It is important to remember that the auto pilot/icing thing is about severe icing...you can use the autopilot (according to FAA) in other icing situations...though this is at odds with NTSB and its view on autopilot use in icing conditions.
I remember the American Airlines DC10 in Chicagoland where the engine came off, ripped away hydraulic lines causing the slats to retract on one side...later simulations showed that if the plane had been flown FASTER than V2 it might have kept flying.
I think virtually all the recent crashes (turkey, buf) could have been avoided with another 20 knots of speed.
I am a big believer in stable approaches...but a few extra knots of speed makes some sense.
By the way, could this plane have been at a higher weight than the pilots thought, making their V speeds wrong?????????