Ok guys....I purchased a brand new P2V+ less than 2 weeks ago, and due to bad weather and a trip I had planned, I didn't fly it for the first time until this past Friday (01/16/15). Everything went great with the first couple flights, after I had a hang-up with the motors not starting and was told by both DJI Support and the dealer I needed to recalibrate the RC. After recalibrating the RC, I was able to get the motor to start and fly successfully. I am going to include the letter I sent to DJI today with my RMA return and it explains the entire situation....would love to hear thoughts from people who have sent in units for RMA and see what you think the end result will be with my situation. Anyways....below is the letter I sent to DJI and the pictures of the battery which they requested...
ISSUE WITH UNIT: Phantom 2 Vision+ unexplainably fell from sky during flight after I was unable to control the unit anymore. After completing all required startup procedures (compass calibration, gps lock, etc.) I flew the unit for a few minutes and then landed. I activated the motors and began to take off again, and then was not able to control the unit anymore. It began ascending without prompt and I had no control over it. I activated the fail-safe mode and the unit shut off in flight and crashed to the ground, causing extensive damage to the unit.
BACK STORY: I write you this sitting here as a devastated owner of a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. I received my Phantom 2 Vision + on 01/06/15 after ordering from a US retailer via Amazon.com. Due to bad weather and a trip I had planned, I was unable to use it for the first time until just 3 days ago (Friday, 01/16/15). When I attempted to fly for the first time (on Thursday, 01/15/15), I was unable to get the motors to turn on. I contacted DJI Support and the representative asked that I try several calibration procedures utilizing both the Phantom Assistant and RC Assistant software. I was still unable to get the motors to activate; therefore I contacted the retailer/dealer that I purchased the unit from. The representative at the dealer also had me calibrate the RC through the Phantom Assistant Software and the RC Assistant Software, and he believed it was possible that the RC was defective. The dealer originally planned to have me return the unit I purchased and they would send me a new unit after receiving the original one. However, I went through the RC calibrations again on the morning of 01/16/15 and the motors activated. So I called and requested that the dealer cancel the shipment of the second unit, which they did.
Since Friday (01/16/15), I have flown the unit 4 occasions. I have a spare battery so I made multiple flights on these occasions, but I have only flown it on 4 separate occasions. I always followed the proper compass calibration procedures and only used batteries after they were FULLY charged. On Sunday, 01/18/15, I went out to a large open field to fly, as I have taken every precaution to be extremely safe as I'm gaining experience flying, and didn’t want to be around any building, obstacles, etc.. I followed the compass calibration procedures as required and all proper startup procedures. The Vision app showed that I had 10 GPS satellites, a fully charged battery, RC, and Wi-Fi extender. I started the Phantom and flew for approximately 6-7 minutes. I then landed the unit it so I could take a break for a minute. After a short break, I started the motors again and gently increased the throttle, as I wanted to practice flying at about 15-20 feet off the ground. This is where the problem began. It was like the Phantom had a mind of its own and I was no longer able to control it. It immediately began increasing altitude rapidly and I was not increasing the throttle. I pulled down on the throttle to try to bring it back down slowly and it wouldn't respond to any of my controls with the RC. I tried continuously to regain control of the Phantom but it would not respond to any movements I made with the RC. The unit continued increasing altitude and began flying south, and I still had no control over the unit. I began fearing that I was going to lose sight of the unit and would have no idea where it went. I immediately thought of the fail-safe return to home feature, so I turned the RC off. I saw on my iPhone that the "coming home" signal came up on the screen and I began to feel some relief. However, I noticed that the Phantom continued climbing and moving away from me to the south. I began running so that I could keep my eyes on it, as it continued to climb. It then appeared that unit was starting to descend slowly, so I thought maybe it was going to land. This is when the worst possible thing happened.... I was able to hear the motors shut off. This all transpired in a matter of less than 1 minute. I watched with horror as the Phantom began tumbling from the sky. I ran as fast as I could to try to get under it and maybe catch it, but was unable to get there in time as it crashed into the ground extremely hard. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to catch it anyways or had I tried it probably would have injured me.
The camera is broke off from the gimbal and the gimbal is bent severely, props are broken, mud is packed into the motors, the battery flew out and cracked the casing when it hit the ground, and I have no idea what kind of internal damage may be present.
I am beyond devastated, and can't believe this happened. My first thought was the battery died for some unknown reason, but that isn't the case. I had in excess of 10 minutes of flight time left when I took off for the second flight (which ended in the terrible crash). I have the battery right here in front of me and if I push the button, I get 3 green lights, indicating to me that the battery is more than half full of charge. I can think of no reason at all that this occurred, as I was taking every precaution possible to be safe and do things rights.
I promise on all my integrity that I followed all proper procedures and didn't cause this. I could not stop the phantom from climbing in altitude and flying away from me, so I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was shut the RC off so it would come home. I immediately thought of the previous problems I had with the RC and getting the motors to start, and thought maybe the RC was malfunctioning and causing it to climb uncontrollably. I am sure you get stories a lot from people who have been careless and crashed their phantoms, but I swear on my life I was being as cautious as possible and did not cause this horrible accident.
I have included a copy of my original purchase invoice with these documents. I have also included pictures of the battery, as I was instructed by the customer support rep to not ship the battery since it sustained damage during the crash The damage and mud on the battery are results from the crash, there was nothing wrong with the battery prior to the motor failure and crash. As you can see, the battery still had well over half of a charge, indicated by the 3 green LED’s when I push the button. I have included the broken camera and gimbal pieces in a plastic baggy inside the original box.
I can be reached by email at ***** or by phone at ***-***-****. Thank you very much for your time and help.
ISSUE WITH UNIT: Phantom 2 Vision+ unexplainably fell from sky during flight after I was unable to control the unit anymore. After completing all required startup procedures (compass calibration, gps lock, etc.) I flew the unit for a few minutes and then landed. I activated the motors and began to take off again, and then was not able to control the unit anymore. It began ascending without prompt and I had no control over it. I activated the fail-safe mode and the unit shut off in flight and crashed to the ground, causing extensive damage to the unit.
BACK STORY: I write you this sitting here as a devastated owner of a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. I received my Phantom 2 Vision + on 01/06/15 after ordering from a US retailer via Amazon.com. Due to bad weather and a trip I had planned, I was unable to use it for the first time until just 3 days ago (Friday, 01/16/15). When I attempted to fly for the first time (on Thursday, 01/15/15), I was unable to get the motors to turn on. I contacted DJI Support and the representative asked that I try several calibration procedures utilizing both the Phantom Assistant and RC Assistant software. I was still unable to get the motors to activate; therefore I contacted the retailer/dealer that I purchased the unit from. The representative at the dealer also had me calibrate the RC through the Phantom Assistant Software and the RC Assistant Software, and he believed it was possible that the RC was defective. The dealer originally planned to have me return the unit I purchased and they would send me a new unit after receiving the original one. However, I went through the RC calibrations again on the morning of 01/16/15 and the motors activated. So I called and requested that the dealer cancel the shipment of the second unit, which they did.
Since Friday (01/16/15), I have flown the unit 4 occasions. I have a spare battery so I made multiple flights on these occasions, but I have only flown it on 4 separate occasions. I always followed the proper compass calibration procedures and only used batteries after they were FULLY charged. On Sunday, 01/18/15, I went out to a large open field to fly, as I have taken every precaution to be extremely safe as I'm gaining experience flying, and didn’t want to be around any building, obstacles, etc.. I followed the compass calibration procedures as required and all proper startup procedures. The Vision app showed that I had 10 GPS satellites, a fully charged battery, RC, and Wi-Fi extender. I started the Phantom and flew for approximately 6-7 minutes. I then landed the unit it so I could take a break for a minute. After a short break, I started the motors again and gently increased the throttle, as I wanted to practice flying at about 15-20 feet off the ground. This is where the problem began. It was like the Phantom had a mind of its own and I was no longer able to control it. It immediately began increasing altitude rapidly and I was not increasing the throttle. I pulled down on the throttle to try to bring it back down slowly and it wouldn't respond to any of my controls with the RC. I tried continuously to regain control of the Phantom but it would not respond to any movements I made with the RC. The unit continued increasing altitude and began flying south, and I still had no control over the unit. I began fearing that I was going to lose sight of the unit and would have no idea where it went. I immediately thought of the fail-safe return to home feature, so I turned the RC off. I saw on my iPhone that the "coming home" signal came up on the screen and I began to feel some relief. However, I noticed that the Phantom continued climbing and moving away from me to the south. I began running so that I could keep my eyes on it, as it continued to climb. It then appeared that unit was starting to descend slowly, so I thought maybe it was going to land. This is when the worst possible thing happened.... I was able to hear the motors shut off. This all transpired in a matter of less than 1 minute. I watched with horror as the Phantom began tumbling from the sky. I ran as fast as I could to try to get under it and maybe catch it, but was unable to get there in time as it crashed into the ground extremely hard. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to catch it anyways or had I tried it probably would have injured me.
The camera is broke off from the gimbal and the gimbal is bent severely, props are broken, mud is packed into the motors, the battery flew out and cracked the casing when it hit the ground, and I have no idea what kind of internal damage may be present.
I am beyond devastated, and can't believe this happened. My first thought was the battery died for some unknown reason, but that isn't the case. I had in excess of 10 minutes of flight time left when I took off for the second flight (which ended in the terrible crash). I have the battery right here in front of me and if I push the button, I get 3 green lights, indicating to me that the battery is more than half full of charge. I can think of no reason at all that this occurred, as I was taking every precaution possible to be safe and do things rights.
I promise on all my integrity that I followed all proper procedures and didn't cause this. I could not stop the phantom from climbing in altitude and flying away from me, so I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was shut the RC off so it would come home. I immediately thought of the previous problems I had with the RC and getting the motors to start, and thought maybe the RC was malfunctioning and causing it to climb uncontrollably. I am sure you get stories a lot from people who have been careless and crashed their phantoms, but I swear on my life I was being as cautious as possible and did not cause this horrible accident.
I have included a copy of my original purchase invoice with these documents. I have also included pictures of the battery, as I was instructed by the customer support rep to not ship the battery since it sustained damage during the crash The damage and mud on the battery are results from the crash, there was nothing wrong with the battery prior to the motor failure and crash. As you can see, the battery still had well over half of a charge, indicated by the 3 green LED’s when I push the button. I have included the broken camera and gimbal pieces in a plastic baggy inside the original box.
I can be reached by email at ***** or by phone at ***-***-****. Thank you very much for your time and help.