Reports of rare marine phenomenon such as rogue waves¹ were widely dismissed as “tall” (no pun intended) tales by sailors – and more recently – surfers. It wasn’t until the last few decades that photography and marine instruments provided empirical evidence for their existence.

I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss anecdotal reports of simalarly rare and hard-to-capture aeronautical pheonmenon.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave