My Phantom dropped out of the sky!! WTH!!!


Keep trying young grasshopper sooner or later you'll figure it out. :) But please quit sending me coded messages. :mad:
 
Guys thanks for your 2 cents!! I love this site for great info from people like you!
I felt so invincible(spelling?) with my Phantom before this freak deal!! I will use all your thoughts to solve this issue!! I will definetely be meticulous about battery insertion and use the Phantom assistant to see if there is an issue with that battery as one of u suggested!!! Cheers!!
 
Yes a lot of people have experienced this to happen including myself. You are one of the extremely rare people that has came through it with a quad that is still useable. You are very lucky. Don't think for a minute this was a one time thing either.

The batteries always come out upon impact in most all cases. If you had a flight logger in your software it would help to track such issues.

I would say you had one of three things happen. Either a failed ESC or broken motor wire, or a broken gps signal which causes the to go into manual mode. You will need to remove the top cover and inspect.
I tested the broken GPS signal hypothesis with my Vision Plus v3. The result of disconnecting the GPS connector was that it went into ATTI mode not Manual mode.
 
The battery coming loose is almost certainly a symptom of the crash rather than the cause. The lights going off signifies a loss of power and that will always result in a crash.
 
What do you think caused the loss of power?

The battery is wired directly to the ESCs without any circuitry (other than wires) in between. If power is interrupted to the Naza, the ESCs will flash the LEDs red (and beep). Only two things can cut the power completely (to the ESCs):
1) somehow the battery turned itself off
2) the battery became just loose enough to lose contact with the terminals

Now, certainly the battery being completely ejected was a result of the crash.
 
The issue of the battery not being fully inserted, yet it may seem so, was discussed here many months ago. Back then I gave the P2 and battery to several friends and asked them to install it for me without explaining why (blind testing). About 4 out of 10 times they did not have it inserted fully to where the latch was engaged.

Complacency could be the cause here.

Food for thought.
 
The issue of the battery not being fully inserted, yet it may seem so, was discussed here many months ago. Back then I gave the P2 and battery to several friends and asked them to install it for me without explaining why (blind testing). About 4 out of 10 times they did not have it inserted fully to where the latch was engaged.

Complacency could be the cause here.

Food for thought.
Did you happen to test to see if it would still operate when it was improperly inserted.
 
Very good question... I did not.

The way I noticed it might be an issue was after one of my first few flights when I went to remove the battery and realized it was not 'clicked' into the holder. Pressing until it seemed in place did not always make the final bit to latch.
 
I tested the broken GPS signal hypothesis with my Vision Plus v3. The result of disconnecting the GPS connector was that it went into ATTI mode not Manual mode.

Right, that IS what it is programmed to do. Those that read what I said saw that I said I did not know why it does it, just that it does. I have logged data and video of it taking place.

Before I knew what was going on, I posted a thread with video about how my quad was descending at over 22mph. People were beginning to get mad because after seeing the video they thought I knew how to make the quad come down that fast and wanted me to tell them.

Anyway, atti the quad will hover and not drop.
Manual mode, when the transmitter sticks are center and the quad is switched into manual mode it will drop.

For the OP of this thread, I make it a habit after pushing the battery in firmly to give it a tug to make sure the safety tab latched to the housing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brent10
loosing power is a matter (light went dark) of battery is connected to main controller then power all motor thru the ESC that power the lights too so,I think loose battery or dirty battery connectors, will be more of the culprit, Mine just had an encounter with a tree felt about 11 F,t did open it checked all cables but but as one suggestion will recalibrate the bird and controller just in case,lie Jason suggested
 
I had a sudden battery failure warning signal at 60 ft in the air about a year ago (I think) followed by a very "hard landing" and battery "ejection". I sent the batteries to DJI and they sent replacements. I also had to have the circuit board repaired by Atlanta Hobby. No problems since, but I'm also very careful to make sure I feel a solid "snap" when installing batteries anyway.
 
Gentle men, I had my Phantom 2 not just drop out of sky, but go totally nuts before crashing into the ground. No real damage due to being only 10 to 15 feet off the ground, but after sending it in to 1UAS and them looking at it, they found nothing wrong, so the only thing that I came up with is that low flying, can cause problems, when flying high, over 50 feet, then no problem. This Phantom 2 was not even 30 days old and had uploading the latest firmware and so thought it was good to go. i personally believe that low flying with Phantom 2 or Vision, is something that should be avoided.
 
Gentle men, I had my Phantom 2 not just drop out of sky, but go totally nuts before crashing into the ground. No real damage due to being only 10 to 15 feet off the ground, but after sending it in to 1UAS and them looking at it, they found nothing wrong, so the only thing that I came up with is that low flying, can cause problems, when flying high, over 50 feet, then no problem. This Phantom 2 was not even 30 days old and had uploading the latest firmware and so thought it was good to go. i personally believe that low flying with Phantom 2 or Vision, is something that should be avoided.



I have many many flights around the yard and at park walking dog. Often 2 - 5 feet or so above gl.

if hovering low the prop wash messes but if moving seems to be no issue. Have flown down banks of frozen creek and cruzed down stream bed a couple 3 feet up.

some great vids of dog wanting phantom badly..lol


is it possible you lost GPS and did what I did a couple times in my first flights when it hit ATTI mode..
crash

at low altitude no room to recover mistakes
 
Yes a lot of people have experienced this to happen including myself. You are one of the extremely rare people that has came through it with a quad that is still useable. You are very lucky. Don't think for a minute this was a one time thing either.

The batteries always come out upon impact in most all cases. If you had a flight logger in your software it would help to track such issues.

I would say you had one of three things happen. Either a failed ESC or broken motor wire, or a broken gps signal which causes the to go into manual mode. You will need to remove the top cover and inspect.

I would suggest you to read the post again; his lights went dark ,that means no power.
What could have happened , he did't insert the battery all the way ( the click) and with vibration
the battery get loos and lost power.
He is saying that the craft ,beside broken props is OK and it flays again.
If the ESC or motor fails ,it won't fly without replacement and GPS problem doesn't make the craft to loos power and get dark.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31