There have been a lot of emotionally attached people talking about the lack of professionalism in this thread. Id like to suggest that the true professional pilot can sit and theorise about what may or may not have happened. Think about how much the aviation industry and policies have changed through examining aviation accidents and incidents. Even if discussing a scenario that never happened brings the attention of some new pilot to the possibilities of what can happen then this tread has been of value. I know the theory of the fuel system has come up and caused some controversy but id like some feed back along the lines of this possibility.
I have found it alarming that at least 2 ATO’s and a hand full of instructors I have met refuse to teach trouble checks after having an engine failure. Checks like these MAY save “Possible” situations like this (if fuel system orientated). Also the number of pilots that are taught to flick the fuel pump on as a first response to any engine problem. How ever if fuel starvation is the cause turning the fuel pump on will just cause the ingestion of air into the system and take longer for the engine to come back to life when the tanks are changed causing loss of valuable altitude.