EI-BLB departed Sligo Airport on the afternoon of Sunday 1st. June 1997, having taken part in a fly-in at Sligo Airport on the previous day. On board were the pilot and a passenger. In the company of some other aircraft it landed at a private field which was owned by the passenger and which was intended for use as a future private airfield. As far as can be established four other aircraft landed at this field at Meera, Carrick-on-Shannon, with EI-BLB. All the aircraft took off to over fly the town of Carrick-on-Shannon as part of a festival organised by the Chamber of Commerce. EI-BLB again had the pilot and passenger on board and carried out some aerobatics near Carrick-on-Shannon, returned and landed at the private field at Meera. After a late lunch in an hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, EI-BLB departed this time with the pilot solo to return from Meera to Abbeyshrule Airfield. EI-BLB followed the line of the Shannon River from Carrick-on-Shannon Southwards. EI-BLB was seen by several eye-witnesses flying at very low level following the line feature of the Jamestown Canal. As the aircraft approached the Albert Lock on the Jamestown Canal it struck power lines which stretched across the Canal. EI-BLB was seen to bank to the left and dive steeply into a small field where it came to rest with the engine and fuselage separated. The pilot was fatally injured.

As G-OBMD commenced passenger disembarkation at Stand 33 the ground maintenance engineer said that he noticed smoke coming from the point where the ground power lead connects to the aircraft. This was followed by a number of flashes (of flame). He immediately went to alert the aircraft Captain and staff. Cabin Crew No. 1 used her own initiative and ordered an evacuation as she understood that it was a serious fire. In addition to using the forward exit onto the airbridge some passengers exited via the overwing emergency doors and down the chute at the rear passenger door also. The evacuation was completed quickly and without incident. The ground power lead at Stand 33, which is fixed in a ground power pit, was removed for examination. It was found that one of the two fixing bolts connected through the ground power plug had shorted across 2 phases (A & B phases), apparently as a result of damage caused by a vehicle driving over the plug while it lay on the ramp. This is not an uncommon occurrence. The short caused severe arcing in the plug when it was connected to the aircraft and switched on. It was this occurrence that was witnessed by the ground maintenance engineer.

The accident was notified to the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) by Dublin Air Traffic Control at 0110 hours on the 6 July 1996. An AAIU Inspector arrived on scene at 0200 hours on the same day. The aircraft, which was on a scheduled cargo flight from Liverpool, landed on Runway 28 at Dublin Airport at 0100 hours and taxied to Stand 55 on the South Apron. Having brought the aircraft to a stop, the cockpit crew commenced their shutdown drills, which included a 30 second temperature stabilisation with engines at idling speed. During this time the marshaller approached from in front of the aircraft and chocked the nose wheel. Having chocked this wheel, a witness observed the marshaller walking backwards in an arc, giving a thumbs-up to the cockpit as he did so. Seconds later, the marshaller came in contact with the idling port propeller and received fatal injuries to his head. None of the witnesses present observed the actual propeller strike to the marshaller.