I went to see the aircraft after the incident when it was parked in Hangar 5 at dublin. There are three engine mount bolts on the 737-200. Two of them had sheared completly and the engine was held on by the remaining bolt. The engine was hanging down at the rear and the only thing visible in the 12 inch gap between the engine and the nacelle was a lone hydraulic pipe which fed the thrust reversers. To the untrained eye it looked like the hydraulic pipe was holding the engine on, but of course it wouldn't have the strentght to do this; the remaining mount was taking the load.
The engine had an uncontained failure. The entire outboard side of the engine was ripped open like a tissue by the exiting fan blades. I stood there in astonishment with my collegues as we observed that all fan blades exited on the outboard side of the engine. Had any decided to head inboard, they would have entered the cabin at a speed that would have cut through anything in it's path.
I later heard that our beloved TV presenter Gay Byrne was a passenger. At the time i was much younger and Gay irritated me immensly. A stray 1st stage fan blade may have been well placed! However, Gay has since proven to be a fantastic presenter and interviewer and I'm sure will be awarded many prizes for his life long achievemnts. Thanks to the crew for saving the life of Gay and all the other passengers and, of course, yourselves.