Assessing losses and lessons after first crash

[MartinA]

Hi Folks,

This is my first post.. Glad to be here. I think the idea of a Loss Support Group is great and here is my first contribution.

I crashed my new P2 into a tree, after which it fell from a height of about 50 feet into a canal which is located a few hundred meters from the sea. We managed to fish it out after about an hour.

The battery had fallen out. I think it probably happened on impact with the tree, and maybe that was lucky. Everything else was intact, and only the gimbal appears to have been damaged (bent.) I straightened it today with a vice grips.

I recovered the SD card and was able to watch the crash as I'd been shooting video. I'm still trying to figure out happened. It seems that at the moment I switched to Home Lock and pulled on the right joystick, the copter flew up and away in the opposite direction.

Later when I went to pack up, I saw S1 in the down position, no longer set to GPS. If I had moved it accidentally, could this have caused the P2 to fly away?

After everything had dried out I was able to start up with the spare battery. Today having realized the water in the canal was brackish, I disassembled everything Gopro included, soaked it all in warm water, rinsed the parts in distilled water, and now they're immersed in rice to dry out. Tomorrow I will let them sit in the hot sun (I'm in Thailand) all day, and we'll see.

I consider myself very lucky I didn't lose the copter altogether, and hoping to learn as much as possible from my first crash.

Martin

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum and hate to hear your first post is of your crash . It happens and if your lucky and are able to get it back and restore it and fly another day .
Everything you need to fix it is in here and if you can't find it ask !
Again Welcome and hope you are up and flying soon !!
You have now joined the Whoops Club that have been a member of for awhile

 

[IflyinWY]

Well hello Martin,

Dirk is the President of the Whoops club. I've been battling for the title since I purchased the FC40. Welcome to the party.

Now, lets have a link to the youtube of your crash into the tree. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Marlin009]

If you were in NAZA mode and the bottom position of S1 was set to Failsafe/RTH, that could explain it going up. Going in the opposite direction would seem to indicate it thought the home point was not where you were.

When I have tested RTH, it goes up to the set height and pauses for a couple of seconds before actually heading home.

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Another: Welcome to the forum!

Make sure to close off any opening to your rice bag. Shake it once a day. I recommend three days in rice.

I wish you the best!

 

[DJIClint]

you should post the video footage of the crash! Some on here might be able to determine things that went wrong from watching the footage...! my $0.02

 

[eseckinger]

Are you confident that you engaged home lock vs course lock?? To me it sounds like you may have switched to course lock on accident.

 

[CityZen]

I would generally avoid soaking electronics in water. It's better to disassemble and rinse, preferably with isopropyl alcohol from a spray bottle.

The main thing to worry about is the Naza module. It's mostly enclosed, though not enough to prevent water from getting in. This also makes it difficult for it to dry out.
It's the most expensive component, and the most vital for the quad's function. I'd suggest taking it off and opening it up to help it dry out completely.

 

[Larry L]

Welcome to the forum & I'm sorry for your accident. Hopefully you will have her dried out & back up soon.