Yes, I suppose that is what I was getting at. Most of us fly with a hand held GPS and a hand held transceiver - but some dont. We also dont know his fuel state - do we? So, just speculating in general, a loss of electrical power, low on fuel, maybe not certain of position etc all might contribute to this decision - and of course there might well be other factors.
The trouble is it is easy to assume a pilot knows where he is. After 40 minutes of DR perhaps with out the foresight to have considered the wind I can well imagine someone being considerably adrift and the panic setting in when things dont appear when expected.
I am not making excuses, offering explanations or criticising the pilot just offering some thoughts.
I have done a few simulated failures in similiar circustmances with pilots and the results have not always been pretty.
Moreover if you reach the point of being convinced you cant make landfall there are some pretty desolate seas around that area with not much shipping and some very unpleasant seas. There will come a point it is more attractive to land near some ships than end up 15 miles off the French penisula with nothing in sight.