Piper PA-25-235 accident near Center, Colorado, September 4, 1987
On September 4, 1987 at about 4:22 pm local time, a Piper PA-25-235, registered N6796Z, was destroyed in an accident near Center, Colorado. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 1987 · about 4:22 pm local time
- Place
- Center, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-25-235 · all PA-25-235s on the register
- Registration
- N6796Z · no longer on the register · serial 25-2441
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE ENG LOST POWER WHILE THE ACFT WAS EN ROUTE TO SPRAY A FIELD. THERE WAS NO SUITABLE TERRAIN FOR A FORCED LANDING AND THE PLT LANDED THE AIRCRAFT IN A SOFT, CULTIVATED FIELD AND NOSED OVER. EXAMINATION OF THE ENG REVEALED BURNED AND STUCK INTAKE AND EXHAUST VALVES.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 16,050 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,106 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 9, 1987; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1V8 Center CO at 4:10 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.