FWIW, the MD-11 was designed by McDonnell Douglas, and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas in 1991, before the Boeing merger. A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 failed in a similar way in Chicago in 1979, so it the issue may go way back.
AA Flight 191 in 1979, 273 dead. American Airlines invented their own engine removal procedure using a forklift and damaged a pylon and mounting bracket. The engine ripped off the wing on takeoff.
Interestingly, the reason American Airlines was removing the engines (and pylons) in the first place was to replace that same aft bearing. McDonnell-Douglas had found that the aft bearing could wear out sooner than expected and issued a service bulletin requiring replacement. There is mention of it in the AA191 NTSB report[1] and also at Admiral Cloudberg's article on the accident[2].
I'm reasonably certain it was McDonnel Douglas that acquired Boeing with Boeing's own money. Most likely everyone who designed that plane has retired at this point anyways.
It's commonly trotted out, but the people who spearheaded the disastrous changes including mass outsourcing were Boeing for life - with McD people writing alarming memos about outsourcing goals set for Dreamliner
