A lot trees around off the end of the runway YCAB. Maybe he thought a turn back gave him some chance versus no chance straight ahead.
I used to hear the turn back speal from new instructors during standardization and proficency checks. Use to ask the same ol' questions about where is in the F.M., day VFR syllabus as well as have you actually done it before. Generally the answer was no to all followed by "that was what my instructor taught" (the brief, not the procedure).
I reckon some of these school are still doing it because no one there has been killed attempting one yet!
So what happens when ol' mate gets his/her licence with this mindset of turning back at 500 or whatever. It might have been fine in C172 or PA28, but ol' mate now flys a Cherokee 6 or some other streamlined anvil!
Does the RAAF still teach turn back? I have heard otherwise with the preferred procedure being zoom-trim-boom!