I know we are all engaged in guesswork at this point, but if an engine
fails
at 16,000 feet I would expect that there is a nice long glide availble
(regardless of turbulence) that would likely yield a pretty good landing
spot. I know, I wasn't there - I'm not judging, just wondering...

Having just flown in that part of the world, I can safely say that an engine
failure at 16K *might* only give you a couple of thousand feet to think
about finding a landing spot, depending on the terrain. A long glide might
not be in the cards.

Worse, there were plenty of spots in the mountains where an engine failure
would have been non-survivable.

Unless, of course, you had a ballistic 'chute to deploy, like this guy did.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"