Buried at Sea. My Phantom 4 is at the Bottom of the Atlantic now

[Meta4]

LOL....I think he meant Apollo 13......?

Apollo 13 was another, but different issue.
They had an oxygen tank failure caused by ignition of damaged wire insulation.
Challenger was the O-ring disaster.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

I have/had a P4 that was gifted to me by my wife and kids 2 years ago. I was petrified to fly it, it costing so much... So I cut my teeth on a less expensive drone, then when I was a better pilot I began using the P4. I loved it, and I have some nice videos from it. But I haven't spent more than 20 hours total flying it. Yesterday I headed to the NH Seacoast to catch the sunset. I started out by flying around the shores near Seabrook & Hampton (at the Hampton Harbor Inlet). Everything seemed fine, and for almost 13 minutes it flew like a champ! Then suddenly without warning it just made a loud 'WHIRRRRRRT!' noise and went haywire, spinning out of control and dropped straight down into the ocean below. I had no control over it, a true catastrophic failure. I have all the log files and video from the cache on my iPhone. I contacted DJI and they were not willing to help me at all because my drone is out of warranty. I asked if they could at least review the logs to deduct what caused the failure. They declined stating that only in-warranty drones received that service. I said 'well, can I pay for it'? 'Yes', was the answer 'for $65'. But also that was non-refundable and the drone was out of warranty. They suggested my best option was to buy a new one! UGH! They wouldn't even sell me a refurb'd one at a discount. Thanks DJI! What outstanding customer service you have (not)! I didn't smash into anything, I wasn't recklous, I always do a pre-flight safety check. So why did my P4 simply fall out of the sky? This was literally a new drone in terms of use. What the hell happened to it? If you look at my flight record I start getting speed errors and then compass errors right before it crashes. What causes that? Also if you view my video, right as the drone starts to spin out of control if you freeze frame quick enough something white goes flying off. I presume a propeller. But was that the cause of the failure? Or was it ripped off because of the violent spin that it took when it failed in midair? My P4 sits at the bottom of the ocean, not too far off-shore - but not possible to reach. And I just put a new 256GB SD card in it! Link to the flight data: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com Link to the video: (crash at aroud 3:45) Can anyone help figure out what happened? Any suggestions on any recourse with DJI? It really sucks to have this happen. :-( Thanks! Chris

Yip cringed when first read this cause I fly lots of water,,even though the drone not know water from land your post has woken me up to stay over land,,sorry about your loss that sucs,, oh well some greasing is needed here for the next one..

 

[Flying Spanner]

Shame about your loss, could it have been a bird strike, you had a few guls in a few shots?
Or a quick release blade let go, not fully attached?
Buy a Skydio, my next drone will be their version 2. At least you should have better more transparent access to technical support and customer service.

 

[tonikg]

Sorry to hear about your loss. That's devastating. I notice Capt KO suggests pro mounts for the P4. Where can these be bought and are they difficult to fit? i knoiw it doesn't help Brentwood but possibly he would fit them if he manages to get hold of a replacement

 

[cheddarman]

Am I right in thinking that one cannot extract motor data from. the .txt file even if one then downloads the CSV data from it?
One can only get this sort of info from the .DAT file on the drone itself?

 

[cheddarman]

Always been interested in the Apollo missions, here's an autographed photo of the Apollo 10 mission I was sent after they were recovered from the splashdown. I spoke to them while they were circling the Moon from my amateur radio station in Bahrain!

 

[RodPad]

Suggest you look at www.drone-retriever.com when you replace your drone. A product that would have saved your drone.

"A product that would have saved your drone."
Please explain how this product would have saved his drone?

You have 3 post on this forum, all of them have focused on the same product.
Finally a Drone Life Preserver for Water Recovery DRONE-RETRIEVER.com
and
Finally a Drone Life Preserver for Water Recovery DRONE-RETRIEVER.com

I have read your posts,
Locating and retrieving it, is not the same as saving it.

I welcome your thoughts.


Rod

 

[RodPad]

Dang,
I got sucked in this thread again.

@BrentwoodP4,
Anything New?

Rod

 

[cheddarman]

I guess that if one of these devices had been attached to his drone, it would have floated and been highly visible making recovery possible. Whether it would have been any use afterwards is anybody guess!

 

[Meta4]

Suggest you look at www.drone-retriever.com when you replace your drone. A product that would have saved your drone.

I guess that if one of these devices had been attached to his drone, it would have floated and been highly visible making recovery possible. Whether it would have been any use afterwards is anybody guess!

Whether the drone would work after splashing down in seawater is no guess at all.
The electronics in the drone are toast from the moment it goes in and the drone is a write-off.
Another thing ignored by those who promote floaty things for drones, is that your drone is unlikely to splash down close to shore where you can easily retrieve it.
It's not that hard to imagine having it floating (with toasted electronics), but out of reach.

 

[BrentwoodP4]

Hey everyone, I thought I should post an update. I started right away on Monday trying to locate who manages the bridge between Seabrook and Hampton (NH). The bridge has a tower and someone is in there usually to raise and lower the bridge. Fairly tall ships will come through that waterway, and the bridge has to be raised to get through. I finally figured out that the Army Corps of Engineers were the ones who built that inlet (dredged it), and possibly the bridge too. Anyhow I tracked down the NE chapter, and sent out emails and messages on FB. One email struck gold and I got a reply. The ACoE replied back that they were not in the area to assist but they suggested I contact the Harbor Master for that area. I put out calls to two HM's in the area, and one of them called me back! Super nice guy, he is the harbor master for the Hampton side, and knows the area extremely well. He was very interested in the whole story, and was very forthcoming about that area. I asked about the depth of the water there, and he said of course it changes with the tide, and some areas drop off rapidly. It could be anywhere from 15 feet deep to 40 feet deep. But that wasn't the issue, he said that area has a very strong under current and is very dangerous. I told him I started down the rocks and considered jumping in. He said that it was wise that I didn't. People have drowned in that area over the years. Worse he said ships have gone down there, referencing a particular 30 foot boat. He said he never goes through that area without a life vest. So I guess the smartest thing I did that day was stop myself from diving in to go after it. Maybe I could have swam the 50 meters to the spot where it splashed down. But then what? Dive down to look for it? LOL! Then magically have enough energy to swim back to the rocks? Not likely. I would have lost more than my drone had I attempted that. I was told that the tower operator left at 3:30. The incident occurred at 5:37, so no one was there. Also there are no camera in the area that might have captured it. Not that any of that would really matter, because no one was going to attempt to re-acquire it. The harbor master said he would pass the word around in the unlikely case it is seen. He also said that the ACoE is beginning a new dredging project in a few months, which may include the area that my drone drowned. I shutter to think what a dredging machine will do to my poor Phantom. I am half-tempted to drive back over to that area tomorrow and throw a bunch of flowers in the ocean and say an official "farewell". I am disappointed with DJI not wanted to at least investigate. The drone flew well for 13 minutes, and then self-destructed. I always perform a safety check before flying, everything was good. Life goes on... I'll get back out flying with my old 3DR Solo Drone soon, if I can get a battery that lasts more than 2 minutes! They don't make these any more... Too bad too, because that drone has always been a work horse. I've flown that thing for hours and hours over the years, and it's been absolutely reliable. I've found some battery hacks on YT, which I may attempt... I am not a fan of messing with LIon batteries. If DJI comes back to help I'll update here. Fingers crossed...

 

[cheddarman]

Say a prayer, doesn't look good to retrieve it and any way after so long submerged in salt water I doubt it would be much good! Bet you're glad you've got insurance...............

 

[RodPad]

@BrentwoodP4,
I am half-tempted to drive back over to that area tomorrow and throw a bunch of flowers in the ocean and say an official "farewell"


Rod

 

[Deleted member 120647]

Did anyone say what the bottom is?
WIth strong currents I suppose it has not likely to have hit the bottom near where it went in and may have been washed away entirely but, if the bottom is muddy of sandy as it may well be if they have to dredge the channel, I am wondering if shore based rod and reel fishing expedition might snag it.
That is if you still have any interest in recovering it, for posterity's sake if nothing else.

 

[bsartist]

Whether the drone would work after splashing down in seawater is no guess at all.
The electronics in the drone are toast from the moment it goes in and the drone is a write-off.
Another thing ignored by those who promote floaty things for drones, is that your drone is unlikely to splash down close to shore where you can easily retrieve it.
It's not that hard to imagine having it floating (with toasted electronics), but out of reach.

Just want to amplify “seawater” as Meta4 said. Salt means sudden death. Not necessarily true in freshwater. Just emphasizing for the casual reader.

 

[bsartist]

Apollo 11, 1968.

11 was in 1969. July.

 

[MOBLUE]

I actually didn't know that Drone Insurance existed (until now). Do you guys recommend any particular insurer, or is it through DJI?

there are many threads discussing drone insurance, but in short i agree with starz who suggested state farm. it costs $60 per year with no deductible where available. if your local agent acts like they don't cover drones, ask him or her to verify that with someone up the line. worth every penny when your next drone goes deep sea diving or just decides to fly away to neverland.

 

[sar104]

Am I right in thinking that one cannot extract motor data from. the .txt file even if one then downloads the CSV data from it?
One can only get this sort of info from the .DAT file on the drone itself?

The mobile device DAT file also contains the motor data.

 

[BrentwoodP4]

Question now is "What do I do with my Phantom P4 Stuff"?

I'm not financially ready to go buy a new drone. So I want to sell off what I have, and I have a lot... I've got everything that came with the P4, that wasn't the drone itself. So, original carrying case, Remote Control, two sets of extra props (new), an array of filters, prop guards (new in plastic), AC Adapter, Extra Battery (barely used, maybe 10 total hours if that), carbon fiber camera guard (fits between the landing gear, etc. The question is would this sell as a bundle? Or should I sell piece-meal. I'm not a fan of the latter, since it'll require more effort on my side.

Suggestions? What would you do?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[RodPad]

11 was in 1969. July.

"Apollo 11, 1968.
I do remember watching the moon footage live. "
Buried at Sea. My Phantom 4 is at the Bottom of the Atlantic now

Well I guess I don't remember.

I looked through my browsing history, and I don't remember (Can't Find) were I got that date.

Rod