Originally Posted by Big Pistons Forever
As an aside I was thoughly rubbished in the instructor forum for getting my students to verbalize the EFATO actions while the aircaft is still on the runway, one of which is to retard the throttle to idle. I know of one aircraft that was destroyed after the pilot failed to do exactly that. The aircraft was taking off on a relatively short strip when the engine failed at about 40 knots. The pilot stomped on the brakes and just as the aircraft was starting to slow the engine roared back to life at full throttle, the pilot then released the brakes only to see the engine die again. By this time there was not enough room left to stop and the aircraft broke its back when it tumbled into a ditch at the end of the runway.
You describe more of an aborted takeoff rather than an EFATO, and I was taught the first thing to do if you abort is pull the throttle. If you are airborne and the engine comes back after quitting you can always go around or decide to land somewhere. Having the engine back even if its not producing full power gives you more options. I am not an instructor but I would question the wisdom of chopping power in a EFATO because that limits your options rather than expanding them.