Similar thing happened in the mid east about 2 years ago.. .A320 (I think) DEP Muscat for Dubai, reported what he thought was a near miss. With a bright yellow "flame"...VERY near his flight path.. .Several controllers smoking on the balcony saw the meteorite reenter the atmosphere and very nearly hit the ground, would have been on the direct track. . .So it can happen.. .HAd an instance several years ago in Perth, solid rocket boosters off the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian ocean within 20 or 30 miles of a SAA B747. He reported that they looked pretty impressive.
cheers