UFO attack
Reported incidents of UFO-related harm to humans, animals, or infrastructure
UFO attack is a broad phenomenological category covering reported incidents in which UFOs or their operators have caused injury, death, or damage to humans, animals, or infrastructure. The term is imprecise: the craft involved may be non-human vehicles, reverse-engineered terrestrial craft, or unidentified objects whose origin and intent remain unknown. The operators, where identifiable, have in some cases been attributed to non-human intelligence, in others to covert human military programs, and in many cases remain undetermined. Reported effects include energy beams, radiation exposure, and physical trauma, and often occur in the context of combat with UFOs.
List of attacks
| Date | Location | Description | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Los Angeles, United States | Known as the "Battle of Los Angeles," unidentified objects were fired upon by anti-aircraft guns, though it remains unclear who initiated hostilities. | No apparent damage to the objects; widespread panic. |
| 1948 | Kentucky, United States | Thomas Mantell incident: Captain Thomas Mantell died while pursuing a large metallic object of "tremendous size" over Godman AFB.[3] | Aircraft destroyed; pilot fatality. |
| 1953 | Soo Locks, Michigan, United States | Kinross incident: An F-89 Scorpion piloted by Lt. Felix Moncla and co-piloted by Lt. R. R. Wilson was scrambled to intercept an unidentified radar target; the two radar blips merged and then both disappeared.[4] | Two crew lost; no wreckage recovered. The Canadian government denied any aircraft connection to the incident.[4] |
| 1975 | Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona, United States | Travis Walton abduction: logger Travis Walton was struck by a beam of light from a hovering craft, described by witnesses variously as "a long blue flame" and "a bolt of lightning," which threw him ten to twenty feet through the air.[5] | Walton rendered unconscious and missing for five days; reported suffocation and possible chest injury from the beam impact.[6] |
| 1977–1978 | Colares, Brazil | During the Colares UFO flap, residents and Brazilian Air Force personnel reported beams of light from UFOs causing physical injuries across at least 30 villages at the mouth of the Amazon River.[7] The classified investigation was code-named Operation Saucer.[8] | Burns, puncture wounds, significant blood loss, at least two fatalities reported, and injuries to Brazilian military personnel.[9] |
| 1978 | Fort Dix–McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, United States | Fort Dix–McGuire AFB incident: an extraterrestrial biological entity was shot by military police at Fort Dix and fled to adjacent McGuire Air Force Base, where it died on the tarmac.[10] | Entity fatality; key personnel on the base were quickly transferred afterward.[10] |
| 1980 | Huffman, Texas, United States | Cash–Landrum incident: Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and Colby Landrum encountered a diamond-shaped object emitting tremendous heat and flames on the Cleveland-Huffman Road, accompanied by more than 20 military helicopters.[11] | Severe radiation poisoning: headaches, nausea, blistering, hair loss, hospitalization; Betty Cash later developed breast cancer.[12] |
| 1980 | Rendlesham Forest, United Kingdom | Rendlesham Forest incident: United States Air Force personnel at RAF Bentwaters encountered craft that directed beams of light toward nuclear weapons storage areas.[13] At least two military personnel were later placed on 100% medical disability associated with the event.[14] | Radiation-type injuries; personnel intimidated and debriefed.[14] |
Beam weapon encounters
The Colares UFO flap of 1977–1978 represents the most extensively documented series of beam weapon attacks attributed to UFOs. Over a period of several months, residents of at least 30 villages near the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil reported being struck by beams of light from hovering objects. Retired Brazilian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Uyrange Hollanda, who led the classified field investigation, described multiple types of craft — domed, disc-shaped, triangular, rectangular, and pyramid-like — some of which were observed emerging from the water. Hollanda's investigation team interviewed nearly 300 witnesses and documented dozens of burn cases, with at least two fatalities. The resulting classified report, code-named Operation Saucer, was partially declassified by the Brazilian Air Force in 2004.
Luis Elizondo, former director of AATIP, confirmed during a briefing that Brazilian Air Force personnel sustained injuries during the Colares events, describing symptoms consistent with directed energy exposure including significant blood loss and skin injuries resembling microwave energy burns. He characterized the injuries as showing "what appeared to be some sort of directed energy type injury... significantly similar to what you might expect from microwave energy exposure."
The 1975 Travis Walton abduction also involved a beam weapon. Walton was struck by a beam from a hovering disc while working with a logging crew in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. His six co-workers, who were interviewed by separate deputies, all described the same event with slight variations — one calling it "a foot-wide beam," another "a long blue flame," and another comparing it to "a bolt of lightning." The beam rendered Walton instantly unconscious and threw him ten to twenty feet through the air; he was missing for five days.
Radiation effects
The Cash–Landrum incident of December 29, 1980, is among the best-documented cases of radiation poisoning attributed to a UFO encounter. Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, and seven-year-old Colby Landrum encountered a diamond-shaped object hovering 25 feet above the road near Huffman, Texas, emitting intense heat and intermittent flames. Betty Cash, who had the most direct exposure, suffered severe headaches, nausea, diarrhea, swelling of the neck, and red blotches that later became blisters; she was hospitalized for two weeks as a burn victim, losing patches of skin and much of her hair. She later developed breast cancer requiring a mastectomy. Vickie and Colby Landrum exhibited similar but less severe symptoms.
Steven Greer has claimed that the Cash-Landrum object was allegedly a recovered extraterrestrial craft being test-flown by human pilots from the Nevada Test Range, equipped with a portable nuclear power plant that purportedly malfunctioned and irradiated the civilians below. According to Greer, an Air Force Office of Special Investigations officer allegedly investigated the incident and reportedly confirmed that four human pilots were aboard the craft. The witnesses sued the United States government, but the case was dismissed because no government agency claimed responsibility for the object or the accompanying helicopters.
Jacques Vallee has noted that radiation effects from UFO encounters are "well recognized" in the research literature, describing cases investigated alongside Dr. Garry Nolan and other researchers in which measurable radiation was detected.
Military encounters
Military personnel have been involved in UFO-related fatalities and injuries since the early years of the Cold War. The Thomas Mantell incident of January 7, 1948, resulted in the first known military pilot death during a UFO pursuit. Captain Thomas Mantell, an experienced fighter pilot flying a P-51 Mustang from Godman AFB in Kentucky, was ordered to intercept a large object described by base personnel as bright and disc-shaped. At approximately 15,000 feet, his wingmen turned back for lack of oxygen, but Mantell continued climbing. His last transmission described the object as "a metallic object... of tremendous size." His aircraft soon entered a downward spiral and crashed.
The 1953 Kinross incident over Lake Superior involved the complete disappearance of an F-89 Scorpion interceptor and its two-man crew. Lt. Felix Moncla and Lt. R. R. Wilson were scrambled to intercept an unidentified radar target near Soo Locks, Michigan. Ground radar tracked both the jet and the unidentified object until the two blips merged into one and then vanished entirely. No trace of wreckage or the crew was ever found. The Pentagon claimed the unknown target was a Canadian C-47, but the Canadian government repeatedly denied any connection.
The 1978 Fort Dix–McGuire AFB incident involved a direct confrontation between military police and a non-human entity. According to the testimony of Major George Filer, an Air Force Intelligence officer stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, an extraterrestrial biological entity was shot by military police at adjacent Fort Dix, then fled to McGuire AFB where it died on the tarmac. The body was recovered and transported to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and key personnel connected to the event were quickly transferred.
Luis Elizondo disclosed that United States military and intelligence personnel have sustained injuries from UAP encounters, noting that "the American public would be shocked" at the extent of such cases. He confirmed that a medical professional had examined "many, many patients" — military and intelligence personnel who sustained medical complications after close proximity to UAP.
Government acknowledgment
Government responses to UFO attacks have ranged from active investigation to denial. The Brazilian Air Force launched Operation Saucer in 1977 to investigate the Colares events, deploying military technicians, photographers, and specialists who spent four months in the affected villages. The investigation team interviewed nearly 300 witnesses and documented numerous injuries, though the resulting classified report was not partially declassified until 2004. Lt. Col. Hollanda reported that the United States Air Force was "interested" in the sightings, and he met quietly with American military attaches to discuss his findings.
In the Cash–Landrum incident, the United States Air Force stated in 1983 that "our investigation has revealed no evidence of involvement by any military personnel, equipment, or aircraft in this alleged incident," despite more than 20 military helicopters having been observed at the scene by multiple witnesses. The witnesses' lawsuit against the U.S. government was dismissed without trial.
The late Senator John McCain was instrumental in securing the release of medical files for military personnel injured in the Rendlesham Forest incident, leading to the placement of at least two individuals on full medical disability explicitly associated with the UAP encounter. Elizondo characterized the Colares events and other cases as evidence that UAP-related injuries "are not an isolated case" but part of a global pattern.
A scientist identified as "Dr. B." in the Disclosure Project claimed to have "direct knowledge of the fact that certain groups have used these space-based systems to successfully shoot down extraterrestrial spacecraft and their occupants."
Common features
Reports of UFO attacks share recurring elements:
- Energy beams: descriptions frequently include the use of directed energy, such as light beams or radiation, causing physical injuries or environmental damage.
- Radiation poisoning: witnesses in close proximity to craft frequently exhibit symptoms consistent with radiation poisoning, including burns, blistering, hair loss, and nausea.
- Interaction with infrastructure: damaged structures or disruptions to electrical systems are common in encounters involving hostile UFOs.
- Government denial: official responses frequently involve denial of military involvement despite physical evidence and multiple witnesses.
- Witness suppression: military personnel involved in UFO attack incidents have reported being intimidated, debriefed under threat, and transferred.