Who says you have to land back on the runway you just left anyway?
Alignment was mentioned earlier and it is a red herring. Often a cross runway will be just as suitable
Agreed! I was faced with this very situation as an instructor in a 152. EFATO with at a couple of hundred feet above the upwind end of the runway. Not the best place for it when you have nothing but trees ahead. 30 degree ofset runway was positioned such as to not require alignment, only a 210 degree turn.
An airport has many advantages for crashing on including a minimum response time for emergency services
Exactly what went through my head in the milisecond I had to make the decision and simultaneously take control. Even if you have only enough height to complete the 180 to arive at the threshold of the intersecting runway, you still have the rudder to take care of some of the alignment issues. In my case it was not required because after a few seconds of nothing (felt like a lifetime), the engine decided to play ball with enough rpm to get me around an abridged circuit, however by the time I got some power back, we were already most of the way round to the intersecting (disused) runway which would have been reachable although not fully aligned. The abridged cct was decided on because from this position I was able to fly it all within gliding distance of a suitable runway or clear grass apron - better than landing unannounced across the active at a very busy, uncontrolled field.
I think that in his "The Proficient Pilot" books (not sure which one, but I will check and edit it in tomorrow), Barry Schiff dedicates a chapter of one book to this very maneuver. If I remember, his thinking is the same as others (including myself from experience), tight turn (remember stall speed will increase), remember wind direction and turn upwind.
Last point - I spent the rest of the day trying to convince the student that this is something he should never attempt. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is out of practice or low hours.