Air traffic control at Little Rock had originally told Flight 1420 to expect an approach to runway 22L. However, at 23:39 (11:39 PM) a controller advised the crew of a wind-shear alert and a change in wind direction. As a result, Captain Buschmann requested a change to Runway 4R so that the flight would have a headwind during landing, and Flight 1420 was cleared for a visual approach to this runway. Because the plane was already close to the airport, the controller had to direct it away to line it up for a landing on 4R. As a result, Flight 1420 faced away from the airport for several minutes, and because the plane's weather radar had a narrow and forward-facing field of view, the flight crew could not see thunderstorms approaching the airport during their turn. As the aircraft approached, a severe thunderstorm arrived over the airport, and at 23:44 the first officer notified the controller that the crew had lost sight of the runway. The controller then cleared the aircraft to land on 4R using an instrument landing system (ILS) approach.