Originally Posted by
sheppey
As you rightly say, there have been numerous events of the type you describe. While it is usually difficult to say for certain the reason the engine has failed to respond on practice forced landings, especially if there was no obvious mechanical failure, investigations have usually pointed out the weather conditions were conducive to carb icing; exacerbated by the pilot forgetting to use or incorrectly using, carb heat during prolonged glide at idle power. That is an entirely different subject to the discussion points on this thread
No doubt some of the incidents were caused by carb icing however in my experience plug fouling as a result of extended low power (idle) settings is prevalent as well.
My main point is I don't believe there is any material difference from a safety point if view between the two methods and the precursor of most single OEI training accidents is the exercise being carried out in an inappropriate manner.