Some years ago heading eastbound at night in the Gander area, we witnessed what turned out to be a large piece of space debris re-entering. It looked very very close but the TWA guy 20 miles to the west of me swore blind and very vociferously on the radio that it had only just missed him.
I suspect (as someone has already said) that these events are actually a lot further away than we think they are.
Incidentally, has anyone else out there almost taken avoiding action on Venus? I even know an air gunner who shot at it during WW II. He missed!