What happened
Departing from Greensboro at 18:03, the flight experienced a slight delay caused by the reorganization of baggage. After climbing to a cruising altitude of 9,000 feet, the crew contacted Raleigh approach control at 18:14, where they were instructed to descend to 6,000 feet and decrease speed to 180 knots. Subsequent communications with Raleigh final radar control at 18:25 resulted in further instructions to descend to 3,000 feet and reduce speed to 170 knots. At 18:30, the flight received clearance to turn left and intercept the localizer course for a runway 05L ILS approach at or above 2,100 feet.
Shortly after receiving landing clearance, the number one engine ignition light illuminated in the cockpit. This occurred during a momentary negative torque condition while the propeller speed levers were moved to 100% and the power levers remained at flight idle. Suspecting an engine flameout, the captain initiated a missed approach. During this maneuver, the aircraft's speed dropped to 122 knots, accompanied by two momentary stall warnings as the pilot requested maximum power. While performing a left turn at 1,800 feet, the airspeed continued to decay, reaching 103 knots and triggering further stall warnings. The aircraft then entered a rapid descent exceeding 10,000 feet per minute. The aircraft impacted trees and crashed approximately 4 nm southwest of the runway 05L threshold. The accident resulted in 15 fatalities and 5 survivors.
Findings
An engine ignition light illumination was triggered by a momentary negative torque condition during power lever adjustments. This event led to a suspected engine flameout and a subsequent loss of airspeed during the missed approach, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and uncontrolled descent.