Mutt- I believe he is refereing to the African based 747 that came in with one engine strapped up with heavy FOD damage. During an inspection by tipped off airport authorities 2 of the other engines were also found to have FOD damage among other problems(memory is fading). I have pictures somewhere. But that was at least a year ago not weeks.
Knowing 747 Low Speed performance .... I think if you "lost" the right hand flaps at an altitude low enough to be hitting trees, the ensueing asymetry would cause the airplane to crab and probably roll uncontrollably. I will give it a run in the sim and see what its like.