Originally Posted by
India Four Two
I've often wondered what would have happened if it was the No. 2 engine that locked-up.
It wouldn't have been much different. Remember where that center engine is - in the very back on the fuselage centerline - it's not in the tail. The 727 engine mounts had 'shear points', designed to kick the engine away from the fuselage in the event of a structural overload.
Besides, remember what was believed to have caused the engine seizure - blue ice ingestion. It's pretty hard to envision a scenario where a big chunk of blue ice ends up going through the center inlet...