The construction "going to" is very common in those situations where "about to" can also be used.

  1. The car's about to crash! --->It's going to crash! (YES)
    It will crash (YES but it has slightly less urgency.)

  2. I'm about to announce the winner ---> I'm going to announce the winner. (YES)
    I will announce the winner (YES but it has slightly less urgency)

  3. We arrived just as the movie was about to start ---> … just as the movie was going to start (YES)
    We arrived just as the movie [was] will start. (NO/UNGRAMMATICAL)

This usage to express urgency or say something is imminent, is common both in speech and in writing; the author of the exercise probably wanted to see if the reader/learner had understood this lesson.