Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX accident near Needles, California, December 27, 2025
On December 27, 2025 at about 7:09 pm local time, a 2011 Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX, registered N2312T, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Needles, California (Needles airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 27, 2025 · about 7:09 pm local time
- Place
- Needles, California · Needles · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX, built 2011
- Registration
- N2312T · registry record · serial 2011 1410
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On December 27, 2025, about 1109 Pacific standard time, an Evektor-Aerotechnik AS Sportstar Max LSA airplane, N2312T, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Needles, California. The pilot and pilot rated passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that while operating in cruise flight about 6,500 ft mean sea level (msl) to Lake Havasu City Airport (HII), Lake Havasu City, Arizona, all flight instruments and engine parameters were within normal operating ranges. Without warning, the airplane began vibrating violently and the control sticks moved rapidly to their forward and aft limits several. The engine RPM decreased, the vibrations simultaneously subsided and after about 15 seconds the pilot regained the ability to manipulate the control stick. The passenger observed that one of the three propeller blades had departed the propeller hub, and the pilot initiated a forced landing on runway 02 at Needles Airport (EED), Needles, California. Post-flight inspection of the engine revealed substantial damage to the upper left engine mount which separated from the firewall. The propeller hub was fracture-separated at the blade grip. The blade grip material and the four blade retention bolts were liberated from the hub. The airplane was recovered to a secure area for further examination.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (partial) during enroute (cruise) defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,133 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 6, 2025; 70.1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Atheneair LLC
The flight
- Departed from: BVU Boulder City NV at 6:07 pm
- Destination: HII Lake Havasu City AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02/2, 4,235 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 am from KIFP, 24 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KIFP 271752Z 0000KT 10SM 15/07 A3000
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 WPR26LA073.