Phantom 4 disappeared today

[Ranch5]

I would contact DJI on this. I would not fly this craft again before doing so. There is literally nothing in the logs indicative of an issue other than instant power loss or some other catastrophic failure. This also concerns me in the logs, not totally sure what they mean.

213.279 : 1182790043 : 12850 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault on , stuck
213.679 : 1184589442 : 12870 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault off, stuck
269.279 : 1434789972 : 15650 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault on , stuck
269.479 : 1435689557 : 15660 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault off, stuck
292.479 : 1539189732 : 16810 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault on , stuck
293.279 : 1542789769 : 16850 [L-FDI][FDI][NS(0)][GPS(0)]: fault off, stuck

The aircraft is being sent back to DJI tomorrow. This just verifies what I've thought all along. An instant power loss was the cause of the crash.

 

[AlecW]

The aircraft is being sent back to DJI tomorrow. This just verifies what I've thought all along. An instant power loss was the cause of the crash.

Definitely sounds like it really did just fall out of the sky. Kind of scary and a good reason to follow some of the guidelines where they pertain to people.

 

[Ranch5]

Wasn't the GoPro Karma recalled for that kind of issue?

 

[AlecW]

Wasn't the GoPro Karma recalled for that kind of issue?

They had a problem with batteries coming loose on a big percentage of them. I've only read about a couple of Phantoms falling like this so it's more of a one off.

 

[F3honda4me]

They had a problem with batteries coming loose on a big percentage of them. I've only read about a couple of Phantoms falling like this so it's more of a one off.

This thread is maybe the 2nd such incident I can recall. There were others where it sounds like the battery wasn't put in all the way and popped out during high speed maneuvers.

 

[Hammer]

I have flown the same route over and near where my P4 dropped out of the sky numerous times without incident. I don't agree that the tracks cause interference.

Trains and tracks do use radio frequencies. I'm just saying it's something g to think about and to rule out
DPD Productions - Railroad Radio Frequencies: Non AAR


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[Meta4]

Trains and tracks do use radio frequencies. I'm just saying it's something g to think about and to rule out
DPD Productions - Railroad Radio Frequencies: Non AAR


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Interference doesn't cause a phantom to drop from the sky

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[Ranch5]

Trains and tracks do use radio frequencies. I'm just saying it's something g to think about and to rule out
DPD Productions - Railroad Radio Frequencies: Non AAR


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Keep in mind, the train was still about two miles away and my horizontal distance from the tracks was about 450 feet and my altitude was 400 feet. Which if my calculations are correct, using the Pythagorean Theorem, the P4 was about 600 feet from the track. So far all the evidence is a sudden loss of power.

 

[Ranch5]

If you have a friend with a P4, put that corrupt SD card in it, power up the craft, shoot a short video. That routine can put the right ending in the video you were shooting previously when you crashed so it can be viewed. That happened to me once when I crashed from a bird encounter.

I bought a replacement P4 and inserted the SD chip from my previous P4 and it did indeed fixed the issue and I could view the video from the crash. The date and time of the video was changed though to January 1, 2010 which I think is a bit odd. The video itself shows nothing of the crash it just stops at the moment of disaster.

 

[sparky1111]

Gosh, I just bought a P4 and all I read are negative things. Should have gotten a P3P until I can get an Inspire.
Terry

I have a P4 and I've had no problems what so ever. I have 3 batteries and treat it with care.
I love my P4 and wouldn't change it for anything else. It took me a year to make the decision and boy I'm pleased.

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[IIIDaemon]

So I was a bit over six minutes into my second flight of the afternoon. I had my P4 hovering over a spot where I could get a shot of a passing train. Suddenly my screen goes blank and "Aircraft Disconnected" message appears on my iPad! What the heck????? I immediately hit the RTH button but to no avail. I went searching for it but it was getting dark and the last contact I had with it was over a private orchard so I'll go searching again in the morning with permission of the land owner for certain.

Talk about a sinking sick feeling!!! If I am able to find it I'm dreading the condition it'll be in and if not found I'm really dreading replacing it. Ugh!!

Has anyone else had the experience of the P4 just disconnecting in mid flight? If so any ideas of what may cause it? By the way, before the flight I am certain that the battery was properly mounted in the aircraft.

.
...Ranch, to answer your question, YES, details and flight paths on my website.. Equip Page, Phantom4 Tab
.
IIIDaemon
www.GasRecovery.net

 

[IIIDaemon]

I did climb to the max altitude. I was just hovering waiting for the train to come by for the shot I wanted. I didn't have my hands on the controls at all. Like I said, suddenly the "Aircraft Disconnected" message flashed on the screen and that was it. No contact from that point forward.

.
...Ranch, just curious, you didnt have your hands on ctrls, was it hanging from harness/neck-strap, basically laying (maybe swinging) against your
chest/belly? possible ESD caused dis-conn, poss wigged out compass caused failed RTH, in which case it should have hovered
in place until critical low batt forced landing.. I'll never wait more than 30sec before attempting re-start/re-conn on device ever again, and at that
point immediately set Rem-Ctrl as Home Point just in case it drops conn again, reason being, home-point in this situation would be reset to the
craft current position i.e. 399ft, 3300ft dwn range... (this is unless DJi has chg'd something, again)...
.
IIIDaemon
www.GasRecovery.net

 

[Ranch5]

.
...Ranch, just curious, you didnt have your hands on ctrls, was it hanging from harness/neck-strap, basically laying (maybe swinging) against your
chest/belly? possible ESD caused dis-conn, poss wigged out compass caused failed RTH, in which case it should have hovered
in place until critical low batt forced landing.. I'll never wait more than 30sec before attempting re-start/re-conn on device ever again, and at that
point immediately set Rem-Ctrl as Home Point just in case it drops conn again, reason being, home-point in this situation would be reset to the
craft current position i.e. 399ft, 3300ft dwn range... (this is unless DJi has chg'd something, again)...
.
IIIDaemon
www.GasRecovery.net

What I meant by my hands not on control was that I had the RC in my hands but I was not touching the joy sticks. And yes I had a neck strap on.

 

[WBN3]

What I meant by my hands not on control was that I had the RC in my hands but I was not touching the joy sticks. And yes I had a neck strap on.

Good luck in your dealings with DJI support... as I'm sure you've read on the forums, it can be maddening dealing with them. We just received a return shipment on a P4 which disconnected following a commanded RTH that did not execute as expected. We were unable to get DJI to cover cost of replacing a damaged battery which popped out (presumably on landing) and happened to fall into a muddy ditch. The whole saga is covered in a thread I posted, but basically they said it was my son's fault. Our bird landed upright at the edge of the ditch, so we were fortunate that nothing else was damaged. The whole thing has given us a dose of caution and will make it much harder to enjoy flying without the anxiety of "what if"... will be following this thread, so keep us updated on your progress. Good luck!

 

[Ranch5]

Received good news today, my Phantom 4 is being repaired at no cost to me. It should be home in about a week. What a relief that was.

 

[Dramface460]

That's awesome good to hear! It may be a new p4. When I sent my p4 in they sent me an email saying they would repair at no cost but when it shipped, received another email and that email had a new serial number for the bird. When I got it sure enough it was a new phantom 4. The serial number doesn't have an R at the end so my P4 isn't a refurb


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[AlecW]

Great news. I thought all along this problem was a malfunction and not in any way pilot error. Hopefully you'll be up and flying again soon.

 

[Ranch5]

Got news today that my Phantom 4 has been repaired and shipped. It will arrive Friday sometime but I won't be able to test her out until Saturday because of being out of town on that day. One interesting thing I noticed with the information they sent me was that the aircraft serial number is different from the one I sent them. So it will be interesting to see if it's new or refurbished.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

I found it exactly where the flight record made its last entry. Now the work of where and how to repair.

View attachment 74703

Man sorry to c drone like that,,,,all the best of luck

 

[Ranch5]

Received a replacement for my P4 which crashed. Must admit that I'm overall pleased with DJI and how all this was handled and I didn't have to shell out a dime. I'm not sure if I got a totally new P4 or a refurbished one but I do know that it is not the same one that I sent in. I've done all the calibrations have not yet flown the new aircraft so needless to say I'm hoping for the best.