This is also a commie counting method.
In the Vietnam War, if the commies shot down a U.S. plane and it shattered into 8 big pieces, they would count each piece as a downed aircraft.
This is why in Hanoi-published history books, you will sometimes see them claim greater numbers of downed U.S. aircraft than the total number of U.S. aircraft actually used in a mission…. even if 90% of the aircraft returned to base safely.