Lost GPS

[DubDizl]

I have had my Phantom 3 Advanced for 6 months now. I bought it used as a beater while I studied to get my Part 107. The drone has spent countless hours in the air with no issues. Three weeks ago, I took it out for a morning flight. It flew fine for about 10 minutes, then all of a sudden took a dive to the left.The logs showed a loss of GPS. I looked for hours that day to find it and could not. So, I left notes on doors in the area. After a week, I got a call saying it was in a tree. LOL. At this point, I'm thinking the drone is dead because we had at least 4 days of torrential downpours. Nonetheless, I went and retrieved the drone. Camera was missing but the body was intact. I got it home, put fresh battery in and I have flown it several times with no issues. Fast forward to this week. I took it out for a flight. It flew nicely for about 5 minute, then all of a sudden dove left into a tree. Luckily I was only up about 20 feet. This loss of GPS thing has gotten me a little nervous. Has anyone experienced this? Could this be a software/hardware issue? Interference?

 

[dronesky]

The loss of GPS should not make it go left loss of GPS means that it will not hover and get blown around by the wind have you calibrated your drone to see if that might help

 

[DubDizl]

Yes, Calibration has been done. The flight log gave that error when the crashed occurred. Out of te 70 flights on the log. These were the only 2 that happened.

 

[Meta4]

Yes, Calibration has been done. The flight log gave that error when the crashed occurred. Out of te 70 flights on the log. These were the only 2 that happened.

How about sharing the flight log so we aren't guessing what happened?

 

[Andy9]

After that GPS lost moment did it respond for any inputs from the sticks?
At the second 'GPS issue' was it at the same place than the first time?

 

[Dirt Pilot]

I bought a Mavic Air a year ago for practice while I studied and obtained the FAA Remote Pilot's License. At first, flying it made me very nervous, and there was a lot to learn. However, flying the MA helped me realize that I wanted to become a professional. I easily passed the part 107 test, and my construction company bought me a new Phantom 4 Pro V 2.0. I hardly ever fly the MA anymore, because the P4PV2 is Awesome, and the control range is Amazing, so much better than the MA! My company also gave me a big salary raise with my new qualification. I tell this story to encourage you to take the test, and purchase a new P4PV2.

 

[R Martin]

I have had my Phantom 3 Advanced for 6 months now. I bought it used as a beater while I studied to get my Part 107. The drone has spent countless hours in the air with no issues. Three weeks ago, I took it out for a morning flight. It flew fine for about 10 minutes, then all of a sudden took a dive to the left.The logs showed a loss of GPS. I looked for hours that day to find it and could not. So, I left notes on doors in the area. After a week, I got a call saying it was in a tree. LOL. At this point, I'm thinking the drone is dead because we had at least 4 days of torrential downpours. Nonetheless, I went and retrieved the drone. Camera was missing but the body was intact. I got it home, put fresh battery in and I have flown it several times with no issues. Fast forward to this week. I took it out for a flight. It flew nicely for about 5 minute, then all of a sudden dove left into a tree. Luckily I was only up about 20 feet. This loss of GPS thing has gotten me a little nervous. Has anyone experienced this? Could this be a software/hardware issue? Interference?

In the four years that I have been flying commercially I have lost GPS connectivity twice. Once was immediately after launch and the second time was mid-flight on a mapping mission. On both occasions the aircraft executed its pre-programmed failsafe action and went into a hover from which I manually recovered and landed it. Both incidents occurred in roughly the same location that is known for spotty GPS service during certain hours. Can only guess but I think it's related to backscatter from either Alliance or DTO under the right atmospheric conditions or maybe caused by a microwave signal that is only used sporadically. Who knows. It is important to have your RTH and other failsafes set for similar unlikely instances. Technology fails when you need it most. It will always fail when it can cause the most havok.That is why it is important that, as a pilot (recreational or commercial), that you take your pre-flights seriously and make sure as many eventualities are covered as possible before you take off each time.

And it could be a loose connection somewhere on the board but I would rely on someone who knows what they are doing to look at that aspect.

 

[EaglePrecision]

I bought a refurbished P4P and flew w/o any issues for about 3 months. The one day, while on a real estate photo mission, all communications stopped and it just dropped out of the sky. A friendly resident found it in their tree and I was able to retrieve it. Checked the flight logs and could not determine the cause - so I figured it had hit a bird. Other than new propellers, it did not appear to need anything. After several test flights, I began using it for commercial use again. Last week, the same thing happened except that this time it came straight down from 190' onto a paved surface and smashed to bits - unrepairable this time. Checked flight logs again and it's still a mystery why it just stopped all functions all at once. My only conclusion is that there was something wrong (loose) on the board from an earlier crash before it was "refurbished". I knowingly assumed that risk when I bought it to save money - I won't do that again! In both situations, I was just lucky no one was under it when it decided to nosedive.

 

[Andy9]

I bought a refurbished P4P and flew w/o any issues for about 3 months. The one day, while on a real estate photo mission, all communications stopped and it just dropped out of the sky. A friendly resident found it in their tree and I was able to retrieve it. Checked the flight logs and could not determine the cause - so I figured it had hit a bird. Other than new propellers, it did not appear to need anything. After several test flights, I began using it for commercial use again. Last week, the same thing happened except that this time it came straight down from 190' onto a paved surface and smashed to bits - unrepairable this time. Checked flight logs again and it's still a mystery why it just stopped all functions all at once. My only conclusion is that there was something wrong (loose) on the board from an earlier crash before it was "refurbished". I knowingly assumed that risk when I bought it to save money - I won't do that again! In both situations, I was just lucky no one was under it when it decided to nosedive.

Exactly that's why drones should not fly over people.