[Excaliber]

Good point Wayne, I was wondering about that myself and thought:

Engine/trans work as a result of an accident. Clutch assembly not torqued down with a "pattern" to compress it properly, or improper bolts used to install it. I think this is the first time I've seen a pressure plate break up like that. "Back in the day" the flywheel was the most likely piece to give way first. All in all, a very rare occurence in my opinion.

It's mostly because of advancements with flywheel technology that a scatter shield isn't as necessary as it once was.