Actually, absent the thrust, with an engine near the longitudinal CG, losing the engine weight itself might not have been that much of a problem, but the further disturbance of airflow and spar damage, especially if the got it down near stall speed:
Stall, spin, crash, burn.
They are lucky they got it back to the a/p.
57 posted on 11/27/2010 8:40:07 AM PST by MindBender26
(Fighting the "con" in Conservatism on FR since 1998.)