Disaster!

[Bmachine]

I've had my PV2 for just 3 days. It is as it came out of the box (except for the DJI prop guards).

After 4 perfect problem free flights, in the middle of the fifth one, as the craft was hovering in place at about 360 ft it suddenly started to shake and vibrate. None of the controls worked anymore and it dropped like a stone. Landed in 2 feet of water. By the time I got to it, the battery had shorted and it was done for.

I was too busy trying to get any control to have any kind of effect (including pushing the Up paddle all the way as I had read on this board) to see if there was a battery message on the iPhone. All I know is that after it crashed when I checked, there was a "connection was lost " message.

It had all the software that came with it in the box. Since I am on a Mac I could not do any soft or firmware updates.

Extremely disheartening. Good thing it was a relatively deserted area and no one was under it! I remember reading elsewhere (in the Battery warning thread perhaps) about someone else having a similar experience. Will be hard to regain confidence in it after this.

 

[Sidewinder]

That's scary ... and disheartening.

 

[Pull_Up]

That's bad luck, I'm sorry.

"Shake...vibrate...drop like a stone" would seem to imply a problem with one or more props/motors initially then some form of power failure (both linked) rather than control interference or typical flyaway?

 

[urgno]

"Shake...vibrate...drop like a stone"

exactly same happened to me
still waiting for a replacement from dealer ...

 

[urgno]

who know ... two weeks waiting ... in Italy we need a lot of patience :roll:

 

[Petersgeorgio]

I had some battery problems and i sended all back to the dealer. Yesterday i received my PV back. The dealer told me that there was indeed a problem with that battery and he replaced it. Yesterday I had 2 nice flights.

This morning I wanted to make a new flight. All checked, all fully charged, compass calibrated and ready to fly.
Then it happened !!!!
I was at an altitude between 15 and 20 meters. My PV dropped out of the sky like a rock. No battery issue, no warning , nothing at all. It felt out of the sky just like that.
Before I realized what happened the PV was on the ground already. The camera was separated from the PV and landing gear damaged.
I attached the camera again and checked everything. Camera is fine, motors are fine, everything seems to be ok except for the landing gear, I need to replace that.
I did everything by the book, no pilot error or whatsoever .
The only thing I can think about is that there was no more power, it was like the battery stopped. I dunno how to tell.



Somebody had a similar experience ? Somebody can tell me what to do please ?

I really appreciate every help or suggestion.

I think you should definitely claim a brand new PV.
Do write an email to DJI

I would also be afraid to fly again under these conditions.
Feel sorry for you, good luck mate

 

[uncle fester]

I've had my PV2 for just 3 days. It is as it came out of the box (except for the DJI prop guards).

After 4 perfect problem free flights, in the middle of the fifth one, as the craft was hovering in place at about 360 ft it suddenly started to shake and vibrate. None of the controls worked anymore and it dropped like a stone. Landed in 2 feet of water. By the time I got to it, the battery had shorted and it was done for.

I was too busy trying to get any control to have any kind of effect (including pushing the Up paddle all the way as I had read on this board) to see if there was a battery message on the iPhone. All I know is that after it crashed when I checked, there was a "connection was lost " message.

It had all the software that came with it in the box. Since I am on a Mac I could not do any soft or firmware updates.

Extremely disheartening. Good thing it was a relatively deserted area and no one was under it! I remember reading elsewhere (in the Battery warning thread perhaps) about someone else having a similar experience. Will be hard to regain confidence in it after this.

wanna sell me ure camera plug wire?

 

[Pull_Up]

wanna sell me ure camera plug wire?

Ouch! Nothing like a bit of empathy, eh?!

 

[gunslinger]

wanna sell me ure camera plug wire?

Ouch! Nothing like a bit of empathy, eh?!

Kind of akin to "He's dead??? What kind of watch is he wearing?" :shock:

-slinger

 

[Drone7]

Call your insurance company. Mine payed everything back! But i wouldn't think about it if nobody would give me the tip so maybe it helps you!
And buy a new one Good nobody got hurt!

I had the same problem with another multirotor so i can not help you with the next step but with mine it was the compass with the problem (not Naza!).

 

[flyshasta]

What insurance company paid everything? Sounds hopeful! Are you in the United States? Thank you!

 

[Bmachine]

Thanks for the compassion guys.

Very hard to tell what happened. But interesting to see that it has indeed happened to several other people also.

The weird thing is how sudden it was. Perfectly nice smooth flight for 3 minutes, then I let it hover for a couple of seconds to check the altitude. It reads 364 feet. OK, let's bring it down a little. And all of a sudden it just goes bezerk, nothing works anymore and it plunges onto the rocky shore. Wild guesses:

- The cpu had a malfunction and couldn't remember how to control the craft.
- A rotor died and it threw the craft out of balance. But then, when I pushed the UP lever all the way as some people have suggested, I should have heard the rpm increase. But it wouldn't receive any input from the controller.
- It lost power temporarily and it didn't have time to reboot properly?

I bought it through Amazon so I sent it back as "Defective unit".

As I said, I love the Vision but now I am really hesitant to get another one. Not for the material issue but what if it falls and hurts somebody? Nightmare scenario.

Is there a more reliable unit out there? Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where even just a 1 % failure probability is too dangerous to risk if there are people around.

 

[Sidewinder]

Not sure about this but you said you begin to descend and it failed.

Don't know if this will happen in flight but if you bring the throttle all the way back and hold it closed ... that shuts down the motors. I'm not that familiar with the phantom as this is my first but do you think this is possible. Closed throttle for several seconds and motors stop. That's what it sounds like to me as a possibility.

 

[Bmachine]

I am quite familiar with the way to shut down the props. And this is definitely not what happened. You'd have to try real hard (or be real stupid) to do that while the craft is hovering 300+ ft above ground... ;-)

No, the motors were definitely still going all the way to the bottom. So much so that when it hit the water, the props touched the water and started to spray all over the place and that flipped the whole thing upside down... It was like a fish that just got pulled out the water and is flipping like crazy on the deck.

 

[Petersgeorgio]

I had some battery problems and i sended all back to the dealer. Yesterday i received my PV back. The dealer told me that there was indeed a problem with that battery and he replaced it. Yesterday I had 2 nice flights.

This morning I wanted to make a new flight. All checked, all fully charged, compass calibrated and ready to fly.
Then it happened !!!!
I was at an altitude between 15 and 20 meters. My PV dropped out of the sky like a rock. No battery issue, no warning , nothing at all. It felt out of the sky just like that.
Before I realized what happened the PV was on the ground already. The camera was separated from the PV and landing gear damaged.
I attached the camera again and checked everything. Camera is fine, motors are fine, everything seems to be ok except for the landing gear, I need to replace that.
I really don't know what to do know I can not trust the PV anymore. I am scared to fly it again because I do not know the cause. I did everything by the book, no pilot error or whatsoever .
The only thing I can think about is that there was no more power, it was like the battery stopped. I dunno how to tell.

Somebody had a similar experience ? Somebody can tell me what to do please ?

is there something fundamental wrong with my PV ? Should I ask DJI or the dealer for a complete replacement?

I really appreciate every help or suggestion.

any news from dealer?

 

[iDrone]

@BMachine - Question: Did it "drop" or did it "flip? (As in multiple flips possibly in combination w/spins)

iDrone

 

[UAVInsurance]

Mine did exactly the same thing except on the first flight.

My thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4269&p=30086#p30086

After 10 minutes of perfect fun flight, the aircraft was in a slow descent to land and suddenly started oscillating and then dropped like a rock onto asphalt.

I contacted DJI and the seller Koozam and now waiting to hear.

Terry

 

[Drone7]

What insurance company paid everything? Sounds hopeful! Are you in the United States? Thank you!

I live in The Netherlands, Europe and the insurance company is www.nn.nl and ING is the owner of it.
I had to pay 100 euro own risk but that was fine for me

 

[Bmachine]

@BMachine - Question: Did it "drop" or did it "flip? (As in multiple flips possibly in combination w/spins)

iDrone

It dropped. It was vibrating wildly but it stayed right side up the whole descent until it hit the water. Then when the props hit the water it made it flip.

 

[James Cole]

OK... I might know what the problem is...

Two days ago I tried to fly my pv... Day was too windy, I landed safely and went home... When I returned home having a full charge I wanted to do a "engine vibration test" reason for this is that I have a set of T-motors ready to install and would like to know if they are indeed smoother than stock when I install them...

So to do this test I took off the props and ran the motors at different speeds... But something strange happened twice... Motor number four (battery facing you motor on your right) when testing made a loud rattle noise slowed down and powered up again... This happened twice... I tried to make a video after the second rattle but the incident did not repeat itself...

Next day I made a full successfull flight no issues to report...

Could this be the issue you guys are talking about?

JC