Fireflybob, would you not turn towards your destination, away from the high ground in those circumstances?
We don't know all the circumstances, whether he was attempting to maintain VFR or had previously been flying IMC/IFR at a higher level. This is pure speculation but throw in an engine failure (and real ones are never like the ones we practice - e.g. it could have been a partial failure) and even the most proficient pilot can become overloaded.
If you had a control issue then maybe you can't turn?
As has been said before we'll have to see what the AIB come up with.