Incident on “C” Street

An experimental Berkut 540 fixed-wing aircraft went down in rural Cedar Rapids, Iowa during its maiden flight on the morning of Saturday, 01 July 2023.

The aircraft lost power shortly before 09:00 CDT, and was guided by Vijay Pisini, 50, of Cedar Rapids—the plane’s pilot and sole occupant—to an inelegant but survivable emergency landing near the intersection of “C” Street and, ironically, Wright Brothers Boulevard.

In a post-incident statement, Mr. Pisini said he’d turned the Berkut in a northerly direction following sudden loss of engine-power, observed no traffic on “C” Street, and initiated his approach for a planned emergency landing. As the aircraft descended, however, its left struck a road-sign. The impact sheared off the wing and sent the Berkut careening into a ditch on the thoroughfare’s west-side. The badly damaged aircraft came to rest on the driveway of 9100 “C” Street Southwest.

Emergency responders arrived on-scene to find Mr. Pisini unhurt and safely clear of the aircraft’s wreckage.

Firefighters reported a minor fuel leak from the battered Berkut, but no post-accident fire.

A portion of “C” Street was closed for approximately three-hours while the accident site was photographed for investigational purposes and the scene was cleared of aircraft debris.

The wreckage was removed from the residential driveway and transported to a hangar at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) where it will presently be examined by NTSB accident investigators.

Agencies responding to the scene included the Cedar Rapids Police and Fire Departments, the CID Airport Police, Linn County Rescue, Linn County Sheriff’s deputies, Linn County Emergency Management, Area Ambulance, Ely fire, and Fairfax fire.

Deriving of the Berkut 360, the Berkut 540 is a two-tandem-seat, homebuilt, low-wing, forward-canard, aft-engine, pusher-propeller aircraft bearing more than a casual resemblance to Burt Rutan’s famed Long-EZ. The Berkut differs from the storied Rutan model insomuch as it sports retractable main landing gear, dual canopies, and molded fuselage, strakes, and wing spar.

While the Long-EZ was designed to accommodate Lycoming’s 108 to 118-horsepower O-235 engine, the Berkut 540 is motivated by Lycoming’s six-cylinder, 260-horsepower, 540-cubic-inch IO-540 powerplant. The upgrade necessitated a new, more robust engine mounting scheme; stiffened engine isolators, a custom sump modification, and a larger cowl with revised cooling baffles.

Cause notwithstanding, the Berkut, in all its iterations, has a poor overall safety record—with at least six of the 31 aircraft known to exist having been involved in serious to catastrophic incidents and accidents.

Speaking to the subject of the Berkut’s disproportionately high loss-rate, a representative of the manufacturer formerly remarked: "There were some accidents the first years caused by errors in the assembly, so it was decided to start selling it finished, or with assistance during the final construction. There were also some accidents that were caused by pilot errors. But there has never been an accident caused by failures in the airplane or the design."

The 01 July Cedar Rapids accident remains under investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov