This meteor shower, the Lyrids, wasn't hyped by the local weathermen on TV, so no one knew it was occurring. Plus, the rate of meteors was higher than expected, and at least one fireball (probably the "plane crashing") was observed.
Meteor fireballs can be a very alarming sight if you don't know what they are.
I doubt this had anything remotely to do with the Lyrids at all.
Basically, there's a "scheduled" "shower" every day of the year; most don't have real high meteor rates. They are the result of the earth passing through comet orbits; what creates the meteors are the equivalent of tiny pieces of styrofoam.
There are very few REALLY REALLY bright fireballs from any of these "showers."
They come from specfic radiants (the Lyrids, in the constellation Lyra.) Just because a fireball occurs during the "scheduled" time of a shower does not mean it is PART of that shower; it's far more likely that a really really bright bolide is an "erratic" (not part of any shower.)
Sunday night wasn't remotely close to the peak of the Lyrids anyway.
I saw one last summer here in Arizona. Unbelievable sight.