I think Jay has got it spot on, it could be an FI who decided to prioritise saving his aircraft. I also have flown PFLs at deserted beaches and if my eyesight wasn't good enough to see people on the beach at 500 feet then I wouldn't have been legal to fly it. I also agree that we can't condemn the pilot before we know the full facts but after seeing the most recent pictures my decision would have been to go in the sea.