IAC President Vicki Cruse, Former KITPLANES Contributor, Perishes in Training Accident

August 24, 2009

Vicki Cruse, former U.S. Aerobatic Champion and competitor in this year's World Aerobatic Championships at the venerable Silverstone race track in England, was killed when her Zivko Edge 540 "nosedived" into the ground, according to witnesses. According to the International Aerobatic Club's team manager Norm DeWitt "Cruse was flying the early round 'Q' program when she lost control of her Zivko Edge 540 aircraft by what appeared to be a mechanical problem in flight. She was at an altitude that prevented her from bailing out of the aircraft."

In addition to her success in aerobatic competition and Reno racing circles, Cruse was a contributor to this magazine and formed Berkut Engineering in the early 1990s to help resurrect the Berkut canard kit aircraft.