Phantom Freaks out and crashes! Help

samalamading · Jun 22, 2014

I flew my Phantom for the 1 st time in 3 weeks due to high winds the other day. It was a windless day.
After about 30 seconds of flight I realized something was terribly wrong and tried valiantly to get it back to me, only to end up crashing hard.
It lost altitude quickly and had almost no controls. Every time I tried to use the forward or throttle, it would not respond correctly.
I just ordered new props and reset the Phantom to defaults.
We'll see if it actually flies again. I also, started a support ticket with DJI, but I hear that they are the worst with customer service...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA7G4ly5ihI

Any suggestions?

4wd · Jun 22, 2014

It almost looks like the battery was well down, it never lost power altogether which is one of the more troubling sudden fails.
You get the impression it is really fighting to hold position in a strong wind quite early on.
In that sort of terrain unpredictable winds would be hard to rule out as implicated.

sar104 · Jun 22, 2014

Firstly - I assume that you checked that status of the battery before takeoff? Secondly, your takeoff point, Ski Patrol HQ, is at 11,800 ft, which is pushing it for density altitude at this time of year. Are you accustomed to flying at those altitudes, and how heavy is the aircraft?

samalamading · Jun 25, 2014

sar104 said:
Firstly - I assume that you checked that status of the battery before takeoff? Secondly, your takeoff point, Ski Patrol HQ, is at 11,800 ft, which is pushing it for density altitude at this time of year. Are you accustomed to flying at those altitudes, and how heavy is the aircraft?

The battery was at 97% at takeoff. An no, I had never flown at that altitude before. The battery was still three bars when I found it half an hour later.
I have a Zenmuse H3-2d
Iosd Mini
And 5.8 ghz wireless video transmitter on it.

Maybe it was just a case of being too high? I feel like that wasn't the case. Once I get some new props, I will fly it again at home altitude of 7000' and report my findings to you.
The fact that is was wobbling like VRS on ascent and forward momentum was very strange.