First… To those who know this airport. Do we know if one of the SIDs at this airport requires a right turn after departure?
If things were going TU at a very early stage, he may well have over-dramatized the turn away from high-ish ground. His local knowledge might also have influenced him to turn well away from huge gas/fuel bottles and go for low terrain. That would certainly indicate he feared a normal single engine profile was not going to be achieved.