[zipper]

I think you may be on to something there — a former airplane mechanic reported hearing sputtering (compressor stalls) just before the impact. Could have been due to damage from the trees, unless they were already experiencing compressor stalls that caused them to lose altitude. 1/4 mile at probably 130 knots (over 2 miles/min) is not long, probably 60 sec divided by 8, or about 7 seconds before impact.

Thanks for your service, those guys in the tower had a really tough job this morning.

[Yosemitest]

Accident reports from a tower controller's perspective are a real headache.
But the controllers can walk away from the crash after they get relieved of duty, and go have a drink.

But I still wonder about thunderstorms in the area, lightening strikes on final (electrical and computer failure/reboot, and flame outs on both engines),
and micro-burst from a rainstorm, or just a sudden change of direction in wind and a sudden change in wind speed with a micro-burst.
All of this could have happened in sudden sequence, or at the same time.

[Yosemitest]

Thank machogirl because she's the one who found and linked that fact.