Witnesses often report a fireball in the air even when the investigation concludes the only fire was on the ground. Probably something to do with how the brain processes something you only see out of the corner of your eye.
+1 on that. I've lost count of the number of times that is reported, when it patently was not true. Part of me wants to attribute it to journalistic license also. The drama of the "fireball" falling from the sky is many times more impactful than "I saw it fall...".