P4 Dropped like a brick midflight

[Kenneth-UAV]

OK I just had a similar event with new P4Pro Plus only 4 months old. Took off no errors, home point recorded, battery at 95%. 60 seconds into flight over the ocean the display showed aircraft disconnected as I watched it plummet 125ft into the ocean! I have been flying DJI Phantoms for over 5 years, well over 350 flights on this drone alone all over the ocean monitoring juvenile Great White shark habitat. What is my recourse with DJI if any...1800.00 down the drain in an instant! Only thing that makes sense would be the Battery died or disconnected.

Your controller will still show the last location of poweroff/impact. Personally, I would go out in a small boat with a small net attached to the end of a couple of fishing poles. Dredging up the drone for the DJI logs and warranty return might be worth it.

 

[Kenneth-UAV]

I am actually dealing with this exact same scenario at the moment. Latching the battery is always up most on my checklist. It's the number one thing I check before I ever take off. After about an hour of flight maybe a little more I took off to a 127' next thing I know it drops like a rock. Seems very strange since I always check the battery.

You never revealed the configuration of the battery when you found the drone. Secured, loose or al a carte?

 

[GVDD scout]

As I've noted before, I've had my P4P throw a propeller twice, and it survived the 1st and splattered on the second. DJI warrantied the 2nd. I did not see the logs, but saw the drone pushing hard with three motors to try to get stable as it came down from 399ft. onto asphalt. In both cases the battery was out after landing, and I think that was just from impact. Is there any indication of that in your logs?

 

[sar104]

As I've noted before, I've had my P4P throw a propeller twice, and it survived the 1st and splattered on the second. DJI warrantied the 2nd. I did not see the logs, but saw the drone pushing hard with three motors to try to get stable as it came down from 399ft. onto asphalt. In both cases the battery was out after landing, and I think that was just from impact. Is there any indication of that in your logs?

If you look back through the thread you will see that the logs indicated power loss in midair, not on impact with the ground.

 

[Kissthesky]

You never revealed the configuration of the battery when you found the drone. Secured, loose or al a carte?

Sorry...it was about a foot away from the drone on the ground

 

[kewald]

This could be why my bird fell out of the sky also. When I found it the battery was just barely inside the cavity. Might have disconnected in flight and stayed in the cavity until it hit the ground.

Thanks