Another hypothesis for the roll could be that he did realise he was too slow and low and twitched the stick for an escape with a slight roll which bled off more of the precious little energy left, then thought he would have a better chance on the descent. Having got over the top and nosed it into the descent, eye balling the proximity of the ground, realised he had little height to spare and the only way to turn the betting odds in his favour might be by going straight down for the deck.
All that RAT 5 suggests is true, but only so if sufficient height and energy remains in hand. In this case neither were present.
David Learmount has published opinion on his web site. Here is the link:
https://davidlearmount.com/tag/bent-loop/
I tend to agree with him on all his comments. Makes a lot of sense. Especially those about faulty components.