My Phantom 4 fell out of the sky above Skogafoss Waterfall in Iceland

[Efremie]

Hey guys on my recent trip to Iceland here was a technical error in my drone and it disconnected random and fell from the sky. My friend was also flying his Mavic Pro when it happened and managed to capture this crazy footage, I uploaded it to YouTube here >

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[Erised]

OUCH! well that's a goner! Sorry for your loss. You should upload your log file and let some of the pros see what may have happened.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Yea, you can see it tumbling as the affect of the disconnect. I know that water falls have a fairly strong down draft. Great video from your friend.

 

[PCHdrone]

I had the same thing happened to me in Fiji. No wind drafts. I highly suspect it was caused from a DJI Go update that was forced on my ipad. Before this it flew fine.

 

[wa5tef]

WHY would anyone update their DJI GO stuff anyway, with all the negative posts about it? Try Litchi and ditch DJI GO and never look back.
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[Meta4]

Hey guys on my recent trip to Iceland here was a technical error in my drone and it disconnected random and fell from the sky.

Disconnecting doesn't cause the Phantom to crash.
There are several possible causes for your incident.
If you want to learn what caused it, go to DJI Flight Log Viewer
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.

 

[Meta4]

WHY would anyone update their DJI GO stuff anyway, with all the negative posts about it? Try Litchi and ditch DJI GO and never look back.

Or ... why not, given the huge number of users that have no problems at all with DJI Go?
Like many others, I use the latest updates and everything works just as it should.
I also use Litchi when I need some of its special features and whichever I'm flying with, there's no problem.

 

[John Locke]

WHY would anyone update their DJI GO stuff anyway, with all the negative posts about it? Try Litchi and ditch DJI GO and never look back.
Jim
WA5TEF

The craft doesn't need the app or smart device to fly. You can fly the craft via VLOS with just the RC, however you won't have FPV or telemetry, etc. The basic flying ability is in the craft hardware and craft firmware, paired with the RC and RC firmware. So it's almost impossible for a craft falling from the sky to be caused by the app or the smart device. It's very likely caused by some other failure, like an ESC, a battery failure, or a prop, bird hit, UFO, etc.

@Efremie , sorry for your loss. After you get a sense of the failure from the flight record, I'd submit your flight log to DJI along with your video and see what they say. Seeing your craft falling hundreds of feet into the water is pretty compelling. But DJI will need some sort of matching proof in the flight record to justify a claim. Cross your fingers, and good luck.

 

[Damo31k]

I hope i dont experience anything like this and sorry for ur loss

 

[smfcpacfp]

Good footage, but sorry for your loss

 

[gutterboy2ca]

i witnessed same thing on My P3, from 80 feet onto pavement, Just looked up in time to see one of the Props flew off no idea how,was like threads were stripped...New Props,New Landing Gear,one new Motor, all was good.Man these things are Tuff""""

 

[Miltrez]

Awesome shot. It flew directly and perfectly right to the scene of the crash.

 

[DJI_PilotIndy]

WHY would anyone update their DJI GO stuff anyway, with all the negative posts about it? Try Litchi and ditch DJI GO and never look back.
Jim
WA5TEF

If you don’t update the firmware and software flight height and distance will be limited. It is their new policy, and I don’t like it

 

[wa5tef]

If you don’t update the firmware and software flight height and distance will be limited. It is their new policy, and I don’t like it

Hmmm, I didn’t know that! Mine has not been updated in almost 12 months and flies perfectly in Litchi.
Might try it and see. It sure worked for me. Thanks for posting.
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[gutterboy2ca]

Have not updated mine in 4 months.no height or distance restrictions,and nags me constantly to update. Not sure I agree with that comment.Anyone else confirm that?

 

[supercaliber]

Oh man! I am so sorry but that is a great crash video! Yes, I smiled and laughed, not for your loss, but for such dramatic and visual fashion..I hope you can find a reason for DJI to send you another..Good luck.

 

[Dredd]

I had a similar incident, after examining my data DJI gracefully replaced everything that fell out the sky free of charge.

I have updated my drone on every prompt except for the zone restriction update which still prompts every time I boot up my remote.

I think we all understand drones come with crash risk, but then again so do cars. Sorry about your drone fella and good luck submitting your data.

S

 

[sar104]

If you don’t update the firmware and software flight height and distance will be limited. It is their new policy, and I don’t like it

That is not correct, at least for Phantoms and Mavics.

 

[rkingsb353]

Have a P3A and get the notice to update. Have not update in 11 months and it flies o.k.

 

[F3honda4me]

That is not correct, at least for Phantoms and Mavics.

Ditto for inspire 2