Retired F4
Not to be pedantic, but the missile is designed to hit the target directly, that's what the seeker head is supposed to do. Therefore missiles have besides the proximity fuse also a contact fuse. A non maneuvering and non jamming big target like a T777 is prone for a direkt hit. The proximity fuse is there to ensure a kill, even if the missile would miss the target, because of bad steering, electronic jamming or target evasive maneuvering.
There is therefore a high probability that parts of the Missile system can be found in the vicinity of the cockpit section.
Well - then I learned something new today. I understood that the 9M38 and the 9M317 contained only (proportional nav) proximity fuses. I think the belief is that this was a 9M38. Is there a source that verifies the 9M38 also contains a contact fuse?