Undergo vs Suffer an accident

Question

I was doing a CAE Practice Test on Use of English (It is a multiple choice exercise) when I came across the following example:

Her life was cut tragically short. She ______ a horrific accident at
  the National Air Show in Ohio in the USA, when her plane crashed
  through the roof of a building

In the gap you need to choose between underwent and suffered.

Both of these collocate with accident according to ludwig.guru: 1) suffered, 2. underwent

However, the answer key suggests suffered as the only possibility.

Why can't the latter work as well?

Robusto · Accepted Answer

The difference here is one of affect, which used as a noun is a psychological term for "the emotion associated with an idea or set of ideas."

One can undergo any process, including an accident, but the tenor of the example makes it clear that whoever is relating the tale has a distinct opinion about it. The pilot's accident was a catastrophe (her life was cut "tragically short," the accident was "horrific"), and so the neutral verb underwent might seem out of place, or even somewhat comical, in that sentence. Coupling "tragically" and "horrific" with "suffered" creates a concordance that reinforces the notion that the accident was a very bad thing.

Undergo vs Suffer an accident

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