Pace - you have identified the point I thought the discussion would have explored.
The Cirrus has a very effective autopilot. There was no suggestion it had malfunctioned.
I don't know how much time the pilot had in a Cirrus, or indeed any aircraft with an equivalent autopilot. However for anyone in this situation that has had a half acceptable level of training on the aircraft I would have expected the pilot to have engaged the autopilot in heading mode, followed immediately by a climb to recover VMC on autopilot. Set the bug, vs and hit the buttons and up she goes. Now I havent looked up the airport and have no idea whether there were any immediate terrain concerns given that I think he was at 1,000 feet. Maybe others might feel it was already too late to engage the autopilot, hence my comment earlier - at what point do you bail out.
Was it indicative of a lack of planning before commencing the approach. Should he have made a proper study of the sectional and know what terrain concerns there might be?
Food for thought.