You could erase computer memory, but blowing up the plane won't stop them from gaining intel about the materials, mechanism, and whatnot that make up the plane. An explosion won't vaporize the airplane, just break it into smallish pieces. Those can be collected and analyzed to reconstruct most any detail about the construction of the airplane. They even do this with missiles and bombs. Even shell fragments. When artillery shells packed full of high explosives go off, their intricate fuse mechanisms are left remarkably intact.