He started his career in gliding when he was an engineering student at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, where he was a member of its Akaflieg.
Fellow students Gerhard Waibel and Wolf Lemke had already developed the D-36 glider and he contributed to its refinement.
[1] Holighaus flew in every German National Championship from 1968, winning six times in the Open Class.
He became European Champion three times and finished in the top rankings of the nine World Championships in which he competed.
The cause of the accident is not clear, but a possible factor was the deteriorating weather on the day and he may have unsuccessfully tried to cross a mountain pass.