Nope. The phrase predates fighter planes. There isn’t any universally accepted origin for it.
I’ve read that the “Whole NINE yards” was the phrase meaning a WWI machine gun crew fired the entire belt from an ammo container that wss NINE YARDS (27feet) long. It was the advent of the Machine Gun that lead to the slaughter on the “Western Front” of WWI.
You’re right. The aircraft explanation has been debunked.