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Case · C-027

Falcon Lake: Stefan Michalak's encounter and burns

Falcon Lake, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba · Canada · May 20, 1967

On land Civilian witnesses Physical traces

Disputed explanation

What happened
The prospector Stefan Michalak reported that, while exploring the area, two luminous objects had descended and one had come to rest on a rock; as he approached, he was hit by a blast of hot gas that burned his clothes and caused burns on his chest and abdomen, followed by nausea and weight loss. The RCMP, the Canadian air force and Department of National Defence, the Department of National Health and Welfare and the Condon study investigated; at the site the official checks found only non-hazardous traces of radioactivity. In November 1967 Minister of National Defence Léo Cadieux declared that the official report was not going to be made public; the documents can now be consulted at Library and Archives Canada.
Proposed explanation
The Condon Report (case 22) listed numerous inconsistencies that, in its judgment, cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the account and attributed the skin rash to probable insect bites; according to the researcher Chris Rutkowski, interviewed by Library and Archives Canada, the conclusions of the RCMP and the air force did not give a definitive explanation. Skeptics such as Aaron Sakulich suggest an alcohol-related accident and an invented story; a metal fragment handed over by Michalak in 1968 was judged by the astronomer Peter Millman to be consistent with a forgery.
Official investigation
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian air force and Department of National Defence, Department of Health; University of Colorado (Condon Report, case 22)

Official documents

  1. Final Report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (rapporto Condon) · University of Colorado for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (DTIC copy) · 1968

Sources

  1. Library and Archives Canada, podcast “UFOs at LAC: The Falcon Lake incident, part 1” (2019) (other)
  2. The Canadian Encyclopedia, Matthew Hayes – “UFOs in Canada” (2020) (analysis)
  3. Wikipedia – Falcon Lake Incident (other)

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