expenses.

There’s No Such thing as Bad Publicity

Media focus has centered on the 38-page DIRD authored by Dr. Christopher "Kit" Green, “Anomalous Acute and Subacute Field Effects On Human Biological Tissues.” It’s the only of the documents that explicitly refers to UFO research. “Appendix A: Schuessler Catalog of UFO-Related Human Physiological Effects (Frequency Distribution)” relies on data from a UFO book:

“The Schuessler catalog, UFO-Related Human Physiological Effects, was complied in 1996 by MUFON's past Director, John F. Schuessler. Covering the time period 1873 - 1994, the catalog comprises a summary of 356 selected cases of UFO-induced physiological effects on humans during close encounters.”

The appendix included a frequency listing of over 50 physiological effects allegedly experienced in UFO encounters and abductions, ranging from skin discomfort to electromagnetic effects on vehicles. The tabloid media focused on the sensational and quoted the passage mentioning the case of an “unaccounted-for pregnancy.” 

As Dr. Adam Kehoe noted in a series on Twitter, Schuessler’s book UFO-Related Human Physiological Effects, 

“… is a catalog that is derived from reports in ‘newspapers, magazines, UFO organization journals,’ etc… The quality of sources is often poor, including publications like National Enquirer… Flying Saucer Review… The problem is structural. This is not data: it is a collection of stories.”

Kehoe concluded by discussing Green’s paper and the other DIRDs:

“Returning to the DIA paper, the use of the MUFON material is not a throwaway reference… Because these documents were produced as the result of a DIA contract, they have an aura of mystery and authority. However, chasing the references shows weak underpinnings.”

Of the 1500 or so documents released, Dr. Green’s paper represents just about 2.5% of them. Yet the sensational UFO material within has gotten all the press. John Schuessler was a key member of Robert Bigelow’s National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), and in his leadership role in MUFON, the facilitator for their contract with BAASS to provide UFO data and investigations. It’s poetic justice that Schuessler’s work is responsible for the AATIP story getting tabloid press. It's the kind of sketchy data that Bigelow’s project was founded on, so in that sense, maybe the most accurate portrayal yet.

The documents are available for now for us to read and judge for ourselves.

You can find the AAWSAP/AATIP documents at:

The Defense Intelligence Agency’s FOIA Electronic Reading Room, section: “"Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.”

The DIA’s publication of the AAWSAP/AATIP documents is a bit jumbled. John Greenewald at The Black Vault has published a page that is more user-friendly organized f, arranging the documents in chronological order and displaying both the DIA file name and title or description. The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) Documentation.


For a deeper examination into the AAWSAP and AATIP saga, see the earlier articles at Blue Blurry Lines, many of which were co-authored by Roger Glassel:

Part one uncovered a trove of information about the origins of AATIP, about the contract between the Pentagon and Robert Bigelow (BAASS), and secret subcontracts with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) to produce technical papers and furnish them with case files and access to investigation sites. Documents were reproduced from the MUFON Advanced Technology Establishment (MATE) and the contracts between the group and Bigelow.

The Pentagon UFO Program’s Secret Partner March 17, 2020

In the second part of the article, participants of the secret MUFON contracts spoke about their involvement and the fact that most of them were unaware that Bigelow’s sponsor was secretly the US government.

Breaking the Silence: AATIP's Secret Partner Speaks March 23, 2020

Continuing the examination, we probed the $22 million government funding for Robert Bigelow’s company under the AAWSAP contract. We attempted to trace where the money was spent.

The Pentagon UFO Money Trail April 23, 2020

A related article examined Dr. Kit Green's DIRD from the perspective of the Cash-Landrum UFO case. 

AATIP's UFO Medical Study and the Cash-Landrum Case February 14, 2020

Cash-Landrum UFO Documents and Ancient Aliens

The Ancient Aliens episode of February 15, 2020, featured a segment on the Cash-Landrum case with a new interview with witness Colby Landrum. Improbably, it was part of “The Real Men in Black,” a show focused on the mythical MIB first made famous by Gray Barker in the 1956 book, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. In the C-L segment, the show is talking about “men in black helicopters.” It seems like they filmed the Colby Landrum interview and didn’t know where else to put it, so they sandwiched in this episode with MIB commentary from the show’s regulars.

The key credits for the episode:
Producer: Eric Murphy. Writers: Max Thompson, Sapna Chhabra, Eric Murphy.

There was nothing new in Colby Landrum’s brief recap of the events, but emphasis was placed on the claim that military helicopters were involved, the central position of the failed attempt to bring a lawsuit against the U.S. government. Colby said:

”In my belief, the government definitely knew about it. There's no way that something of that size is gonna have 23 Chinook helicopters. They were in, like, escort mode. They were definitely transporting it.”

The show presented it as a matter of fact that the victims were exposed to ionizing radiation, despite the fact that tests given to Betty Cash came back negative. Dr. Peter Rank, was a radiologist and a consultant for MUFON. Early in the case, he was asked by the investigator to evaluate the medical aspect. While Dr. Rank thought Cash had been injured, he couldn’t determine the cause, however, he didn’t consider it serious or life-threatening. From his letter to Vickie Landrum:

See page 27 of this file: https://app.box.com/s/momf6fpbuq7on2rb6r8u

Getting back to the "History" show…

The only thing new Ancient Aliens presented was something suspect, a short bit with comments from JoAnn Donaldson, labeled on screen as “Former Bio-Medical Research Engineer, NASA.”

Narrator: "Following the incident, all three witnesses were examined at a NASA-run laboratory for radiation exposure. JoAnn Donaldson was a member of the NASA medical team that conducted the examination."
JoAnn Donaldson: "Our role was to make sure all of the readings, uh, were recorded correctly and accurately, and that everything was documented accordingly to the established protocols for doing a radiation testing. They did get radiation exposure, and I fully believe that their story was absolutely true. There was no fabrication in that experience.”

Examined by a NASA medical team? That’s news to me. JoAnn Donaldson from her description on Instagram:
"From being a old Apollo era Engineer to working for the DEA, then retiring. Now I am a minor cast member of the History Channel #AncientAliens.”

There were a few medical examinations of the C-L witnesses several months after the fact, but there’s no records to support the radiation findings that Donaldson states. Or that she was part of such an alleged examination team.

In case you missed it, here's a site with a transcript:
Ancient Aliens s15e04 Episode Script: The Real Men in Black


Dr. Gary Posner's C-L Investigation

There is some more substantial news related to the Cash-Landrum case. Dr. Gary Posner became interested in the medical aspects of the Cash-Landrum case in late 1981 and conducted his own research. At his website he’s just created a new page on the case, presenting his correspondence with people involved, including the previously mentioned radiologist, Dr. Peter Rank. As Dr. Posner states in the correspondence, he was an Internist, but he familiarized himself with medical texts on types of radiation in order to understand if the reported injuries were consistent with documented effects of  radiation exposure. His results were negative.

In addition to the documents and his analysis, he’s also shared his audio recording made of the 1981 segment on the Cash-Landrum story from That’s Incredible!, famous for the hypnotic regression of Vickie Landrum by Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle.

It’s rare to have pristine copies of correspondence documenting UFO investigation, so Dr. Posner should be applauded for sharing this collection with the public.

The link to his site:

Gary P. Posner, M.D.: The 1980 Cash-Landrum UFO-Radiation Case

The Cash-Landrum UFO: The Original Case Files

Since I began reviewing the 1980 UFO experience of Betty Cash, Colby and Vickie Landrum, in 2011, I’ve been searching for original reports, documents, photographs, even the earliest media coverage, the best collection of primary sources on the case. The story, early on, was transformed almost into a fairy tale or fable, and most accounts read like a story book tale. To get past the legend, to the facts of the case, I wanted to begin with the Mutual UFO Network original report, but no one seemed to have it. Or if they did, were unwilling to share it.

In pursuit of it, I located other files and correspondence from UFO organizations that had participated the investigation of the case, the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), The Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR), and investigators ranging from the super-skeptic Phil Klass to the wide open minded Dr. Leo Sprinkle. I’ve put most of those files online in the section of the BBL site, The Cash-Landrum UFO Case Resource Guide. However, the original case report filed to MUFON eluded me- until now. and it came with a lot of company.



On November 11, I received a batch of documents from a former MUFON Mutual UFO Network officer, nine folders containing over 700 pages on the Cash-Landrum events, including case files, news clippings, magazine articles, manuscripts of MUFON articles and symposium lectures, correspondence, witness interviews, legal filings and more. There is some duplication from one file to another, often from a document being forwarded as part of correspondence, but that’s interesting, too as it shows how the information on the case was shared- or restricted.

The first week was spent reading and indexing the file collection to isolate the portions that were new to me. Doing so, I took note of what was missing from the files. There was little reflecting the efforts of organizations other than MUFON, and there were also curious absences in the media coverage and conspicuous gaps in the case files themselves, missing primary documents, transcripts of interviews that were quoted elsewhere. It should be noted that there were no medical records of any kind, just summaries and correspondence discussing the health of the witnesses. The file collection, though very large, is incomplete.



A key point of interest in the files are the documents released to reporter Billy Cox in response to his 1983 Freedom of Information Act request. I filed a FOIA for these same information in 2011, but was told the “records are no longer available for retrieval.” The contents of that file (along with some other documents) show a different picture of the military’s involvement with the case than the portrayal in UFO literature. Instead of a cover-up, there are numerous instances of government officials expressing interest in the case, military personnel cooperating and sharing information. The FOIA material does not support the witnesses’ account of a UFO and helicopter near Houston Intercontinental Airport, and much of it has effectively been suppressed, ignored by ufologists chronicling the story.



Having become familiar with the new material, I am now in the process of incorporating the new material in chronological order and incorporating it into my existing case documents. After that, a re-examination of the case files will be necessary to see how the new material fits, if inconsistencies are found (yes, there are some noticed already) and to identify and follow up the cold leads. Also, there’s some further information about the meddling the case by William Moore and Richard Doty, their promotion of rumors of a secret experimental US craft powered by alien technology, and their manipulation of APRO and the UFO community to this end.


I’ve provided three trusted colleagues with copies of the files for safekeeping, and to demonstrate the authenticity of the documents. The work on the files continues, and my plan is to eventually share them, all or in part, in the documents section here. Before that happens, redactions like addresses and phone numbers will have to be made in order to protect the privacy of the living individuals involved in the correspondence. This entire process is going to take some time, but I hope to provide updates along the way.

The Cash-Landrum File: Civil Action No. H84 348

UK historical researcher Isaac Koi posted on ATS:

"I am now pleased to be able to share a further collection of material – about 30 booklets of documents produced by Quest Publications (some of which are over 100 pages long). ...thanks to Russel Callaghan and others in the Birdsall family, the under-appreciated “Archives For the Unexplained” ("AFU") in Sweden has now scanned nearly 30 of the collections of documents published by Quest Publications."

Of particular interest, is 101-Cash_Landrum_File-Civil_Action, a collection of legal documents relating to the Cash-Landrum UFO encounter. Below is a link to the ATS article:
101-Cash_Landrum_File-Civil_Action

Direct link to the booklet:
The Cash-Landrum File: Civil Action No. H84 348

I do not believe a complete collection of legal files exists, but between this, the CUFON collection and John Schuessler's book, almost everything has been disclosed.


Many thanks to Isaac Koi for preserving this, and many other UFO historical records.

Cash-Landrum キャッシュ・ランドラム Japanese UFO Documentary

The search for original documents on the Cash-Landrum case continues, and that extends to early media coverage of the events. The story received international attention and was covered at least twice by Japanese Television.

Below is a segment posted on YouTube on the case from a Japanese television show featuring witnesses Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and investigator John Schuessler. It’s particularly notable for Betty and Vickie participating in a reenactment of the UFO encounter instead of the being portrayed by actors. Colby did not participate and is shown only in a school photograph.

I’ve been unable to locate details on this program, but reportedly, there was a documentary featuring the case filmed in May of 1989, and aired in August in Japan.

"890518 - People from Nippon Television Network of Japan complete Cash Landrum film, interview John Lear... in Houston, Texas.

890923 - Cash-Landrum documentary shown in Japan."

Nippon Television producer Jun'ichi Yaoi was very active in the 80s and 90s and filmed many UFO documentaries shown on NTV, and it is very likely this would have been one of his projects. However, it’s also possible this was an unknown US program dubbed for use in a Japanese broadcast.  I don’t think this clip is from this 1989 show, though. After comparing it against Betty's appearance in the 1988 show below, I feel strongly it must be from something earlier, maybe 1983. While the show mentions Area 51, which surfaced late 80s, but that could be material edited in years later.

Betty Cash from the Japanese clip, and at right from 1988 in UFO Cover-Up Live

Unfortunately, a translation of the program is not available, since the real value in programs like this comes from the opportunity to hear directly from the witnesses themselves. So often direct testimony is not available and we only hear the UFO cases summarized and reinterpreted by others. 

UFO科学大学院の公開講座(F)をUFO科学大学院(USS)から紹介します

If anyone has information on this program or other non-USA shows featuring the Cash-Landrum case, please share the details by contacting Blue Blurry Lines.

The Cash-Landrum Incident: The Suppressed Case Files

C. 2013 by Curtis L. Collins

     The physical evidence in the Cash-Landrum UFO incident is much of what makes it such a compelling and enduring case. Another key factor is the reputation and expertise of the case’s chief investigator John F. Schuessler who had the difficult jobs of seeking evidence, promoting the case and protecting the witnesses. The medical records have been long protected by Schuessler, citing the privacy of the witnesses as reason for withholding them. What is less widely known, is that there was other case evidence that Schuessler chose not to share. Part of that evidence, a previously unknown government UFO file will be made publicly available here for the first time.

Complaint C-12, Cash-Landrum file from the Texas Dept. of Health

     In the summer of 1981, Schuessler was busy preparing a presentation on the case for the September Center for UFO Studies symposium. Meanwhile, Vickie Landrum and Betty Cash were working on the case themselves. In late July 1981, it seemed their efforts were beginning to show results. Senator Lloyd Bentsen replied by letter to Betty, advising her to contact Bergstrom Air Force Base to file a report and claim for damages, stating that “...they will be most willing to assist you in any way possible.” Betty took a flight to Texas, and together with Vickie and Colby, made the long drive to Austin to visit the base. On August 17, 1981 they finally came face to face with Government officers. Their hopes and expectations were high, perhaps unrealistically so, due to the effusive tone of the letter. Base officials merely questioned them about the events, then explained that the Air Force no longer investigated UFO cases. The witnesses were told there was nothing the Air Force could do beyond providing them with damage claim forms. They were profoundly disappointed, and it proved to be just one event in a long series of false hopes.

Some news clippings set the stage for the report:

Before leaving Austin that day, the three paid an unscheduled visit to their state representative - Larry Browder, D-Coldspring. Browder was out, but an aide was alarmed enough to take notes. She promised to do what she could. Trace Effects: The Cash-Landrum Incident by Billy Cox Florida Today 12/6/83

Corpus Christi Caller, Sept. 16, 1981

At the request of state Rep. Larry Browder, D-Coldspring, the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Radiation Control is investigating the Dayton incident.
“We came into this thing fairly late in the game,” said Russ Meyer, manager of the state’s public health department in Houston.
On Sept 16, he drove the stretch of road where the sighting is supposed to have occurred. His radiation detection equipment did not find any traces of remnant radiation in the area. He also took soil samples, but their testing of them is not complete yet.
“If there had been radioactive contamination in large amounts, some would still be left there,” he said. However, he said certain types of radiation - such as ultraviolet light, infrared light and low-energy X-rays - might not leave any residual traces.
Meyer has recommended that the trio’s medical records be reviewed by the state health  department’s medical advisory board. Specialists he said, could differentiate between radiation and symptoms that could be attributed to such things as chemical toxins. 
-The Houston Chronicle, TX, Sept 25, 1981 State, private agencies probing claims of UFO encounter by Cindy Horswell

Reporter Billy Cox later questioned Meyer about the investigation: 

Department chief Russ Meyer, spent a whole day - Sept 16- scouring a 10-mile stretch of open highway between Huffman and New Caney. “Our major purpose was to verify the presence of radioactive trace effects, but we found no evidence of that. The only conclusion we could draw was that there was no residual radioactive material in the area at the time. If those people suffered radiation contamination in that area, it must have had a short half-life.”-Trace Effects: The Cash-Landrum Incident by Billy Cox Florida Today  12/6/83

Meyer apparently felt the witnesses were credible:

“I have no doubt those women saw something,” he said. “But as to whether they were zapped with radiation, I don’t know. They could have been exposed without there being any residual trace long the road.”-The Courier Conroe TX, Oct. 30, 1983 6A UFO victims plan to file $20 million suit by Cathy Gordon

     The events springing from August 17, 1981 trip to Austin and the information that came from it were apparently not pleasing to John Schuessler, who downplayed their significance and  concealed the information and reports produced. Schuessler said of the the Bergstrom interview “It revealed revealed nothing new” (MUFON Journal Oct. 1982), but examination of it reveals some witness statements that contradict Schuessler’s version of the story. Instead he claims that the meeting was a failure, another act of US Government refusing to help the victims. In reality, the advice and damage claims forms obtained at that meeting led to the filing of legal case, and the publicity given to the witnesses allowed their story to be heard by the public.

     The other witness meeting with Government representatives on August. 17 led to an investigation by the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Radiation Control. The TDH report revealed that there was no residual radiation found along the road, but they were not dismissing the case. They made an important offer: they were interested in continuing the investigation, starting with their doctors examining the medical records. There is no documentation of it in the TDH files, but Schuessler refused or ignored the State’s offer to help the witnesses.

Internal TDH memo repeating report desire of examining witnesses' medical files. Denied.

     There is another piece of information in the TDH report that was incidental in their investigation, but has immense significance to the UFO case history. Charles Russ Meyer began his TDH investigation by contacting Vickie Landrum on September 2, 1981. She gave him a brief description of events and suggested he contact John F. Schuessler, for further details. Meyer and two TDH associates met with Schuessler September 10th. Schuessler provided them with a detailed account of the events and the medical treatment given to Betty Cash. Meyer needed to start his investigation with examining the scene for traces of radioactivity. he asked Schuessler about the location. From the report:

“I then asked Mr. Schuessler if he had pin-pointed the location of the siting. Mr. Schuessler stated that due to the late hour and the ladies’ emotional state they could only state that they believed they saw the object on the straight portion of FR 1485 between a beer joint and some kind of highway warning sign.”

     The discrepancy between what Schuessler reported to the TDH team and what Schuessler said about the location in his UFO reports is troubling. When discussing the case, Schuessler told how the witnesses were able to return to the precise location, and that the scene contained some identifiable, distinct features:

“It is interesting to note, that although neither Vickie or Betty had been back to the site since the incident, they both were able to take us to nearly the exact same location. The separate site visits verify the location of the incident for us.”  -The Cash-Landrum UFO Incident, page 54

“They were able to point out a spot on the road that indicated that it had been heated to an extreme level of heating. It was burned, and it was very clear to the naked eye.”-Unsolved Mysteries (NBC) February 6, 1991

“We had a very large flying machine that that came over the road that actually left marks on the road, so you know where it was exactly.”   -Sightings (Sci-Fi Channel TV Series): “Physical Effects” July 31, 1992

     Betty Cash was interviewed by telephone by UFO researcher Chris Lambright on July 12, 1985 while the legal case was still brewing. Lambright asked her about the sighting location, and she replied, “I have only been back on that road twice. And I have no desire to ever go back on it again.”

     Betty moved to Alabama shortly after her initial meeting with Schuessler and she was not available for field investigations. There were two filmed on-site recreations of the event that Betty Cash participated in, one for “That’s Incredible!” in July 1981, and another for “The UFO Experience” in 1983. Schuessler participated in these productions, so it is possible that his later claims of her identifying the location stem from these media events. It was Vickie Landrum and her grandson Colby that accompanied Schuessler on the attempt to find the sighting location.  Photos were taken at the general area, later to be said to be the precise location.

Schuessler photograph showing alleged UFO sighting location.

     The Meyer report documenting that Schuessler and the witnesses not knowing the precise sighting location does answer some troubling questions. Now we can understand why there are no photographs of a scorched road or trees, and why soil/pavement samples were never presented as evidence. The claim that the sighting location was found and investigated was the foundation of his case. If this claim was false or inaccurate, the entire case is tainted. It raises other questions about how evidence was presented and just how much of it can be verified.

 The Texas Department of Health (TDH) Bureau of Radiation Control file can be viewed in full as a PDF at the link below.

Texas Department of Health Bureau of Radiation Control: Complaint C-12

Texas Dept. of Health report. See Page 17 of PDF.

 Texas Department of Health file: Complaint C-12

Table of Contents

(Note: Files not in order, presented as scanned by the TDH. 

Pages 1-8 are inferior duplications. Better copies presented later in the file.)

1-3 Russ Meyer report 9/17/1981 (inferior copy- see better one on page 17)

4-8 Newspaper clipping 9/29/1985 Austin American Statesman ‘U.S. test gone wild’ brings suit by John Kelso (Note better copy on page 33)

9-10 TDH Memo: “contact with News Media” 9/12/1985

11-15 Soil sample reports (Note: some apparently included in error from unrelated cases.) 

16 “Complaint C-12” file cover? photo of FM-1485

17-19 Russ Meyer report 9/17/1981: “Citizen request about possible exposure to radiation”

20 Memo 10/1/1981 “access to the medical records” “DMC” - David M, Cochran

21 Memo 10/9/1981 from George R. Anderson M.D. seeking medical records

22-23 Report from David K. Lacker “Legislative Contact, Bureau of Radiation Control”

24 Notes from Randy Cosson, aide to Rep. Browder on meeting Vickie Landrum

25-32 Newspaper clippings The Conroe Courier 2/22/1981, 2/23/1981

33-36 Newspaper clipping 9/29/1985 Austin American Statesman 

UPDATE: Schuessler's Memo of the TDH Meeting

    In the appendix of John F. Schuessler's The Cash Landrum UFO Incident, he reproduces a VISIT  memo documenting his meeting with TDH officials. This doesn't answer the questions about the location controversy, but it may provides some insight into why the State's offer of medical help was refused.

Subject/Purpose Cash/Landrum Case 9/10/81J. Schuessler met with Russ Meyer, G. Freeland, M. Vredenburg of the Radiation Control Branch of the Texas Dept. of Health per V. Landrum request

Discussions/Comments (Info. Obtained, Conclusions)1. State Representative Browder requested the above noted group to look into the case , as the result of Betty Cash & Vickie Landrum visiting his office in August.  Russ Meyer is a Regional Inspector and acted as spokesman for the group. 

2. I gave them any an overview of the incident and the injuries. They were quite interested, but said they couldn't prove whether or not radiation had been present. This type of case is not their normal job. They would like to have a doctor tell them whether or not his opinion is radiation this case. They would report that opinion back to the representative in Austin. It would then be up to him to pursue the source, type, responsibility, etc.    They could send a report to the state Medical Advisory board or but it only meets once a year. They felt they would live, since they are now alive. 

Action Required  They will look at Betty's hospital records if she wants to give permission. They suggested going to Dr. Vince Collins,  Rosewood Hospital, for his opinion on the case.

(Dr. Vincent Collins was a prominent radiologist in Houston.)  

C. 2013 Curtis L. Collins