Sounds to me like the question was set by someone who had not only not experienced the failure, but in fact by someone who has never flown at all!
HC comes close but no one really asks why an Engineer is being asked such a question. Is it you guys are like Pavlov's Dog after being CAA/JAR brain washed?
What earthly reason would an engineering quiz have such a question?
It is a well know fact that many exam questions have naught to do with the real world.
My favorite was the one on the Air Law exam I first took...."If a lighter-than-air ship is underway but without power at night, what signals and/or lights shall be displayed?" Granted, there were no lighter than airships in existence at the time....but every pilot sure needed to know that I guess.