2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install SCR!!

[LarasLTU]

This is 2nd time I lost Phantom 2 Vision Plus - the first time it happened in very similar fashion and hit the water on June 27th, 2014, i didn't have any screen recording then and wasn't able to recover it from deep water - there was a huge disappointment that DJI was not able to refund/provide discount and even didn't try to explain what might happen: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=19126&hilit=larasltu

I purchased another one in July, 2014, had ~60 successful flights with it and today, Feb 22nd, 2015 it drifted away and went down from 100 meters height reaching 30 m/s speed. Luckily I have recorded video from my phone screen from very beginning and was able to find phantom parts.

I didn't notice anything weird before the accident and it was like my standard flying day. Yesterday I was able to take the following shots: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1047 ... 7209889793

I also took the screenshots of battery, firmware, compass settings the day before the accident.

I uploaded video to Youtube, where you can find the screen captured before/during the flight, photos from crash area, settings from DJI Phantom 2 Vision Assistant_3.6 day before the crash:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldcfhJ2 ... e=youtu.be

In summary this is what happened:
I was using Naza mode, turned on Controller, Transmitter, Phantom. I waited until 7 satellites appeared and Home position was locked, I took off few meters and waited for few seconds to ensure it holds the position. I then reached ~100 m height and was planning to take some photos when I realized it started drifting away very fast. It was not responding to the controller - I then switched to Attitude mode (right switch on controller) and still didn't have control - I then switched off the controller with a hope that it will return home, however it landed with very high speed not far away from the location I took off. When I found it - all the parts where separated, i.e. battery, gimbal, camera.

Waiting for feedback from dealer, however my confidence is 0%with DJI products. I'm so glad I installed SCR 5+ Pro application, which enables to capture the screen of android with all the details - otherwise I wouldn't have any chance with DJI, now there is a hope....

What are your thoughts?

 

[Mori55]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

If you in naza mode you don't have to switch of controller off .Your Fail safe is on your right switch. Switch should be from top to bottom. GPS , ATTI , RTH. Unless you had manual inabled.
But it should of RTH did it record home point ? The rapid green flashes after sat lock ?

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

I assume it's not true, because it's not set by default and default is GPS, ATTI and ATTI. What difference whould it make to my case?
Home point was recorded and you can see it clearly in the video - I wouldn't start without it.
To me this looks like standard flyaway, when it's drifting and is not reacting to any controller switches, including RTH...

Probably even DJI can't answer what could be the root cause

 

[danillll]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

I guarantee this was a GPS Connection Failure. It did, and looked exactly like my quad would when failing. It's a real shame you never read and followed the thread that is on this problem. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30912
A lot of pilots have saved their quad from this happening to them by doing the mod here. There is also a 100% Fix option shown on the current last page of thread.

So the reason I know you had this issue and said it was just like mine is because in watching your quad drop and pick up speed, it was coming down at a slight angle before you shut the controller off and it flipped over and tumbled straight down. I have a video of my own the nearly matches your video!

Now...you want to know what the sad part to what you just experienced is...? Had you not shut the controller off, and instead switched your S1 switch IN & OUT and back INTO GPS Mode. You would have regained control of the quad.

You may have some luck getting a warranty claim on this crash. I sent my quad to DJI that I had also bought in July for a warranty claim. It dropped from 237ft with only 3 motors spinning. DJI said they could not find any reason why it fell from the sky, and then offered to sell me a new quad that has to be referred as a refurbished unit because it was being done through the service department. The price was 50% off retail. If you need help in some way just let me know.

 

[Mac_Guy]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

I agree with this assessment.

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

1:37 I can see that it even gets altitude (108.8m), from what i remember from the ground - it was going away at full speed for few seconds before it started to descend at angle

 

[rbhamilton]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

First, sorry to hear about your crash. Hopefully DJI treats you well. Maybe a unicorn will come over to my house and **** rainbows all over my lawn. Err... sorry... just a by cynical about DJI and the way they treat people. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Thanks for the tip on SCR Pro. I don't have root but a decent $1 app to record your screen seems like a great idea.

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

I guarantee this was a GPS Connection Failure. It did, and looked exactly like my quad would when failing. It's a real shame you never read and followed the thread that is on this problem. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30912
A lot of pilots have saved their quad from this happening to them by doing the mod here. There is also a 100% Fix option shown on the current last page of thread.

So the reason I know you had this issue and said it was just like mine is because in watching your quad drop and pick up speed, it was coming down at a slight angle before you shut the controller off and it flipped over and tumbled straight down. I have a video of my own the nearly matches your video!

Now...you want to know what the sad part to what you just experienced is...? Had you not shut the controller off, and instead switched your S1 switch IN & OUT and back INTO GPS Mode. You would have regained control of the quad.

You may have some luck getting a warranty claim on this crash. I sent my quad to DJI that I had also bought in July for a warranty claim. It dropped from 237ft with only 3 motors spinning. DJI said they could not find any reason why it fell from the sky, and then offered to sell me a new quad that has to be referred as a refurbished unit because it was being done through the service department. The price was 50% off retail. If you need help in some way just let me know.

Thanks mate, that makes sense and I will go through your post. I was always hesitant to open the Phantom (as I do believe end users shouldn't do this and it might void warranty if DJI finds something not original) and I'm not sure I would make this improvement (as well as many others including Wifi adapter fix, as I was not able to use 640 x 480 mode anymore). I'm also sure that I didn't have any bump with this Phantom and I was hand catching all the time.
BTW, I didn't get that part, that switching S1 back to GPS mode possibly could help. I'm not sure that I didn't try it, because everything happened in few seconds

I left another post in General Discussion area re recommendation to use Screen Recorder - I'm sure this might change the situation once many owners will start sharing this information and there will be no room for interpretation: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35443

 

[Skynet1]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

Not to play Devils Advocate here, I'm not quite convinced the flight issue and crash as recorded in this case is the direct result of a loss of GPS. A loss of all control of the model prior to turning off the transmitter, coupled with an inability to regain control when placed into Atti mode seems more in concern here.
A review of the video up and to the point where the transmitter is turned off in this particular case clearly indicated the quad was receiving a minimum of (7) satellites, and (8) at one point.
A malfunctioning ESC or motor on the other hand can easily create the same effects as seen in the video, whereby the model drifts off uncontrollably in one direction, then loses altitude rapidly. Turning the transmitter off certainly hadn't helped matters when programed to Naza mode. In many cases different circumstances have been noted when crashes occur. Some may fly numerous missions before experiencing a catastrophic event, while others have minimal flights recorded. Whether it be related to an ESC, motor/bearing, solder connection, battery connection, or outright power failure, momentary or otherwise, there are 8 million stories in the Naked City, and this has been one of them. IMHO

Once again, Sorry for your loss. It may or may not have helped if you had not turned the transmitter off, and had chosen to program your failsafe mode to RTH and land, instead of Atti-Atti.

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

First, sorry to hear about your crash. Hopefully DJI treats you well. Maybe a unicorn will come over to my house and **** rainbows all over my lawn. Err... sorry... just a by cynical about DJI and the way they treat people. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Thanks for the tip on SCR Pro. I don't have root but a decent $1 app to record your screen seems like a great idea.

SCR Screen Recorder Pro in android is $4.99

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

1:37 I can see that it even gets altitude (108.8m), from what i remember from the ground - it was going away at full speed for few seconds before it started to descend at angle

That happens because the gps is confused as it is going thru a break in signal.

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

Once again, Sorry for your loss. It may or may not have helped if you had not turned the transmitter off, and had chosen to program your failsafe mode to RTH and land, instead of Atti-Atti.

What is the main difference between Failsafe mode on Switch 1 and switching transmitter off? My understanding is that both do the same thing, just in case of Failsafe on Switch 1 you still have a chance to recover the control while you can't do this after switching the controller off. In both cases if the signal is received by Phantom - it should initiate RTH and it wasn't the case. BTW from the moment I switched the controller off (I assumed this was the only logic action in that situation, knowing that I didn't have Failsafe on Switch1 and I tried ATTI mode) until it hit the ground - it took less than 3 seconds... Of course I had very little chances in my mind that RTH would work once you experience such a drift and fast landing at the angle... I'm pretty sure it was mechanical or electrical issue and not opening the case and doing different mods (like it's being recommended by other forum members ) should be beneficial in case DJI will want to inspect it...

I'm so happy this didn't happen over crowded area and didn't make any damage to the surroundings.

 

[Eltrochaphantom]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

Once again, Sorry for your loss. It may or may not have helped if you had not turned the transmitter off, and had chosen to program your failsafe mode to RTH and land, instead of Atti-Atti.

What is the main difference between Failsafe mode on Switch 1 and switching transmitter off? My understanding is that both do the same thing, just in case of Failsafe on Switch 1 you still have a chance to recover the control while you can't do this after switching the controller off. In both cases if the signal is received by Phantom - it should initiate RTH and it wasn't the case. BTW from the moment I switched the controller off (I assumed this was the only logic action in that situation, knowing that I didn't have Failsafe on Switch1 and I tried ATTI mode) until it hit the ground - it took less than 3 seconds... Of course I had very little chances in my mind that RTH would work once you experience such a drift and fast landing at the angle... I'm pretty sure it was mechanical or electrical issue and not opening the case and doing different mods (like it's being recommended by other forum members ) should be beneficial in case DJI will want to inspect it...

I'm so happy this didn't happen over crowded area and didn't make any damage to the surroundings.

IMO you should try talking to dji and arrange something BUT I think without touching the electronics inside take the top shell which is held by some screws. Then u can take a pic and show it to us.

Cheers

PD: Sorry for your loss

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

1:37 I can see that it even gets altitude (108.8m), from what i remember from the ground - it was going away at full speed for few seconds before it started to descend at angle

That happens because the gps is confused as it is going thru a break in signal.

Frank: I can see you are fully stuck to this only option, which might be valid of course. I probably could open it and check this GPS connection, however I don't think it's a good idea, because I might need to send it back to vendor and I want to keep it original (I will open and share the pictures in case I don't need to send it back). I still have difficulties to understand that this connection might get loose due to the vibrations only - I'm pretty sure I didn't have any bump after I lost my first one...

 

[LarasLTU]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

First, sorry to hear about your crash. Hopefully DJI treats you well. Maybe a unicorn will come over to my house and **** rainbows all over my lawn. Err... sorry... just a by cynical about DJI and the way they treat people. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Thanks for the tip on SCR Pro. I don't have root but a decent $1 app to record your screen seems like a great idea.

SCR Screen Recorder Pro in android is $4.99

My bad - i have SCR 5+ PRO, which was 0.8 EUR

 

[Eltrochaphantom]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

That really sucks buddy! Sorry for the loss!
To me, it does not look like a flyaway, you can see it tilting at a sharp angle, I wonder if one motor or ESC failed or slowed down.
Best of luck !

1:37 I can see that it even gets altitude (108.8m), from what i remember from the ground - it was going away at full speed for few seconds before it started to descend at angle

That happens because the gps is confused as it is going thru a break in signal.

Frank: I can see you are fully stuck to this only option, which might be valid of course. I probably could open it and check this GPS connection, however I don't think it's a good idea, because I might need to send it back to vendor and I want to keep it original (I will open and share the pictures in case I don't need to send it back). I still have difficulties to understand that this connection might get loose due to the vibrations only - I'm pretty sure I didn't have any bump after I lost my first one...

Opening the shell won't void your warranty. I mentioned opening the shells so to see maybe some burnt mosfets in the ESC'S or something but do as you wish.

Keep us posted

 

[max]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

It's not a GPS failure (sorry Frank), plug related or otherwise. Not only would loss of GPS not explain the huge angle of attack seen in the video (it looks like it's nearly upside down!), but there is full telemetry data coming through during the while video up until loss of signal -- impossible without GPS. It definitely looks like a problem with one arm of the quad, either ESC or motor. A loss of power would lead to a strong tilt in that direction, as seen in the video. Even if control signal was still being received and the quad was responding, having no/hardly any power in one arm could easily make it appear that no control signal was being received. Sorry for your loss. Hopefully having the video helps your case with DJI.

 

[mendezl]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

Maybe signal interference... but it seems to bank at an angle greater than atti alows

 

[burlbark]

Re: 2nd flyaway and crash in 8 months - BEWARE and install S

It's not a GPS failure (sorry Frank), plug related or otherwise. Not only would loss of GPS not explain the huge angle of attack seen in the video (it looks like it's nearly upside down!), but there is full telemetry data coming through during the while video up until loss of signal -- impossible without GPS. It definitely looks like a problem with one arm of the quad, either ESC or motor. A loss of power would lead to a strong tilt in that direction, as seen in the video. Even if control signal was still being received and the quad was responding, having no/hardly any power in one arm could easily make it appear that no control signal was being received. Sorry for your loss. Hopefully having the video helps your case with DJI.

More like a broken motor wire or a failing esc. I have seen the Blade 350qx fly away from faulty GPS and it thought it had full gps lock... :lol:

You would see the Satellites drop to nothing if it was the GPS plug disconnect.

Jeremy James