Never had it myself.
But I have had some pretty impressive lag effects. One time I messed up a pass on some buffs, and flew right past the gunports of a good gunner. I expected to get plastered badly.... I winced, waited for it, waited for it, relaxed, and had time to think "Man, I thought I was flat out dead" -- before the bulelts all hit, with me now 1.5 k from the vulnerable point.
I'd seriously bet that effect explains a LOT of "puffy ack" death, though I'd never be so bold to deny that friendly puffs could ever possibly do that. Just remember that puffs are statistical effect, not aimed ones - so it seems unlikely that HTC would "accidentally" forget and apply the calculation to friendly aircraft.