Whether it was related to this incident or not, one thing this thread re-enforces is the fact that if something goes wrong and if you stop flying the aeroplane, you will die, unless exceedingly lucky.
One vital thing to do in the event of an engine failure is to "push" - unload the wings and you WILL NOT STALL. Without a stall a spin is impossible and a spin at low level will 99% of the time kill you.