significant difference in circling areas.
You're not wrong. The old terps was just ridiculous for circling. Good for a C150, not a jet (although 411A argued til he was blue in the face is was no problem). The new rules aren't much better, methinks.
That prang was a good example of where, if you are forced to do a circle, technology (eg use of Fixes on the ND) could greatly assist SA.