I am a native english speaker and, like Ffi, I don't recall seeing "flash into flames." But based on the context of Near Earth Objects, the reference is to an asteroid fragment crashing into earth. (This scenario caused the extinction which eliminated dinosaurs, and every other complex life form on earth). In that context, Randy's meaning is correct. I would have avoided this rather awkward usage however and made the point in terms of a nuclear explosion. Objects are simply vaporized. Burning is the mechanism, but the speed with which it occurs makes any reference to "flame" misleading.