What happened
During the arrival phase, the pilot was notified of thunderstorms in the vicinity of the destination airport. Upon arrival, the pilot received the Little Rock altimeter setting and was cleared to descend and cross the NDB (the initial approach fix) at or above 3100' MSL, followed by clearance for the approach.
Approximately 7.5 minutes later, the pilot declared a missed approach and requested a second approach. Although the pilot acknowledged clearance for the second approach, there was no further radio contact with the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently hit trees and crashed on high terrain roughly 6.5 miles west-southwest of the airport. The impact occurred while the aircraft was on an easterly heading at an altitude of approximately 1195' MSL.
At the time, weather conditions at the airport included rain with visibility between 1 to 2 miles and a variable overcast layer between 300' and 700'. The airport elevation was 464'.
Findings
During the approach, the minimum altitude requirement was 2300' until established inbound from the NDB. Once using the Little Rock altimeter setting, a minimum altitude of 1860' was required until passing the Baiks Fan marker, located 4.6 miles from the runway.