I'd almost figure you'd have to have been there to know that.
Again I don't see anything here for which the most likely explanation is
an undetected, unknwon mechanism for the transmission of memories through time and space.
We don't know the situation where these "memories" were reported, and young children are known for being extraordinarily eager to please. Think back to all those cases of "demon possession" and satanic abuse in the 80's - it all turned out to be people telling therapists what the therapists wanted to hear.
It would be all too easy for someone to ask "Hey, kid, were you shot in the engine, like that pilot was?" and for the kid to just say "yes." The next person who asks might get that exact story.
Without an airtight methodology, this is an anecdote. I don't see that it's all that scientific to construct paradigm-shaking hypotheses from anecdotes.