On the morning of May 20, 1967, Polish-born industrial mechanic and amateur prospector Stefan Michalak was searching for quartz veins in the Whiteshell Provincial Park on the shore of Falcon Lake, about 140 kilometres east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Around 12:15 PM, a cackling of geese drew his attention to two cigar-shaped objects descending from a cloudless sky. One landed on a flat rock outcrop a short distance away; the other hovered briefly before ascending out of sight.
Michalak, at first believing the craft to be a classified American test aircraft, approached it. He sketched it as a disc-shaped object about forty feet in diameter, and spent nearly thirty minutes observing it up close, close enough to hear voices and a machinery-like hum from within. He touched the hull — warm to the touch — and found his glove melted. When he leaned close to an opening, a panel slid shut. The craft then rotated, opened a grid of small holes on its side, and discharged a blast of hot gas directly into his chest. His shirt caught fire and he staggered backward as the object rose and disappeared.
Michalak walked back to Falcon Beach, suffering from nausea, vomiting, a pounding headache, and a geometric grid-shaped burn pattern on his torso. He made his way home to Winnipeg. His injuries were treated at the Misericordia General Hospital, but his condition worsened over the following months; he lost weight and suffered blackouts. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Canadian Forces, and the U.S. Condon Committee all investigated. Subsequent analysis at the landing site found elevated radiation, circular depressions on the rock, and residual soil chemistry changes.
Michalak's account, the geometric pattern of burns on his chest, the physical traces at the site, and the extensive official investigation make the Falcon Lake incident one of the most credible 'close encounter of the second kind' cases ever documented. In 2018, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a glow-in-the-dark commemorative coin depicting the event.