TraderAL
I can't match your research, but a couple of minutes searching on Jane's suggests that Stinger uses a fragmentation warhead. Specifically
Warhead: 1 kg HE blast smooth-case fragmentation with time-delay contact fuze
More can be found at:
http://www.janes.com/defence/air_for...1013_2_n.shtml
and by searching
www.janes.com
They also quote a maximum velocity of
rather than the Mach 4 you quote.
As regards the area of impact, the text says that
As the weapon nears its target, the seeker head activates its Target Adaptive Guidance (TAG) circuit within one second of impact to modify its trajectory away from the exhaust plume towards the critical area of the IR target itself. The fuzing system allows for both contact activation as well as missile self-destruction after 20 seconds of flight time following the launch. The Picatinny Arsenal warhead carried has a smooth fragmentation casing to ensure that the desired blast/fragmentation effect is achieved.
This seems to clearly state that the missile would not necessarily hit an engine, but I would expect that damage from warhead fragments would be seen. I'm not claiming to be an expert - far from it - but I believe that the effects of a fragmentation warhead are obvious in a crash investigation. The recent (alleged) shooting down of a Russian airliner by a Ukranian missile would seem to support this.
HTH
[ 21 November 2001: Message edited by: Evo7 ]