A point to ponder, though not suggesting it has anything to do with this incident, is the reliability of V1 calculations, especially on very heavy aircraft, like this 742.
There is no acceleration check, and old engines powering a bent and beat up airframe may not push it to V1 at the planned point on the runway.
I used to fly these classics. Sometimes, on an 800,000 pound or more takeoff, I'd look up at V1 and assess whether I could stop in the distance remaining. Always, my answer was, "No Way!"
While conventional thought evolution on the subject sheds reasons to reject after 80 knots, engine failure at or before V1 still generally means reject the takeoff. Given the acceleration factor above, you may be well beyond the real V1 when V1 is called.
In addition, how accurate are the weights used for calculating the data? Would a cargo operator, freight forwarder, or shipper ever have a reason to understate actual weight? Perhaps to get more cargo on board?
Landing data has a built-in pad for stopping on the runway. Takeoff data, except for a brief assumed recognition lag, doesn't.