Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Force and Motion–II: Problem 12

During a routine flight in 1956, test pilot Tom Attridge put his jet fighter into a 20° dive for a test of the aircraft’s 20 mm machine cannons. While traveling faster than sound at 4000 m altitude, he shot a burst of rounds. Then, after allowing the cannons to cool, he shot another burst at 2000 m; his speed was then 344 m/s, the speed of the rounds relative to him was 730 m/s, and he was still in a dive. Almost immediately the canopy around him was shredded and his right air intake was damaged. With little flying capability left, the jet crashed into a wooded area, but Attridge managed to escape the resulting explosion. Explain what apparently happened just after the second burst of cannon rounds. (Attridge has been the only pilot who has managed to shoot himself down.)