[VIDEO] Phantom rescue attempt with a grappling hook on another Phantom...

Rip

Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Messages
199
Reaction score
53
Age
43
So, my Phantom landed on top of a 100ft tree and my Brother thought it was a good idea to try to air lift it out with another Phantom.

The tree:
DJI_0007.JPG


This is where my Phantom was stuck (this photo was taken before it got stuck):
DJI_0009.JPG


And my brothers the video of the rescue attempt:
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


My Phantom sat there for 2 days and 2 nights, until a local climber contacted me and said he'd have a look for a small fee. He free climbed right to the top and managed to bring it down very carefully without damaging anything!

I've not powered it on yet as I'm a bit worried about shorting something on one of the circuit boards so it's spending a few hours in front of a heated fan and then it'll spend a few days in an airing cupboard just to give it the best chance of getting any moisture out.

Nothing is visibly damaged BUT I did get a 'MOTOR OBSTRUCTED' alarm when it crashed and for a split second I saw 'GIMBAL OVERLOAD' on my screen also so there is a possibility that there may be some damage but I wont know until I power it up in a few days time (fingers crossed).

IMG_6021.JPG


IMG_6023.JPG


It actually looks in very good condition considering it's been in a tree for 2 days and had some bugs living in it:

IMG_6024.JPG


As for why it crashed, well, I was trying the 'Point Of Interest' flight mode for the first time, I could see the Phantom by eye as I wasn't very far away from it so I hovered it above the tree to set the center point, then I was supposed to pull the right stick back to set the radius for the POI mode BUT I must have pulled the left stick back instead for some reason!

Here's the flight log of my tree landing, at the time I was convinced a motor had failed or something and caused it to drop in to the tree as I heard a loud screech and looked at my screen to see that it was parked in a tree! But on inspection of drone all 4 motors spin freely and after viewing the flight log playback on my screen it doesn't show me pulling the right stick back as I should have. Maybe the loud screech was one of the gimbal motors? Or maybe it was just something else in the park area at the time? I'll know the state of the gimbal in a few days.

Log: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Lesson learned, be more careful and pay more attention!
 
I hope it works out well. My friend helped me get my p3 from under a waterfall after 3 days days. The battery is shot, but everything else seems to be working. I hooked it to the charger. The gimbal and camera work. Blew me away. P3 lights up, does the gimbal dance and states I don’t have a DJI battery.
 
I hope it works out well. My friend helped me get my p3 from under a waterfall after 3 days days. The battery is shot, but everything else seems to be working. I hooked it to the charger. The gimbal and camera work. Blew me away. P3 lights up, does the gimbal dance and states I don’t have a DJI battery.

Have you tried a different battery? It may be the main circuit board on the Phantom not recognizing the battery.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stephen23
Have you tried a different battery? It may be the main circuit board on the Phantom not recognizing the battery.
My wife had me buy a p4 because it has obstacle avoidance. she said not to put any money into the p3s, it wasn’t worth it. I was piecing things back together to sell the parts after it was dried out. I decided to test it. Battery was shot so I hooked it up to the charger. The p3 was working and the app said not a DJI battery. It said imu and compass was good. I couldn’t believe it since the one WiFi wire was broken. If I had a battery, I might be able to fly it. I will get around to video it and show everybody. Very busy right now.
 
So far so good! Systems are showing as OK and no strange noises or anything.
IMG_6030.JPG
 
Great attempt by your bro! Nice that it was recovered! That's an insane free climb up that tree all the way to the top. I will stick to flying to those heights and beyond.
 
Great attempt by your bro! Nice that it was recovered! That's an insane free climb up that tree all the way to the top. I will stick to flying to those heights and beyond.
For the record I didn’t condone him risking his Phantom too! And yeah I got real lucky with the climber, it started raining shortly after he recovered it and it pretty much hasn’t stopped since.
 
Well on the bright side. If your brother got his Phantom stuck as well I am sure the climber would have offered you a "two for one" deal. LOL
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,356
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.