Was flying my drone when all the sudden it fell from the sky. Can anybody help me diagnosed what happened
Phantom 4 Adv fell like a rock
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msinger
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I don't see anything abnormal in the txt log - it simply ends while in a hover at 29 m. Can you get the DAT file from the aircraft?
msinger
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You can find instructions for retrieving the DAT file here. If that file is too large to attach here after zipping it, then upload it to a file sharing site like dropbox.com and post a download link back here.
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Without checking the logs my first suspicion would be that the battery became dislodged from the craft while in flight. It is not uncommon for the impact of the craft hitting the ground itself to eject the battery, but if it came loose during flight the craft would immediately lose all power and both would fall to the ground and you wouldn’t know that until checking the logs. I know this because it happened to my P4A. A slight design flaw as you can technically connect the battery and power it up without pushing it in completely while getting that complete and secure click. It’s a possibility that should be considered.
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Ship it to DJI, same happened to me. DJI quoted me £550 for a repair but asked them to look at the flight log again. They repaired it for free and I got it yesterday. Same situation as yours tho, no idea why it cut out mid flight. Hopefully you will be able to get it fixed quickly
Having lost two DJI drones, and seeing a constant stream of lost and fallen drones, I conclude that you simply have to accept that every few years you have to spend another $1000 or more for a new drone. Which I can't afford. I miss flying, but the tension over waiting for it to fall or fly off ruins the fun.
I've been flying them since 2014 and not had any crashes or losses. Most of the unfortunate events reported here are a result of simple pilot error - events that could have been avoided if a little more care had been taken to prep the aircraft, plan the flight, check the winds aloft etc. Very few are mechanical failure, and DJI often replace when it was pilot error simply if the aircraft didn't prevent the error.
So it really depends how much attention to detail you are willing to invest in the activity.
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For me, the sudden drop out of the sky won't ruin it for me. If it drops, it drops. DJI will replace it if it's mechanical error. Only difference now is I fly by the regulations which is a good thing. I never did. Won't go into it but I now fly away from any people and no longer fly over shopping malls
After reading hundreds of threads in this forum covering every operating issue imagineable (and then some), I would have to agree that @sar104 is on point with those statements. The percentage of documented hardware failures is relatively small compared to the number of confirmed operator errors.
I'm a few months new to flying my P4P and although I've been into the controller settings, adjusting my settings for a slower camera tilt, I was SHOCKED when I stumbled across a setting that turns off the motor when the RTH button is pressed and the left control stick is moved to the bottom right position at the same time - even if performed mid-flight. I found pilots reporting similar issue by "accidentally" performing those joystick maneuvers, only to watch their drone drop liker a rock
I believe that's an emergency kill option. I suppose there could be a situation where dropping your drone from the sky like a rock might be justified but, like you pointed out, I question the wisdom of associating that option with two actions (RTH button and left stick down-right) that together could gave some disasterous and unintended consequences for an unsuspecting or uninformed op.
That was the replacement motor stop CSC because of complaints about the standard one. The previous CSC (both sticks down and in) was apparently being inadvertently applied by some pilots while flying. Full CW rudder, maximum descent, full backwards elevator and full left aileron also seemed an unlikely stick combination to need to fly the aircraft, but apparently some people got there.
In the case of this one, why would you ever have the left stick in that position at all, let alone be pressing RTH at the same time?
