Well, loss of engine power and gliding to a stop is not that a far fetched case. Why is there not a fuel dump button to prevent a whole trips worth of fuel going up in flames?
There is a dump fuel button if you're not in the middle of a populated city and you're far enough in the sky you've got a few minutes.
It's primarily needed for weight management in planes that can take off heavier than they can safely land. I.e. if the plane had enough control to abort the flight and return to the airport, then it might have been appropriate.
most planes can't dump fuel anymore. if it's a serious enough emergency you land overweight. If it's not then you fly long enough to burn it off and land below max landing weight.
When fuel is dumped, it's at high altitude where it just evaporates.
Short haul jets can't do it, but their max takeoff weight is around their max landing weight, so it's fine. For long haul, it's not the same.
This is true but irrelevant to this crash. Most commercial jets are smaller (A320, 737 etc) and can't dump fuel.
Long-haul jets like the 787 do have the capability.
https://www.boeing.com/content/dam/boeing/boeingdotcom/comme...