Get over the props!
All sorts of bits of this aircraft are bent, broken and twisted, and often times the state of these things are clues as to why an accident occurred, but come on - in this case all the guidance from those that might know a little more than someone just reading this forum or looking at the pics, is that the state of the props (missing or otherwise) is NOT the cause of the accident. The state they are in now is a result of the accident, not the same thing at all.
The key issue is how did the aircraft end up in such a posture as to detach a good part of the right wing from the rest of the aircraft through some maneuver leading to a wingtip strike, resulting in the aircraft rapidly inverting due to the immediate loss of lift. This is not hard to visualize at all. Quite what the props were doing during all this is really rather a moot point, they were along for the ride, short as it was from that point in time on.
The comments from current or prior Metroliner pilots have been the most enlightening additions to this thread so far - thanks to those that have spoken up.
To those that seem to find relief in slinging mud, amusing as it is, should probably figure out what the PM feature is for and take it "inside".