Wind and Distance Contributed to Cory Lidle Crash

I'm still mystified as to how the plane owned by Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into a Manhattan high rise, but the NTSB has offered some additional information:

NEW YORK — A light wind blowing across New York City played a role in last month's airplane crash that killed Yankees' pitcher Corey Lidle and his flight instructor, federal investigators ruled Friday.

A Cirrus SR20, registered in Lidle's name, crashed into the 30th floor of an Upper East Side luxury condo on Oct. 11, killing both him and instructor Tyler Stanger when the pilot of the plane — either Lidle or Stanger — was unable to turn the plane sharply enough in the wind. The plane fell to the ground, while its engine shot into the building at the point of impact.

The airplane was flying along the East River between Manhattan and Queens when it attempted a U-turn with only 1,300 feet of room for the turn. To make a successful turn with a wind of 8 miles-an-hour from the East, the aircraft would have had to bank so steeply that it might have stalled.

My question is, what were the pilots looking at as they made the turn? In a high wing aircraft like the Cessnas I used to fly, the wing blanks your vision in the direction of a turn and I could better understand how you could fly into something as they did in New York. But the Cirrus is a low wing aircraft which means visibility in the direction of the turn should have been excellent. If they saw they weren't going to be able to complete the turn safely, I would think they would straighten out and fly up the street if necessary while climbing above the buildings. It would be better to get your hand slapped by the FAA than to fly into a building.

All I can figure is the pilots must have been focused on the plane's instruments instead of looking out the window where they were going.