Hard Right Bank and Nose Dive

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Any of you have any suggestions to the cause? I sent it in to DJI and they said "Phantom did not malfunction, root of the cause was user error. It hit something midflight causing the Phantom 3 to crash down". However, it was in LOS the whole time and it never hit anything then all of a sudden at 266' it did a hard bank to the right and nose dived to ground without any control from my remote at all. Below is the details I submitted to DJI.

The Crash:
The aircraft performed great while at low altitude. I flew it left, then right, then backwards and then forwards with no problems at all. It was working fine while ascending, but all of a sudden it did a nose dive and I had no controls at all. Then it started saying ATTI mode, but it would not let me move it right or left or climb. Then it struck a tree and came to a rest upside down.

Details:

Altitude was 266' and distance was 611'

Take off was at 17:44 hrs. (sunset on this day was at 18:34 hrs.), the temperature was 75 F and winds were 8mph from 090 degrees (East).

Checked my Hover app to check the wind speed and direction and the Kp-Index, which was 2. I then turned off that app and placed phone in airplane mode. I performed my normal preflight equipment check list: inspected for cracks, no loose wires/screws/landing gear, nothing covering altitude sensors, props were secure and motor mounts were firm and battery was full and secured. Preflight check list: Placed aircraft on my take off/landing pad, connected my Iphone 6 plus to remote controller via USB cable, turned on the remote controller, placed phone in airplane mode, opened up the DJI Go App, then turned on the battery on the aircraft (all four green LEDs lite up), went back to the remote (7' away) waited for GPS link and then calibrated the aircraft, went back to remote verified 98% battery, 14 GPS satellites, and everything else on the equipment status was good and normal.
 
Can dji or healthydrones confirm a faulty motor/prop? That dive usually happens w/ a motor failure or user error
 
There is a thread here somewhere where someones motor literally came apart. We do know he had a ground impact before so that could have caused it but things do happen. Did you get a copy of the flight logs off the Phantom before you sent it in?

If so, can you post the logs? While a lot of Phantoms probably go back with a warranty claim (when it really was user error), I'd hate to think they would start denying claims without a REALLY good reason.

If you did not copy the logs, I recommend to anyone sending their Phantom in for warranty claims to make copies of ALL flight logs before you send it back (if possible). They may not be there when you get it back.

If you are 100% CERTAIN that your Phantom did not hit anything, I would not let this go. Be persistent. Ask them to show you what evidence they have to come to that conclusion. In other words, if you are SURE....keep pushing.
 
Can't you just get the flight logs off the phone/tablet?
 
I had always read they are different. But if they're the same, my bad.
Learning is a never ending process....I don't care who you are :)
 
Did you check the props for any traces of blood?
 
Did DJI elaborate as to why they thought it was user error? If they didn't, I would certainly ask them to explain what they believe the user error was. I wouldn't trust them to always make a well informed diagnosis.

Ideally, you should look at your flight replay on your app and turn on the stick viewer so you can see the stick movements. If the bird went into a dive and fell without corresponding stick inputs, something other than user error could likely be the cause.
 
I was watching it the whole time and did not see any birds anywhere. No blood or feathers to indicate a bird strike. I was going to ascend to 300' and flying away from me...did a hard bank and nose dive. It starting saying ATTI MODE ATTI MODE and I had no control at all
 
The above was the only thing DJI sent me saying it was user error and a midflight collision...I have sent three emails but no response from them
 
The above was the only thing DJI sent me saying it was user error and a midflight collision...I have sent three emails but no response from them
I'd like to take a look at the flight log that's recorded on the P3. It'll be easy to see if there was a midflight collision. To see how to retrieve that file go to flylog.info and press the "Retrieve .DAT file" button at the top. After you retrieve the file you can Dropbox it or you can upload it to that site and it'll be converted to a .csv file. Let me know the name of the file so that I can retrieve it from the site and take a look. If you Dropbox it then others besides me can take a look.
 
They still have my aircraft waiting on me to pay them $520 for the repair. I will post the image of a log they sent me tomorrow
 
I replayed the flight through the app and showed the stick movements...as soon as it showed going into ATTI mode the sticks dont move except right at the end it shows one movement under a second and that was all. It did not show me trying to move thrust up to try to recover.
 
This is the file DJI sent me saying it was a midair collision. I do not know exactly what it shows. Any help with this would be appreciated. I will the 41 second crash video in a little bit.
 

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