When using the rm command in OS X 10.9 I accidentally deleted an entire disk.
As I understand the command I used: sudo rm -Rfv /Volumes/Disk/AppName\!\ Whatever\ X.app/Contents/Resources/*
everything inside the "Resources" directory will be deleted including folders with files, which is why I used the "R" flag. The "v" did briefly show me files being affected, but I closed the window within a few seconds. It was probably a mistake to use the "f" flag, but without it the problem folder wouldn't be deleted.
Does the given path not limit the command to that directory? How could the command be given in a more safe fashion limiting it to only the content of the path?
The reason I used rm was because the "Resources" directory contained a file that refused to be deleted as it "contained files" that were invisible also when showing invisible files, wouldn't let itself be replaced or put into the trash. It's certainly possible this file somehow pointed back to the entire disk and this is the reason everything was deleted. Does this seem like a likely explanation to you?
I've tested this external disk for errors, but it came back as squeaky clean every time. It's a new 3TB drive.