Read the report, which I’ve linked to in a previous comment. You are right for the most part. The report implies that all would have been well if he’d hugged the coast, where lights would have been visible, and visibility was something like 8 miles. But haze over water in the dark can be variable and problematic.
NTSB also had a report regarding a certain transatlantic flight that only had fuel in its wing tanks and an empty center tank.
Transatlantic without a full load of fuel?
Probably won’t get to the report. About 48 hours of youtubes to listen to. LOL. I forget what the most probable destroyer was . . . a missile from a Navy ship that “misfired?” Yeah, right. or what?
It is the 'light to dark' transition. If you are still maintaining a VFR scan, vertigo is the result. If there is only one pilot and the rest screaming women, you are gonna die.