fatal error is maya's catch all for something bad has happened. It may not be the split and cut edge operation at all. You could have to much history built up, or you are running low on system resources, or it could be the phase of the moon or contents of the refresh register or color of socks you are wearing.
All kidding aside these pop up a lot in maya.
Try this. close maya, reopen it, load a fresh version of the file before you did the projections. project again and this time after each projection and split and cut operation delete the history on the part you are cutting.
Also it could be helpful to see your wire frame.
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675