One of the most remarkable UFO encounters ever investigated took place near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, in 1967. A prospector was burned by a flying saucer that landed near him.

The Falcon Lake Incident

On May 20th, 1967, Stefan Michalak left the Falcon Lake Motel very early in the morning and headed north into the bush, intending to indulge in his hobby of amateur prospecting. Around 9:00 a.m., he found a quartz vein near a marshy area, close to a small stream, and began inspecting the rock formation. At 12:15 p.m., Michalak was startled by the sounds of some geese nearby, agitated by something. He looked up and saw two cigar-shaped objects with "bumps" on their upper surfaces. They were about forty-five degrees in elevation, glowing bright red and descending in his direction. As they approached, these strange objects seemed to become more oval and then disc-shaped.

The farthest one of the pair stopped its advance and hovered in mid-air, while the other drew nearer, dropped down and appeared to land on a large, flat rock about 150 feet away. The one in the air stayed for a short while, then departed, changing colour from red to orange to grey as it flew into the west, where it disappeared behind the clouds.

The craft on the ground started changing colour, too, from red to grey, until it finally was the colour of "hot stainless steel,"surrounded by a golden glow. As he watched the craft with fascination, Michalak knelt behind a rock cropping, trying to remain hidden from sight. For the next half-hour, he stayed there, making a sketch of the object and noting things like waves of warm air radiating from the craft, the smell of sulphur and the whirring of a fast electric motor and a hissing, as if air were being expelled or taken in by the craft. Because he had been chipping away at the rock before the arrival of the craft, he was still wearing his welding goggles to protect his eyes from rock chips. This was fortunate, because brilliant purple light flooded out of slitlike openings in the upper part of the craft, and would have been blinded otherwise.

Suddenly, a door opened in the side of the craft and he could see smaller lights shining out of the opening. Michalak warily approached to within 60 feet of the craft and was able to hear two human-like voices, one with a higher pitch than the other. Convinced the craft was an American secret test vehicle, he brazenly walked up to it and called out, "Okay, Yankee boys, having trouble? Come on out and we’ll see what we can do about it." The voices stopped abruptly, but feeling brave enough now, he walked closer to the craft, ending up directly in front of the open doorway. Poking his head through the opening, he saw a maze of lights on some sort of panel, and a group of lights flashing in a random sequence.

He stepped back from the craft, and noted the wall of the craft was about 18 inches thick. Suddenly, three panels slid over the opening in front of him, sealing it completely. He took this opportunity to examine the outside of the craft, and reached to touch it with his gloved hand. There were no signs of welding or joints; the surface was highly polished and looked like coloured glass.

Suddenly, the craft rotated and Michalak was now facing the grid of an exhaust vent of some kind. Then, a blast of hot air hit him in the chest, setting his shirt and undershirt on fire. In a lot of pain, he tore them off and threw them to the ground. He looked up to see the craft rise up and fly off, feeling a whoosh of air as it ascended.

Michalak noticed that some moss and leaves had been set on fire by the blast of hot gas, and so he stamped out the smouldering debris. When he went over to where the object had been, he immediately felt nauseous and a his forehead throbbed from a headache. Piled up in a circle 15 feet in diameter was a collection of pine needles, dirt and leaves. As he looked around, his headache became worse, and he decided to head back to the motel. At 4:00 p.m., he entered the motel coffee shop to inquire whether or not a doctor was available, as he was now in considerable pain. He decided to return to Winnipeg and took the next bus home. His son met him at the terminal and took him the Misericordia Hospital.

When word of his experience got out, he was interviewed by newspapers, TV, radio and, eventually, UFO investigators. He was tested for radiation contamination, since some radiation was found at the site where Michalak said he had his experience. He did exhibit some very unusual ailments, including reported weight loss, peculiar burn marks on his chest and stomach, charred hair, an odd rash and recurrent dizziness. He was interviewed by the RCAF and RCMP. He led officials to the site, where the Department of Health and Welfare found such high levels of radiation that they considered cordoning off the area for a short while.

Michalak spent a great deal of his own money traveling to the Mayo Clinic, as it was not covered by Medicare. The results of the tests were negative; the physicians could find no explanation for his symptoms, and psychiatrists concluded he was not the type of person who would make up such a bizarre tale. If it was a hoax, it is the most contrived on record, involving radiation, contaminated soil, medical examinations and a flurry of interrogation by government officials at many levels.

In the report of the United States Government-sponsored UFO Project, the Condon Committee, Michalak's experience was described as "unknown," meaning there was no explanation for his experience. Their concluding remarks were impressive: "if (the case) were physically real, it would show the existence of alien flying vehicles in our environment."