Just like toasters, there should be a pan that catches these "droppings" that slides out to be clean. Your tip will make it easier to clean, but will absorb some of the heat put out by the heating element and will cause cooking times to be longer.

A few years ago, my SIL gave my wife a toaster oven that has an air fryer setting. It looks exactly like the toaster oven we already had, but I decided to replace the old one on the counter and stored it in our garage. She started using the air fryer feature when toasting and found that it gave a better and faster "toast" than our regular 2 slice toaster. I have used it to air fry Totinos frozen pizzas and it comes out more crispier and faster than the regular oven.