[dmitry-vsl]

I think this is a fabrication by the journalist. Overall, it seems to me that there was an ideological agenda behind this story. In the USSR, no topic could cause a stir in major media outlets without an ideological directive.

[HarryHirsch]

The family would have heard about airplanes, they were from Perm Oblast, which isn't exactly remote. It isn't exactly a big leap to think that what they were seeing was the lights of airplanes. Ships carry lights for safe navigation, and if you fly at night you also carry lights for safety.