Below is a brief description of what happened to my 4 day old Phantom 2 vision.
I opened the box and followed all instructions as per the DJI 'how to' videos
I then updated the firmware as recommended by DJI
My very first flight was in a clear open field with no obstacles or any overhead obstructions, at this point I carried out the compass calibration, it was a perfect first flight with no problems
My second flight I decided to make sure the return home feature was actually working by turning off the controller, sure enough it returned home and landed almost perfectly…..very pleased!
Over the next 3 days the weather had been good enough to carry out more flights in the same open field and other locations.
On day 4 Saturday the 28th December I felt confident enough to fly along my local beach in the morning around 9:15am
The first 10 mins into the flight was perfect as I proceeded down the beach at an altitude of around 70 feet travelling very slowly. All of a sudden the Phantom seemed to be being controlled by another signal,!! at this point the only command that appeared to work was the throttle up!! All other controls had no effect on the Phantom at all !!!! I did try every way but nothing was working !!!
I did manage to stop it crashing into a passing car by elevating up but the phantom seemed to be fixed hard left once it was over the sea I was left with no alternative but to quickly switch the controller to the off position in the hope that it might return home.
Unfortunately a few seconds later it ditched into the sea :-(
I am part of the crew at my local Lifeboat station so I went to my station, my colleague & I put our dry suits on and went to look as I still had the position of where it entered the water after 2 hrs of searching we decided it was lost, with our quick change in the weather & sea conditions we lost the battle to recover the Phantom.
I am still not sure why the Phantom behaved this way, up until this point it