I read the article but I can't get my head around it. A missile - no problem. http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Tiger138260 A "Million-To-One Shot"...

A post-accident investigation discovered that Attridge had hit no bird. Instead, he had overtaken and run down the fire from his own guns. A inert 20-millimeter bullet, typically used in practice, had gone through his windshield. Another round had hit the right engine intake, and a third had punctured the nose. The engine's inlet guide vanes were also struck, and lodged in the first compressor stage of the engine, was found a battered 20mm projectile...

If the projectiles had been explosive, like those used in combat, Attridge would not have likely survived.

According to Rear Admiral William A. Schoech, assistant chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics for Research and Development, the muzzle velocity of the shells was 3,000-feet a second. Their speed through the air (the muzzle velocity plus the airplane's speed) was about 4,300 feet- per-second,
"This would be more than 2,000 miles an hour, but their speed was immediately slowed down, because of air resistance. The plane was traveling about 880 miles an hour, better than 100 miles an hour faster than the speed of sound."

If the airplane had kept its original course, it would have passed by them, but its steepened dive path made it intersect the bullet's down-curving path. When it hit them, they must have been moving so slowly that the airplane overtook them at a good fraction of its own air speed, which was about as fast as many a newly fired bullet.

Going Public...

Naval Vice Admiral William V. Davis, deputy chief of naval operations for aviation, told the story of the strange accident at a luncheon talk before the Aviation Writers Association at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, nearly five weeks after the accident. As a result of the accident, the Navy advised pilots of its fast jets to turn off course or pull up after firing their guns, despite claims by them that it was a "million-to-one shot."

But Attridge disagreed. "At the speeds we're flying today, it could be duplicated any time."

Attridge continued his work with Grumman, returning to flight status less than six months later. Afterwards, he would become the project manager for LEM-3 - the first lunar module rated for human flight. It flew as "Spider" with the crew of Apollo 9. He would also go on to become vice president of Grumman Ecosystems, the company's environmental management and research venture, which resulted in advances that resulted in the digital camera. He passed away in 1997.

On June 20th, 1973, Pete Purvis, a test pilot for Grumman, was flying out of Point Mugu, California, in an F-14 Tomcat, when his plane was hit by its own AIM‑7E 'Sparrow' missile. The missile had pitched up during launch and punctured the plane's fuel tank. After losing control of the aircraft, both Purvis and his systems officer, William Sherman, ejected successfully and survived.

Comes back to another thread - when your days are up...

Think gavity, inertia, trajectory and ballistics. Fire an arrow into the air at a certain angle and you can run under it. (not smart but proves the theory.)