DJI Phantom 4 fall from 500m altitude RAW footage from phone FPV

What is the reason this thing happen on my DJI Phantom 4?

  • Vortex Ring State

    Votes: 10 37.0%
  • Battery Fail

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Electromagnetic Field

    Votes: 2 7.4%
  • Signal Loss

    Votes: 2 7.4%
  • Others

    Votes: 13 48.1%

  • Total voters
    27
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Man, so lucky it didn't land on the road or hit a car.
What was that violent yawing, first one way, then the other.
Pilot struggling to get oriented? Then holding throttle and pressing RTH in a panic?
Motor shut down?
 
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So, if he hit a kid in it isn't the same as in Maryland? Sounds pretty ridiculous to say something like that.
Maybe you can get him to post his flight logs since he is not replying so we can end this discussion.
 
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can I know in what minutes exactly the vrs happen?
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based in this video. Investigation!
 
I think it is pilot error, but why isn't he posting the flight log or HealthyDrone report. That would end all this speculation and all the apologists sticking up for him. OIf course, him being in INDIA as the man said makes it okay for him flying carelessly. And the pilot notes he is looking at the management aspect. Can't really think he would need to fly that high for that reason. And DJI is probably thinking all people like this are is; "job security, keep on flying, crashing and buying more drones."
Yes, I need to fly more than 100mters above, because Im the developer and the owner of the housing complex on the video scene. That manage around 12000 hectare.
So need this drone to make any land survey,etc.
 
can I know in what minutes exactly the vrs happen?
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based in this video. Investigation!
Not possible based solely on your video please post the flight logs so it can be investigated. If you are not willing or able to provide the logs please quit asking others to investigate on limited information.
 
Vortex Ring State. You must be aware of it as it is choice #1 in your survey answer selection.

That being said, I am skeptical this was a VRS incident. I say this because VRS normally involves stagnant air beneath a hovering or slowly moving aircraft. Wind speed factors into the VRS equation. If you are hovering or descending straight down, but the wind is blowing 8 mph, you have fresh & undisturbed air passing all around you at 8 mph. VRS would be unlikely to occur in such a situation. VRS would be most likely to happen on a hot & humid day, with little to no wind, with your bird hovering or descending straight down rapidly. At 500m there was almost certainly wind & plenty of clean air around the Phantom.

I have seen traces of VRS with my Vision+. None of my P3s or P4 has shown a trace of VRS even on straight down max-rate descents. The motor canting on these newer models probably has something to do with it being less of an issue.

What you need to do is POST THE FLIGHT LOGS & then someone can determine what happened.

what is VRS mean?
 
Vortex Ring State. You must be aware of it as it is choice #1 in your survey answer selection.

That being said, I am skeptical this was a VRS incident. I say this because VRS normally involves stagnant air beneath a hovering or slowly moving aircraft. Wind speed factors into the VRS equation. If you are hovering or descending straight down, but the wind is blowing 8 mph, you have fresh & undisturbed air passing all around you at 8 mph. VRS would be unlikely to occur in such a situation. VRS would be most likely to happen on a hot & humid day, with little to no wind, with your bird hovering or descending straight down rapidly. At 500m there was almost certainly wind & plenty of clean air around the Phantom.

I have seen traces of VRS with my Vision+. None of my P3s or P4 has shown a trace of VRS even on straight down max-rate descents. The motor canting on these newer models probably has something to do with it being less of an issue.

What you need to do is POST THE FLIGHT LOGS & then someone can determine what happened.
I agree, and we have differed on views but agree with you. He put that as part of his survey so knew the acronym. I concur, and unless he is afraid we will see some pilot error in his flight, then why not post them? I give a rat's butt what he does for a living, or what justification he has for hectares, post the logs, or let's have the moderator close this post. I asked for the HealthyDrones report in post #13, and this post is almost 100 posts after that. Makes me wonder if the flight logs will validate pilot error.
 
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can I know in what minutes exactly the vrs happen?
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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

based in this video. Investigation!
Since you posted it as a survey question for what happened, here is a great video on what a VRS (Vortex Ring State) is, and what causes it. Can you post your flight logs, because the longer you don't the more it looks like your pilot error, and here is the video.

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Vortex Ring State. You must be aware of it as it is choice #1 in your survey answer selection.

That being said, I am skeptical this was a VRS incident. I say this because VRS normally involves stagnant air beneath a hovering or slowly moving aircraft. Wind speed factors into the VRS equation. If you are hovering or descending straight down, but the wind is blowing 8 mph, you have fresh & undisturbed air passing all around you at 8 mph. VRS would be unlikely to occur in such a situation. VRS would be most likely to happen on a hot & humid day, with little to no wind, with your bird hovering or descending straight down rapidly. At 500m there was almost certainly wind & plenty of clean air around the Phantom.

I have seen traces of VRS with my Vision+. None of my P3s or P4 has shown a trace of VRS even on straight down max-rate descents. The motor canting on these newer models probably has something to do with it being less of an issue.

What you need to do is POST THE FLIGHT LOGS & then someone can determine what happened.
That makes sense! Any crosswind component would surely mitigate a VRS situation. I'm rather puzzled by the crafts seemingly controlled fall. It remains upright for the most part, and with the exception of the spin, it seams the flight controller was able to keep it fairly level on the way down. It looks to me like both CCW motors may have stopped or slowed to the point where the craft couldn't support itself. This would explain the spin and if the motors had limited throttle it would be able to keep the craft upright. Just a supposition, without the logs to look at the theory is based on a bit of conjecture but I suppose it is conceivable.
 
While I agree with the point you're trying to make. The melodrama imparted to your diatribe is a little over the top. Suffice to say an accident could have happened although probably not fatal. And an animal could possibly have been hurt, but probably not killed. You seem to have a flare for the sensational, are you a reporter perhaps. That being said, it is not the wisest thing flying over busy streets.

Not trying to preach or get in a soapbox, and nope, not a reporter or anything to do with the media, but maybe missed my calling :) If someone had warned the OP before takeoff not to fly over houses and roads because it could drop out of the sky and hit a car or person then that might sound melodramatic too as it could but probably wouldn't, yet it _did_ drop out of the sky, and was very close to a car. I've made some arguably unwise flight choices in the past myself, but try to keep in mind that the potential downside of a crash is incomparable to the minor inconvenience of a busted copter.
 
Not trying to preach or get in a soapbox, and nope, not a reporter or anything to do with the media, but maybe missed my calling :) If someone had warned the OP before takeoff not to fly over houses and roads because it could drop out of the sky and hit a car or person then that might sound melodramatic too as it could but probably wouldn't, yet it _did_ drop out of the sky, and was very close to a car. I've made some arguably unwise flight choices in the past myself, but try to keep in mind that the potential downside of a crash is incomparable to the minor inconvenience of a busted copter.
Fair enough!
 
lets investigate again:
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how VRS happen based in this video?

I don't see any vrs happen in this video
 
What would you expect to see, beyond rapid, uncontrolled descent?

Not all rapid descents are vrs caused, and I have never seen a case of vrs on p3 and up since the motors are at a pitch.
 
Not all rapid descents are vrs caused, and I have never seen a case of vrs on p3 and up since the motors are at a pitch.

Agreed, but some rapid descents are caused by VRS, and that doesn't answer the question - what are you expecting to see, if it were caused by VRS, that you are not seeing?
 
Agreed, but some rapid descents are caused by VRS, and that doesn't answer the question - what are you expecting to see, if it were caused by VRS, that you are not seeing?

More pronounced sideways camera shake
 
I know this, I, purposefully have tried on many occasions to create a vrs condition and after one year and many many tries have not been able to! Full throttle down from 400 feet straight down, no right stick movement at all, %100 left stick down.
 
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