As an idea would this be possible. Have some way of tracking the damage that would have been inflicted and give the pilots some feedback.
You could have items show red/damaged in the Damage screen as they are hit but not effect the performance. Tie this together with the smoke so when a plane would reach that 'non-powered and controllable' flight or that shot to the pilots forehead his/her smoke would automatically come on. We could even add another color to signify a 'dead plane or pilot' color. This accumulated damage on the damage screen or the dead mans smoke could be reset with a keystroke or dot command.
I fear the needed programming would be too much given the focus on TOD which we all want on the fast track to completion.
