Originally Posted by
RatherBeFlying
There have been accounts of propellers coming off the crankshaft. The prop departs forward until gravity directs it down. Likely the fan took a similar trajectory.
Quite so. After all, a fan isn't much more than a big prop.
In a typical high-bypass engine, the fan provides about 80% of the thrust, so Mr Newton tells us that liberated fan is only going to head in one direction (initially, at least).
As for the cowl, the intake lip diameter is typically less than the fan diameter, so a departing fan isn't going to leave the cowl behind, whether wobbling or not.