In the sim when we practice our OEI manoeuvres, the problem is usually just one thing (overheat, fire, seizure) but reality is that there may be more than one diagnosis.
Indeed. I wonder if airlines could be more imaginative in their recurrence programs. I used to find them distinctly lacking. Thankfully I've no direct experience of in-flight engine failures, but I suspect engine failures are often associated with more complicated reasons than a simple wind down. The sim exercises tend to be a simple distinction between failure & damage followed by SE handling & QRH action. Job done. I think the Qantas A380 engine malfunction & the BA loss of total thrust in volcano ash showed that the real world has never heard of a simulator and has a wicked imagination.