Plane crash nola east (Fox 8 News anchor Nancy Parker killed in the crash...RIP)
The newest information in the report states that the takeoff actually occurred to the north, or heading out over Lake Pontchartrain. Since the pilot immediately realized that he was having engine trouble, he would have been turning left to make a landing back onto the same runway. He must have assumed that he could nurse the bad engine through a regular landing pattern, because the point of impact happened near where he would have been turning for final approach when landing from the south.
If his engine had completely shut down on his turnout, he would not have been able to reach the point of the crash and (depending on his altitude) would have likely tried a downwind landing on Rwy 18R. Since the downwind leg of his landing approach would have had the airplane over water, he would have been trying to make tighter turns in an effort to stay close to the hard surface. Perhaps this may have created a stall situation for him without enough engine power to come out of it. This is speculation of course, but it does seem plausible.