Advanced Drops from SKY

[alexdalley]

Hi guys,
Im very new to PhantomPilots and have not yet posted nor commented on any threads.
On the weekend I was at a local beach of mine where I was enjoying a beautiful sunny day, no wind. It was my 3rd flight of the day, when my drone was approximately at an altitude of 12-13m, with over 7.5 minutes of battery remaining, relatively close to where I was standing with the controller in hand. My drone suddenly cut out (aircraft disconnected message on screen) and crashed into the sand, snapping the gimbal from the aircraft. I have the flight log on my Ipad, although am unsure as to what to do now?
Some advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Alex

 

[UpLift Aerial]

Could you show us your flight log. You can upload you flight log here.

PhantomHelp.com - Log Viewer - upload

 

[alokbhargava]

It looks that battery died. Show the logs.

 

[alexdalley]

Could you show us your flight log. You can upload you flight log here.

PhantomHelp.com - Log Viewer - upload

When I download the flightrecord files onto my computer, the most recent file where the drone crashed is not there? In the flight log on the DJI Go App, the most recent file has a green dot next to it?

 

[alexdalley]

Sorry for confusion - here is what I believe to be the log
Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
or

 

[Oso]

Strange how the battery voltages do not drop at all during the flight. Even with a short 2 minute flight like the one you posted, I would expect to see voltages going down in the cells.

 

[kerrylaw7307]

I agree! Seems the GPS was working because of distance and altitude readings, but total voltage and every cell never changed from start to finish.

Sorry to here of the crash, but you, my friend, are lucky it was so low and in such an isolated place and NOT in the ocean!

There has GOT to be something wrong with the voltage sensing circuitry.

 

[alexdalley]

I agree! Seems the GPS was working because of distance and altitude readings, but total voltage and every cell never changed from start to finish.

Sorry to here of the crash, but you, my friend, are lucky it was so low and in such an isolated place and NOT in the ocean!

There has GOT to be something wrong with the voltage sensing circuitry.

Very lucky, the flight prior to this I had it at least 800m out over the ocean!
Any recommendations of what to take now, will DJI cover such a fault, or will I have to cover expenses myself?
Cheers
Alex

 

[Numone]

Starting a flight with a battery at 43% is, frankly, never a good idea. I fear that may've been your problem?

 

[alexdalley]

Starting a flight with a battery at 43% is, frankly, never a good idea. I fear that may've been your problem?

43% is more than a third of the 24 minute flying time, what's wrong with that?

 

[Numone]

43% is more than a third of the 24 minute flying time, what's wrong with that?

You'd landed and restarted the AC? The log states Manual t/o? It was a new flight, starting with the battery at 43%?

 

[alexdalley]

You'd landed and restarted the AC? The log states Manual t/o? It was a new flight, starting with the battery at 43%?

yes correct

 

[Numone]

yes correct

To continue... never ever start a new flight without a fresh battery at 100%. They are designed for continuous use, not stopping and restarting. The DJI quoted 23 minute flight time (which I've never reached btw!) is a continuous not cumulative number. The result of this was probably the failure of the battery and 43% remaining was an erroneous figure.

 

[alexdalley]

To continue... never ever start a new flight without a fresh battery at 100%. They are designed for continuous use, not stopping and restarting. The DJI quoted 23 minute flight time (which I've never reached btw!) is a continuous not cumulative number.

Okay, although this does not answer nor fix any of the problems related to the A/C. Can you provide any recommendations of steps to take now?

 

[Numone]

Okay, although this does not answer nor fix any of the problems related to the A/C. Can you provide any recommendations of steps to take now?

It was pilot error. DJI will state that; it's not a hardware failure, so don't waste your time with that. You'll need to fix it yourself or get a Oz based repair service on the case. And buy a few more batteries!

 

[alexdalley]

It was pilot error. DJI will state that; it's not a hardware failure, so don't waste your time with that. You'll need to fix it yourself or get a Oz based repair service on the case.

I don't quite agree that it's pilot error. I have landed and restarted aircraft over 350 flights now and have never had this occur, why now? The A/C should not just drop from the sky with 7.20 minutes of battery remaining, if the aircraft was to disconnect from signal loss, low battery, it would complete its RTH function.
Thanks for your help, ill follow up with DJI

 

[sar104]

I don't quite agree that it's pilot error. I have landed and restarted aircraft over 350 flights now and have never had this occur, why now? The A/C should not just drop from the sky with 7.20 minutes of battery remaining, if the aircraft was to disconnect from signal loss, low battery, it would complete its RTH function.
Thanks for your help, ill follow up with DJI

While taking off with a battery reading 43% may not be best practice, I'm not sure that this was entirely pilot error. The log data clearly show that the battery was reporting incorrectly. It never changed from 43%, and so the 43% value itself was quite possibly incorrect at takeoff, and the aircraft quite likely flew until the battery was exhausted and unexpectedly shut down. Either way, battery reporting failure is hardware failure, and so DJI may well cover it.

 

[Numone]

I don't quite agree that it's pilot error. I have landed and restarted aircraft over 350 flights now and have never had this occur, why now? The A/C should not just drop from the sky with 7.20 minutes of battery remaining, if the aircraft was to disconnect from signal loss, low battery, it would complete its RTH function.
Thanks for your help, ill follow up with DJI

Yes, well, Alex, all I can say is you've been very, very lucky til today. The remaining flight time is a guide, not a guarantee and 23 mins would have been under lab conditions, not real world, so a bit like the "official MPG" figures issued by governments.
Anyway, good luck with your f/up with DJI. Please let's us know the outcome...

 

[Numone]

While taking off with a battery reading 43% may not be best practice, I'm not sure that this was entirely pilot error. The log data clearly show that the battery was reporting incorrectly. It never changed from 43%, and so the 43% value itself was quite possibly incorrect at takeoff, and the aircraft quite likely flew until the battery was exhausted and unexpectedly shut down. Either way, battery reporting failure is hardware failure, and so DJI may well cover it.

Given Alex stated that multiple flights on a single charge is his normal flight practice, with over > 350 under his belt, I agree, the battery was feeding incorrect numbers. You'll note that he states it had "7.20 minutes of battery remaining", not 43%. I think as soon as they see he's t/o with a part used battery, they'll throw it out, but it'll be a great win if they don't.

 

[sar104]

Given Alex stated that multiple flights on a single charge is his normal flight practice, with over > 350 under his belt, I agree, the battery was feeding incorrect numbers. You'll note that he states it had "7.20 minutes of battery remaining", not 43%. I think as soon as they see he's t/o with a part used battery, they'll throw it out, but it'll be a great win if they don't.

Well - as you said, time remaining is only a guide, but battery voltage and percentage are measured values. One could argue that the pilot should notice that the battery values have stopped changing, but that still amounts to hardware failure - probably in the battery since it does the reporting (is that true for the P3?). I think he has a good case based on that log.