# NTSB WPR26LA073: Evektor - Aerotechnik A S Sportstar MAX, N2312T, Needles, CA, December 27, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: December 27, 2025, 11:09 local (19:09 UTC)
- Place: Needles, CA
- Coordinates: 34.766347, -114.62327
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7663&lon=-114.6233&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA
- NTSB case key (mKey): 202222
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR26LA073
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202222/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA073

## Preliminary report

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.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (partial)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342) (defining event); cases with it: [Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md?model=060006Z), [All aircraft, 1,858 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/342/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N2312T](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2312T), registered now, S/N 2011 1410 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EVEKTOR - AEROTECHNIK A S SPORTSTAR MAX
- Registry model: [Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX](https://openairdocs.org/model/evektor-aerotechnik-a-s-sportstar-max) (registry code 060006Z) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 912ULS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912uls-series) (registry code 55572, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 2011 1410
- Year built: 2011
- Airframe hours: 1133
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Atheneair LLC
- Registered owner: Atheneair LLC
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection: 100 hour, December 6, 2025, 70.1 hours before
- Departed: BVU, Boulder City, NV
- Destination: HII, Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Airport: EED, Needles, runway 02/20, 4,235 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Satellite tracking device, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 59 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observed at: KIFP, 24 nm away
- METAR: METAR KIFP 271752Z 0000KT 10SM 15/07 A3000

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Incident 20251227020739I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20251227020739I), Dec 27, 2025: Evektor - Aerotechnik A S SPORTSTAR MAX, Needles, CA, Minor damage. Needles, CA (eed): [privacy data omitted], Evektor Sportstar Max, Bvu-hii, at cruise, sustained a sudden vibration That lasted for 10 seconds then the engine…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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