Phantom Crashed. Tumbled down. No idea why.

Thanks for a lot of valuable info offered in this post. I will be a lot more attentive to tightening of the props from now on!

Previously, I could not understand how the 'self-tightening props could spin off in flight.
 
Thanks for a lot of valuable info offered in this post. I will be a lot more attentive to tightening of the props from now on!

Previously, I could not understand how the 'self-tightening props could spin off in flight.
If your using the DJI plastic props you should have no issues. The op was using carbon fiber props.
 
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And the CF props, from all I have read from users...equates to nothing more than expensive 'bling' as they do nothing for the flight that plastic props can't.
 
I agree. Can't blame them though. The black props with yellow stripes at the edge looks infinitely better. :D Makes the aircraft look more pro and not toy-ish.
I'll give you that, but I'd rather have bird in the sky with plastic that no one can see or cares about, than to have the bird on the ground, writhing in pain, begging to be put out of its misery, with 3 out of 4 good looking props... ;)
 
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The CF props made a significant difference. In handling. It's much more responsive and little inputs are cleaner. Don't knock them if you've never used them. Listening to other people is weak. It's the only real performance upgrade you can do. I won't fly with plastic props ever again. From an engineering standpoint alone they make sense.
 
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Those are the disappointing moments after you have established trust in your aircraft's performance.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Yes. I agree. You have to trust your machine and when something like this happens it rattles you. Fortunately I know what the cause was and it wasn't the machine or a part failure. I'm also fortunate it wasn't pilot error. At least while in flight. So I should be able to move ahead without losing much confidence. Although I may have this in the back of my mind for some period of time. I know clearly how important it is to get the props on correctly now.
 
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It was a loose carbon fiber prop that spun off during deceleration...
 
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I know that's what we believe, but I'm curious how the op has the confidence that it won't happen again. That would be hard to determine for sure since he doesn't know the state of tightness before the flight. Maybe it was tight but came loose during flight. If so it will happen again.
 
So what did you determine was the cause & how can you be sure your conclusion is correct?

Because three props were snapped by the hubs and the fourth prop was missing. After talking to my friend who is as smart as I am, we determined I failed to properly tighten a prop. Based on the evidence and the flight path of the accident and the circumstances around the loss of control, I'm 100% certain I lost a prop. They don't strip off.
 
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I might have missed it but, were the OP using genuine DJI CF props or aftermarket?

If your pre-flight list includes checking the props, that will never happen. Only two reasons props can fly off... They were loose to begin with or the thread is worn out/stripped from over-tightening.

I'm surprised there's still no prop-locks available on the Phantom platform like they have on the Inspire.
 
I know that's what we believe, but I'm curious how the op has the confidence that it won't happen again. That would be hard to determine for sure since he doesn't know the state of tightness before the flight. Maybe it was tight but came loose during flight. If so it will happen again.


I conducted an investigation. Like the NTSB. Deductive logic and empirical data.

The only thing that could cause the crash based on the evidence is the loss of lift by one or more of the motors. The only things that can cause that are loss of power to a motor or loss of lift provided by the propeller.

I was distracted by a man who asked me some questions while I was spinning my props on. I can't say for sure I tightened all of them. Also, CF props are tricky and I know now. Go pretty tight.

If you're flying plastic props it isn't a problem. Unless you don't tighten them at all. If you tighten the CF props tight, they won't spin loose.

It's unfortunate there isn't some way to lock them in. I would like to not have additional stress from something like the props.
 
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sucks to learn the hard way but for future you will be set
 
It's cool though. I sold it for $300. I'm fixing the camera for $50. I bought an Advanced for $650 which I was gonna do anyways so it worked out.
 
was told once you have a advanced you wont care about a standard
 

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