RTH crash DJI say not under warrenty??

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Hi All

I have done many RTH with my P4P and it has ALWAYS landed within a few inches from the take off point. It has been absolutely faultless up to now.

I was asked by a friend to take some pictures of his house. So I set the drone out between 8-10 meters from his house in the driveway took off using the precise location take off and set about taking some pictures for him. The drone was about 80 meters away from me when I got the first battery warning so I pressed RTH.

The drone was coming back fine until it overshot the landing area and started to come down right next to the house and chimney (8-10 meters away from the take-off point)
I could not cancel the RTH fast enough and a prop caught the chimney and it came down. Smashed a motor and gimbal and the shell.

I have since sent it off to DJI under a warranty claim as it came to land nowhere near where it took off from resulting in a crash.

DJI messaged and asked for me to send some files off my phone so they could see what happened, I mailed back and said I had upgraded my phone over Xmas and this would be difficult for me to do.

I got an email today from them saying it would not be under warranty as the RTH was initiated within 20 meters of the home point so it just set down where it was (this was not the case as it flew 80 meters and overshot the landing zone) and that there was water in it so the drone would have to be renewed along with the battery as it is water damaged!!! It slid down the gable end of the house and onto the gravel drive so no water involved.

They want around £1290 to fix the drone

I live in the UK and bought the drone from drones for less in America and it is in Europe to get a repair, what options do I have as can't really take it down the small claims as they are not even in the UK?

Thanks in advance
 
I have since sent it off to DJI under a warranty claim as it came to land nowhere near where it took off from resulting in a crash.
Flight Data Files my friend. You have been around here for a while now. But have not checked in for a while it seems. Had you supplied the data files here first, you may have a "long shot " at your case. At a minimum you would know what your options were, before sending, and may have had a little to work with. I can't say how to proceed in your case, but best of luck.
 
I still have the phone. How would I get the flight data needed for you to have a look, please?
 
I still have the phone. How would I get the flight data needed for you to have a look, please?
As long as you did not lose signal during the incident, that you know of. You can upload the file to the link below. ( Instructions are on the link)......Otherwise, if you did, there will be missing data that cannot be accounted for. That said, follow the link, then post a link back here to the uploaded file, if you wish to have others assist you.

Log Viewer
 
The flight logs will be interesting for some confirmation however if your only complaint is that it was attempting to land 8-10m from the launch point on RTH I can’t see you having much of a case. While rare the GPS can exhibit that level of positional error on occasion.

The water damage claim is a mystery. Had the phantom been exposed to water on an earlier occasion? Are they simply relying on the moisture indicators changing colour? You don’t need much moisture to make them turn pink/red. 3M, the principal manufacturer has stated that a moisture level high enough to cause reading glasses to fog up will cause the indicators to react.
 
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Sorry to hear about your loss (aka damage) but I'm going to say up front... RTH should NOT be your Go-To for landing. That's similar to using your Emergency Brake in your car to stop it all the time. You should FLY the aircraft for landing to help avoid this type of incident.

Keep in mind we're dealing with hobby grade hardware and although it performs well above that standard many times (most of the time), it's still hobby grade and prone to gps/navigational errors of a few meters.
 
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Don't give up. Ask DJI to reassess the case. They done the same to me and try to charge me. I disputed that and they ended up repairing free off charge. Also based in the UK too if that helps mate
 
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Thanks for the replies. If the drone or any other I have didn't always land within a foot or less of where it took off from I would have landed it myself.
They are always spot on and I started the flight with a precision take off too.
Anyway, see what you think about the data.
 
It is a pity you hadn't been aware of my (and others) experiences with Groans for Less. I had an ongoing 'discussion' with them about a £75 compensation refund. After 12 months I realised that I was on to plums. They are a bunch of charlatans operating out of their garage and using a London based PO-Box address. The only reason they offer a discount is by cheating the taxman of VAT. Fine to have a discount but costs you loss of legal protection if you have a problem.

The link is well down the topic and will save you reading the whole tale of woe.
Be Warned: www.dronesforless.co.uk (especially if buying from the U.K.)
 
I recall hearing from someone on this forum that you should only use RTH if you lose orientation with your drone or it disconnects/has a problem. Even then, I was told to cancel it and land it manually always, as you shouldn’t rely on RTH for accuracy or reacting to problems. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought everyone practiced this. Best of luck with support, I’ve dealt with worse... Parrot tried to tell me my warrenty was voided because I landed on flat ground. *Facepalm
 
The drone was coming back fine until it overshot the landing area and started to come down right next to the house and chimney (8-10 meters away from the take-off point)
Not according to the GPS data....You were within 10ft ( Roughly ) Of your take off point. That is well within tolerance. You seem to expect more, but that is not always the case. There is nothing wrong with the landing spot, per this data. IMO....


LAND.PNG
 
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Thanks for the replies. If the drone or any other I have didn't always land within a foot or less of where it took off from I would have landed it myself.
They are always spot on and I started the flight with a precision take off too.
Precision "Landing" requires accurate GPS AND Accurate VPS. You can not count on the VPS being 100% accurate...If there is anything at all that interferes with the VPS from the takeoff point, ( In reference to the terrain )then there is your difference.
 
I’ve only used RTH twice on DJI app to check it out and when using other apps as Maps Made Easy, Drone Deploy, and DJI GS Pro. I have always kept my index finger on the mode switch to cancel it and have had to use it on two or three occasions. I always land it manually. Maybe the reason some sUAS Pilot’s use RTH rather then land manually is because they don’t understand ground effect. It takes a little getting use to but once you understand you will most likely always land manually.
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I’ve only used RTH twice on DJI app to check it out and when using other apps as Maps Made Easy, Drone Deploy, and DJI GS Pro. I have always kept my index finger on the mode switch to cancel it and have had to use it on two or three occasions. I always land it manually. Maybe the reason some sUAS Pilot’s use RTH rather then land manually is because they don’t understand ground effect. It takes a little getting use to but once you understand you will most likely always land manually.
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Exactly my point. It’s a safety feature, not an all the time feature.
 
I’ve only used RTH twice on DJI app to check it out and when using other apps as Maps Made Easy, Drone Deploy, and DJI GS Pro. I have always kept my index finger on the mode switch to cancel it and have had to use it on two or three occasions. I always land it manually. Maybe the reason some sUAS Pilot’s use RTH rather then land manually is because they don’t understand ground effect. It takes a little getting use to but once you understand you will most likely always land manually.
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I have only used Precision Flight and GS Pro. On both apps, you have the option for the drone to hover, RTH and hover, & RTH and land. I usually leave it in RTH and hover.
 
From the Manual (page 15):
Aircraft automatically descends and lands if RTH is triggered when the aircraft flies within a
65 feet (20 meters) radius of the Home Point. When the RTH altitude is set to more than 20 m
and the aircraft is ascending between 20 m and the preset RTH altitude, the aircraft will stop
ascending and immediately return to the Home Point if you push the throttle stick.
 
Aircraft automatically descends and lands if RTH is triggered when the aircraft flies within a
65 feet (20 meters) radius of the Home Point.
Not applicable in this case. The aircraft was 268ft from the Home Point when RTH was initiated.
 

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