My first crash

Madmartigan · Apr 27, 2019

I've owned my P3A for 3 years and finally had my first crash. I lost line of sight behind a rock at the top of a mountain for a split second, lost feed, and slammed into that rock. After a very long, stressful hike, I found the bird after what seemed to be a miracle.

The battery ejected when it hit the ground and it seemed to be the biggest casualty aside from a crack in the arm of the upper shell and a shattered prop. There are some cosmetic scrapes and stuff but that's about it. The camera and gimbal escaped without injury due to the gimbal guard.
One of the gimbal plugs came disconnected but I plugged it back in and it seems to all function normally.

I haven't had to repair anything on this yet so I'm curious about how this goes. Can I just get an upper shell off Amazon l, swap it out and move on with life?
The battery seems damaged beyond safe use so is there someone out of the ordinary to properly dispose of this? Any and all advice to get this back up in the air is appreciated.

Madmartigan · Apr 27, 2019

captainmilehigh said:
I think I’d try ‘Plast-aid’ on that small crack on the arm before swapping shells, depending on any other damage found that would compromise safe flight. Battery recycling guidelines vary in different locations. Just check around locally and see what your area requires.

Good luck getting back in the air. [emoji106]

Not a bad idea. I'll look in to that.

Starz · Apr 27, 2019

A little bit of glue worth the cost of another repair?
I watched a guy years ago take a hammer after a bent bolt on an ultralight aircraft. A few weeks later he died in that same aircraft. I’m not saying this is the same, but the basic idea is similar. If you want to scrimp on any repair of any aircraft, not only are you putting yourself at risk, but also what it slams into when it fails. Do as you wish. Hope it works out for you.

Deleted member 62848 · Apr 28, 2019

Oh yes bad buzz,just remember they sit bit offset so don't repair straight,,did batt do that oncrash when fix do imu calibration,hurts me to see that

Deleted member 62848 · Apr 28, 2019

Starz said:
A little bit of glue worth the cost of another repair?
I watched a guy years ago take a hammer after a bent bolt on an ultralight aircraft. A few weeks later he died in that same aircraft. I’m not saying this is the same, but the basic idea is similar. If you want to scrimp on any repair of any aircraft, not only are you putting yourself at risk, but also what it slams into when it fails. Do as you wish. Hope it works out for you.

Hey it wasent this micro light I hope

Adamborz · Apr 28, 2019

It’s funny, as a kid we crashed RC planes, repaired them with glue/ epoxy/ monocote and were off again. I’ve plastic welded plastic parts and they are as strong as original. Depending on the cost of the repairs, and the availability of parts, complexity of repair etc I might consider doing it on a personal use bird. Not one I’d use professionally because I record all maintenance on it and the FAA probably would not like to see repairs to plastic.

If you try to repair, keep your initial flights far away from anything/ one and really put it through its paces.

Basically it’s yours, so it’s your decision. I don’t know your repair skill level.

Good luck. Some electronic stores take used batteries. Radio Shack comes to mind.

3rdof5 · Apr 28, 2019

I can tell you from experience that a crack like that WILL causes stability issues. If it was mine I'd replace the top shell after removing it to see if any other damage has happened to that arm. You may need a complete upper and lower shell. That poor battery sure took a pounding!!

Phantom2USA · Apr 28, 2019

I'm with @3rdof5 & @Starz on this.. I'd never fly an aircraft repaired with damage as this... & then again I hear @Adamborz when he reminds me of how we (me included) repaired crashed & damaged RC planes, line control, etc & could hardly wait for the epoxy to dry to get back in the air..ahhhh the good ole days huh? Drones just seem to be more of a responsibility, because of the height they can attain & distance ?

Here's a shell I've personally used when hydro dipping, with excellent results, quick to ship too & the upgraded arm /motor mount area..
It's on e-bay...
Read & watch lots of videos on the swap.. take pictures, don't rush, use a egg carton secured to your work area for screws & mark them, it's really simple to do..
eBay item number:
152759678166
Hope this helps..

PM me if ya need.. retain the two foam strips from the damaged craft for the new shell... you'll use them again..

Adamborz · Apr 28, 2019

Phantom2USA said:
I'm with @3rdof5 on this.. I'd never fly an aircraft repaired with damage as this... & then again I hear @Adamborz when he reminds me of how we (me included) repaired crashed & damaged RC planes, line control, etc & could hardly wait for the epoxy to dry to get back in the air..ahhhh the good ole days huh? Drones just seem to be more of a responsibility, because of the height they can attain & distance ?

Here's a shell I've personally used when hydro dipping, with excellent results, quick to ship too & the upgraded arm /motor mount area..
It's on e-bay...
Read & watch lots of videos on the swap.. take pictures, don't rush, use a egg carton secured to your work area for screws & mark them, it's really simple to do..
eBay item number:
152759678166
Hope this helps..

PM me if ya need.. retain the two foam strips from the damaged craft for the new shell... you'll use them again..

Wow for that cheap I agree that it’s a no brained to just replace the shell +1 @Phantom2USA

Madmartigan · Apr 28, 2019

Thank you all very much for the pointers. This forum has been a huge help over the last couple years.

One of the things that was surprising in the crash was the video. I had the camera rolling when I lost signal so when I recovered the drone I hoped I'd at least have a good crash video to help soften the blow. When I recovered it, I removed the SD card, popped it in my laptop and the video file wouldn't play. I figured that the streaming feed to my tablet that cut a few seconds before the crash was all she wrote. Well last night when I got home and tried to power on the bird to see if it would at least function, I had returned the SD card back to the drone before powering up. Everything on the drone appeared normal (once I plugged the gimbal back in. I didn't attempt a flight). But now when I looked at the SD card, the previously unreadable crash video works fine. It's as if putting it back allowed the formatting to finish on that file or something? Very odd. So I got to see the crash after all. Just a few feet and I would've cleared the rock. Bummer.

In any case, it seems the cost of a new shell isn't that much more than the product required for a repair and so I'll probably go that route. Hopefully with that and a replacement battery, I'm back in business. I'll do a lot of flight tests to make sure.

Any recommendations on batteries? Was thinking of maybe finding a decent used one from a reputable seller. Not sure yet.

Thanks again everyone.

Madmartigan · Apr 28, 2019

Phantom2USA said:
I'm with @3rdof5 & @Starz on this.. I'd never fly an aircraft repaired with damage as this... & then again I hear @Adamborz when he reminds me of how we (me included) repaired crashed & damaged RC planes, line control, etc & could hardly wait for the epoxy to dry to get back in the air..ahhhh the good ole days huh? Drones just seem to be more of a responsibility, because of the height they can attain & distance ?

Here's a shell I've personally used when hydro dipping, with excellent results, quick to ship too & the upgraded arm /motor mount area..
It's on e-bay...
Read & watch lots of videos on the swap.. take pictures, don't rush, use a egg carton secured to your work area for screws & mark them, it's really simple to do..
eBay item number:
152759678166
Hope this helps..

PM me if ya need.. retain the two foam strips from the damaged craft for the new shell... you'll use them again..

Very helpful, thank you sir.

Adamborz · Apr 28, 2019

I personally stick with OEM stuff. I just bought a new DJI battery for my P4P+. They didn’t have any in stock so i bought 1 for the obsidian even though it’s the wrong color. I’m not risking buying aftermarket.

2edgesword · Apr 28, 2019

Madmartigan said:
Thank you all very much for the pointers. This forum has been a huge help over the last couple years.

One of the things that was surprising in the crash was the video. I had the camera rolling when I lost signal so when I recovered the drone I hoped I'd at least have a good crash video to help soften the blow. When I recovered it, I removed the SD card, popped it in my laptop and the video file wouldn't play. I figured that the streaming feed to my tablet that cut a few seconds before the crash was all she wrote. Well last night when I got home and tried to power on the bird to see if it would at least function, I had returned the SD card back to the drone before powering up. Everything on the drone appeared normal (once I plugged the gimbal back in. I didn't attempt a flight). But now when I looked at the SD card, the previously unreadable crash video works fine. It's as if putting it back allowed the formatting to finish on that file or something? Very odd. So I got to see the crash after all. Just a few feet and I would've cleared the rock. Bummer.

In any case, it seems the cost of a new shell isn't that much more than the product required for a repair and so I'll probably go that route. Hopefully with that and a replacement battery, I'm back in business. I'll do a lot of flight tests to make sure.

Any recommendations on batteries? Was thinking of maybe finding a decent used one from a reputable seller. Not sure yet.

Thanks again everyone.

I'm not familiar with the Phantom but on some systems the video can't be retrieved unless a proper shutdown sequences is performed. Maybe some tech whiz would know how to extract the data in a situation where a normal shutdown wasn't performed.

Dunoon Andy · Apr 28, 2019

Adamborz said:
Wow for that cheap I agree that it’s a no brained to just replace the shell +1 @Phantom2USA

I'd agree. I don't need one but I ordered it just to have when I do crash, as I will.

stamac706 · Apr 29, 2019

My recommendation would be to repair the crack with a strong glue, because it doesn't seem that bad (at least it didn't go all the way to the other side as per the photo). Then, test the bird in an open, not populated area and check the behavior of it, check if the aerodynamics is not deeply affected somehow. Do all the required calibrations and check the motors as well. Forget about the battery my friend... Good luck!!!

Offroader · Apr 30, 2019

Replacing the top shell is a piece of cake. The lower, that's another story. I attempted a glue job on mine and decided to replace after the crack separated again. Takes longer to remove and replace the screws than to complete the rest of the job. There are lots of videos out there on how to replace just to top shell or to replace both. Bite the bullet, buy the shell and do the replacement. Adds to peace of mind.

Nightwolf · Apr 30, 2019

Offroader said:
Replacing the top shell is a piece of cake.

X2 and cheap. No reason to try to glue it

Uncle Stumpy · May 4, 2019

ianzone said:
Hey it wasent this micro light I hopeView attachment 110898

Funny pic, but it actually happened to me on a short flight from Miami to the Bahamas. One of the pilots was inspecting a motor and then closed the cowling by running a piece of wire through the 2 holes and twisting the ends like a twist tie! Not an actual nut and bolt. I was a little nervous to say the least. Thanks for posting this.