Originally Posted by
Ovc000
To my knowledge the R44 Astro has a carburetor......and it surely was cold that day.....
Not saying the pilot didn't use full carburetor heat before descending but if he didn't, then on short final, the 'throttle valve' could have been partly blocked with ice, restricting fuel flow, the throttle will open more and more to desperately try to get more fuel flowing (hence why it's a good thing to keep your hands on the throttle so you can identify it if you missed it on the gauges).
All speculation of course but it is a rumour network.
Good thinking! Maybe this was part of the problem. I've got to ask him about carb heat setting.
Personally, I regard carburated aircraft as stupid, inherent risk, especially considering that since 1970 even the S-300C had fuel injection. It is beyond me why anyone would
want to use a carburated engine since then. What they might save in money is not even remotely compensated by the operational risk the bring with them.
Neither icing nor the guimbalish low-G float bowl hickupps are possible with fuel injection.