First flight - RIP

[Meta4]

Don't think it matters, Litchi picks up the last position stored in the controller for that function.

That would be the last position recorded when flying with Litchi

 

[GeoffJ]

I don't know how that Litchi feature works, but I can tell you flight data is not stored on the remote controller.

Yes, you're absolutely correct, I just did a test. Litchi remembered the position from last time I used Litchi, not from the controller.
So forget Litchi in this case, however the flight record from DJI GO should show last point of contact, so if it was in contact when it registered a motor obstruction, that should show where it was.

 

[BGecko]

Great example as to why you should always know how high the obstacles are around your flight area. No doubt it hit the building! Even if you don't plan on flying near a tall object, your RTH altitude should always be higher than the tallest structure.

 

[Loz]

Very impressed with the detailed, informed assistance you all have and offer OP and those of us here to learn.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[Dondi0210]

Very impressed with the detailed, informed assistance you all have and offer OP and those of us here to learn.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

I agree, this is a very good website and very informative for all new DJI pilots like me!

 

[Robert Whitaker]

Here is the building that is within the RTH flight-path. If you count the stories it could be 120-130 feet tall. Mystery solved.

Here's what your flight log tells me:

• When you took the photo at the end of your flight, you can see your Phantom was well above the palm trees at 96 feet.
  
  
• The connection was lost shortly after taking that final photo.
  
  
• Since the RTH altitude was set to 98 feet, your Phantom ascended from 95 feet to 98 feet and started returning home.
  
  
• At that time, the battery was at 49% and had about 9.2 minutes of flight time remaining. The RTH time was estimated to take 53 seconds. So, your Phantom had plenty of time to make it back to the home point.
  
  
• On the way back, your Phantom had to fly over at least two tall buildings. Those buildings and or the structures on top of the roofs could have been 98+ feet over the takeoff point.
  
  
• I'm guessing your Phantom either crashed into the side of one of the buildings and fell to the ground, crashed onto one of the balconies, or hit one of the structures on top of one of the buildings and crashed on the roof.

Note: It's not uncommon for the altitude reported by your Phantom to be up to 20 feet off.

Note: The red line in the image below shows the path your Phantom would have taken when it returned back to the home point. The blue circles are the locations where I believe it crashed.

View attachment 68593

 

[erkme73]

Did you have your FAA number (or your phone number) on the bird? I would think anyone who finds it would try to make contact with you (or the FAA).

 

[Nick Goss]

Did you have your FAA number (or your phone number) on the bird? I would think anyone who finds it would try to make contact with you (or the FAA).

By contact you mean sell on eBay right? LOL
I mean putting your details on it certainly helps if someone honest finds it but these things are expensive now. I'd be keeping an eye out on eBay and local for sale ads for a slightly damaged drone

 

[G Tek Fab]

Dang... Bummer man

Send up another quad on a recon mission. Launch from two or three signal safe locations.

 

[Neon Euc]

Chances are if it did go into the building it would go into an empty window and be on the floor with a prop or two damaged. Don't give up mate. Check the ground first, then get permission to enter the building. I lost my drone and recovered it a few hours later thanks to this forum. I do think you have a good chance of locating it

Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[erkme73]

By contact you mean sell on eBay right? LOL
I mean putting your details on it certainly helps if someone honest finds it but these things are expensive now. I'd be keeping an eye out on eBay and local for sale ads for a slightly damaged drone

Well, true. I certainly don't hold out much hope for humanity these days, but having his number/contact info on there would increase his odds from zero to something slightly above.

 

[GFields]

Flight data would have to be stored on the device being used e.g. iPhone, iPad etc. The key lesson here is knowing the area you're flying in and to make sure RTH altitude is high enough to clear any obstacles (this has been repeated throughout this thread).

Please let us know if you recover your Phantom.

Regardless of what went wrong, thanks for sharing and posting. We all learn from each other.

 

[KillerKustums]

See I'm new to drones also, but when I loose signal I always just stop and then llok around and the try to climb to a height where the drone will make contact again. I don't know if this is SOP, but it has woke for me.

I'm sorry about your drone, and I hope you can fin

 

[cbgeorge]

Hey guys, drone_crasher is in the house...

I flew near a cruise port yesterday evening, hoping to take some great videos of leaving ships but suddenly my screen blacked out - 'aircraft disconnected' - all 18 satellites were gone and my reception as well.

I was waiting for the drone to return home but after several minutes I went to the last know location without success. The RTH setting was at 90ft, too high to hit palm trees. I will upload the log for you to get a better understanding. PS: I was talking to my brother via speaker on the phone who I was filming when the screen blacked out. I told him ' dude, i lost control of this bird' while he was confirming that the LED's of the drone changed to a blinking white color and disappeared towards my direction. Home distance was about 1300ft.

I still have not found the drone btw. That happened last night.
My conclusion :

Due to the busy port and the leaving cruise which I saw from distance, it must have interfered with my connection. The drone was on his way to me but lost signal and GPS location so from my research I gathered that it would hover somewhere until it runs out of battery? After around 10minutes I was connected to the drone again. It said 'motor obstructed' and the battery life was decreasing from 29% to around 15%. I wasn't able to find the drone, it got dark and this morning I didn't see it either. Also, why does it not show me on the app map where it's location is (while the battery lasted) ? .

HEALTHYDRONE LINK
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Thank you,
drone_crasher

I had that happen, I held the UP command to make sure well high enough
and hit the RTH, bird came back to its roost!

 

[Fishie]

Hey guys... I understand and agree about setting a proper RTH height but if this was a Phanton 4...the P4 advertises (with the settings set properly in the DJI APP) that the P4 should move horizontally or rise above if it's obstacle sensors are on right?
A short while ago there was video of a P4 about to hit a building but it stopped, flew higher, then cleared the building.
Can anyone explain? Thanks.

 

[tvckz]

I had the same issue with one of my old (new)) phantom3p. Now I watch RTH data closely ))

 

[tvckz]

Hey guys... I understand and agree about setting a proper RTH height but if this was a Phanton 4...the P4 advertises (with the settings set properly in the DJI APP) that the P4 should move horizontally or rise above if it's obstacle sensors are on right?
A short while ago there was video of a P4 about to hit a building but it stopped, flew higher, then cleared the building.
Can anyone explain? Thanks.

Inspire 2 builds his own route using a primary camera to avoid obstacles as far as 200mm. Phantom 4 goes up when he sees an obstacle.

 

[Wulffy]

Bummer, first thing I did before flying was set return home height to 110 metres.
Lost a signal in Fiji whilst flying in an almost identical scenario. As soon as the 3 advanced got some height I received a signal again and took control. It was probably a couple of ks away from me. It's definitely not a fun feeling when you see the signal lost screen. Mine does have my cell phone number in a permanent marker on it, good advice to increase the odds of getting it back. I also wrote reward on it above the number.

Sent from my SM-T350 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[msinger]

the P4 advertises (with the settings set properly in the DJI APP) that the P4 should move horizontally or rise above if it's obstacle sensors are on right?

That's correct. The obstacle sensing system is not foolproof though. For example, it cannot see small objects (e.g. power lines and small tree branches) and it might not be able to detect objects in low light conditions. It would be safest to set the proper RTH altitude before taking off each time.

 

[sinxa]

i think 90ft wasn't high enough. you might only think about palm trees, but probably you could missed something else into count. example radio antena or electrical wires.

Sent from my SCL23 using PhantomPilots mobile app