Piper PA-25-235B accident near Holly, Colorado, November 13, 1985
On November 13, 1985 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-25-235B, registered N7313Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Holly, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 13, 1985 · about 9:20 pm local time
- Place
- Holly, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25-235B · all PA-25-235Bs on the register
- Registration
- N7313Z · registry record · serial 25-3245
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE PLT'S BROTHER, HE WAS ON A FLT TO CALIBRATE THE ACFT'S SPRAYING EQUIPMENT & TO MAKE A FEW PRACTICE CROP SPRAYING RUNS. WHILE FLYING AT APRX 30 FT AGL, THE ACFT STRUCK POWER LINES, THEN CRASHED TO THE GROUND & BURNED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS EVIDENT. TOXICOLOGY TESTS SHOWED THE PLT HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 0.117% & A URINE/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 0.274%. A TRACE OF CANNABINOID METABOLITES WAS DETECTED IN THE PLT'S URINE, BUT NONE WAS FND IN HIS BLOOD.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-B2B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KO8 Holly CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N7313Z the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN86FA022.