I've never done that.
I have, however, accidentally knocked an external HD over while it was running & not noticed.
500gb mix of Pron, music & movies.... gone.
Luckily I had some of it backed up, but I remember the feeling when I found it & rebooted, only to find it was making a buzzing noise & was no longer accessible....
Feels like when part of your Digestive biscuit falls in to your near full cup of tea: It's ruined & you are powerless to do anything about it !!!!