Crashed, but is it my fault?

[Arcticm39]

Sorry to hear about your accident and good luck fighting with DJI. I had something like this happen to my P3P but got lucky and it didn't hit anything. I was scouting a property that was for sale and dropped down to get the phone number off the For Sale sign. The P3P went behind a metal storage container and I lost signal. The next thing I see on my screen is the ship heading for home, even though the return home altitude is set at 100M. It didn't climb to 100M, it just started heading for home. On the screen I see it just miss the top of the storage container and a mobile home as the signal came back. I pushed the stick up to gain some altitude and missed the top of a small hill by about two feet. In the end, all was well but why the bird responded like it did is a big fat mystery. After losing signal, it should have climbed to 100M and then headed home. It didn't do that, it just headed home. Now, if it would have hit something, would that have be my fault? The way DJI looks at it....YES!

If you set the failsafe RTH height to 100m, then shouldn't it show as such in the flight log? In the event of a RTH crash, if it should occur at lower than RTH elevation (with sufficient battery), the flight log should show the Phantom somehow malfunctioned and didn't do what it was programmed to do. I think you may have a good very case for claim.

 

[With The Birds]

Sorry to hear about your accident and good luck fighting with DJI. I had something like this happen to my P3P but got lucky and it didn't hit anything. I was scouting a property that was for sale and dropped down to get the phone number off the For Sale sign. The P3P went behind a metal storage container and I lost signal. The next thing I see on my screen is the ship heading for home, even though the return home altitude is set at 100M. It didn't climb to 100M, it just started heading for home. On the screen I see it just miss the top of the storage container and a mobile home as the signal came back. I pushed the stick up to gain some altitude and missed the top of a small hill by about two feet. In the end, all was well but why the bird responded like it did is a big fat mystery. After losing signal, it should have climbed to 100M and then headed home. It didn't do that, it just headed home. Now, if it would have hit something, would that have be my fault? The way DJI looks at it....YES!

I have a lot of confidence in the RTH performance but this is worrying. Where was your home point with respect to the lost signal location? If you were flying close to RTH relative to launch point you may have your answer.

 

[Air Ontario]

If you set the failsafe RTH height to 100m, then shouldn't it show as such in the flight log? In the event of a RTH crash, if it should occur at lower than RTH elevation (with sufficient battery), the flight log should show the Phantom somehow malfunctioned and didn't do what it was programmed to do. I think you may have a good very case for claim.

How can that happen?
RTH command is received, bird yaws to face the direct heading to home point, bird ascends to preselected altitude and moves forward horizontally. If above preset altitude it rotates towards home and moves forward.

 

[m0j0]

If you set the failsafe RTH height to 100m, then shouldn't it show as such in the flight log? In the event of a RTH crash, if it should occur at lower than RTH elevation (with sufficient battery), the flight log should show the Phantom somehow malfunctioned and didn't do what it was programmed to do. I think you may have a good very case for claim.

I disagree. RTH initiates below preset altitude then the Phantom climbs to preset altitude point yaws and goes directly to the home point. If the Phantom is above the preset altitude and RTH is initiated it yaws and goes to the preset home point.

So to the original poster.. Yes it was your fault, negotiate the best deal you can and pay up.

 

[Mark The Droner]

... I think you may have a good very case for claim.

What claim? In order for one to make a claim, one needs to sustain damages.

 

[Meta4]

The P3P went behind a metal storage container and I lost signal. The next thing I see on my screen is the ship heading for home, even though the return home altitude is set at 100M. It didn't climb to 100M, it just started heading for home. ... In the end, all was well but why the bird responded like it did is a big fat mystery. After losing signal, it should have climbed to 100M and then headed home. It didn't do that, it just headed home.

As described here, it sounds like a mystery but the flight record should clear it up.
Go to HealthyDrones.com and follow the instructions to upload the flight record.
Post a link here to the HD analysis.
Or ... do the same on this site: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

 

[Dirty Bird]

RTH does not descend. If you are below the RTH altitude setting the aircraft climbs to the set altitude before returning home. If you are at or above the set altitude the aircraft returns home at its current height. If you are going to fly around, particularly behind, tall objects, it is imperative that you set the RTH altitude above the height of any potential obstructions.

So here is the story. I was flying my P3P in my neighborhood. The location I picked was away from people in an open field. The sun was setting and I thought I would get a photo of the sunset with my town's water tower in the foreground. So I ascended to approximately 50 meters and positioned my drone about 50 feet from the tower itself. At this moment in time I had 12 Satellite signals. Instantly it dropped to 0 and I lost signal...

No big deal I thought. Signal will come back, right. Wrong. Signal did not come back even after attempting to reposition myself in relation to the drone, which was 150 meters away from me. Then I got a weak signal that said it was initiating a fly-home because it lost signal for more than 10 seconds. before I could stop it, it lost signal again. Then I got a signal just in time to see it spiral out of control and then the image went black.

So I tracked down the unit, which was in piece. In it's attempt to fly-home, it struck the water tower, inverted and then sped to the ground at fly-home speeds. I brought the unit home, contacted support and copied the logs. In reviewing the logs I noticed something. The fly-home was initiated at 50 meters, however my fly-home altitude was set at 30. The impact occurred at 50 meters, not 30. So the unit failed to descend prior to flying home. Given the dimensions of the tower, had the unit descended, it would not have impacted with the tower.

In talking with support, they were incredibly helpful. I mean this guy was the nicest CSR I have ever spoken to. He made me feel a lot better about my situation. Then I received the invoice which stated, "NON -WARRANTY AS A RESULT OF THE FLIGHT LOG ANALYSIS" So I called DJI and asked about the fly-home. No kidding, I was told that none of that mattered because the unit hit an obstruction. Collisions are immediately a NON-WARRANTY issue. I reiterated the 30 vs 50 meters issue. The lady talked over me, shut me down, was incredibly rude (almost like a debt collector) and demanded I accept their terms. I didn't. SO she "escalated" it to a supervisor who is offering me a 15% discount on the $500 repair.

So my question is, do I "suck it up buttercup" and pay the bill then invest in some 3rd party protection plan, or should the unit have descended before flying home and thereby give me some justification in not wanting to pay the full tab. And for the record, I am not against paying something, but I just feel that had it descended, a lot of this would have been avoided.

 

[Suntana]

Thank you everyone for your responses and for not blasting me. Sounds like it is totally my fault. Makes sense about the RTH altitude. I'll take the 15% and be happy with that. First thing I am doing when I get it back is setting that RTH to infinity and changing the lost signal response to hover.

The only time I would set mine to hover is when I fly it from the back of my boat.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[surfdrone]

A lot of times steel water towers are also outfitted with a cathodic protection system. It impresses a low amperage current on the steel to prevent corrosion of the steel. For a sensitive instrument like the Phantom GPS receiver, it may look like a giant magnet. Just a thought.

Then again, if GPS dropped out suddenly, it sounds more like it suddenly lost contact when it went behind the tower as suggested.

 

[Deputy Dog]

As described here, it sounds like a mystery but the flight record should clear it up.
Go to HealthyDrones.com and follow the instructions to upload the flight record.
Post a link here to the HD analysis.
Or ... do the same on this site: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Thanks for the info. I went to your web site and I have to say I've never seen a better collection of photo's taken from a drone anywhere. Keep up the good work.

 

[Deputy Dog]

I have a lot of confidence in the RTH performance but this is worrying. Where was your home point with respect to the lost signal location? If you were flying close to RTH relative to launch point you may have your answer.

I was only 80' above my home point and about 2000' out. Like I say, the RTH was set at 100m. This shouldn't have happened the way it did.

 

[Deputy Dog]

If you set the failsafe RTH height to 100m, then shouldn't it show as such in the flight log? In the event of a RTH crash, if it should occur at lower than RTH elevation (with sufficient battery), the flight log should show the Phantom somehow malfunctioned and didn't do what it was programmed to do. I think you may have a good very case for claim.

Happy to say, I didn't hit anything. I would have but as soon as the signal came back I punch the altitude stick hard and just missed the top of a hill by about 2'. It was close, but it shouldn't have happened to begin with. I've flown this P3P over 500 miles and this hasn't happened, ever.

 

[m0j0]

Thanks for the info. I went to your web site and I have to say I've never seen a better collection of photo's taken from a drone anywhere. Keep up the good work.

I'm going to agree. His photos are fantastic.

 

[Roverggm]

May I suggest you NOT set it to hover instead of RTH with a lost RC signal, unless you want it to self-land in an unknown spot after the batteries get low

 

[Jussaguy]

So here is the story. I was flying my P3P in my neighborhood. The location I picked was away from people in an open field. The sun was setting and I thought I would get a photo of the sunset with my town's water tower in the foreground. So I ascended to approximately 50 meters and positioned my drone about 50 feet from the tower itself. At this moment in time I had 12 Satellite signals. Instantly it dropped to 0 and I lost signal...

No big deal I thought. Signal will come back, right. Wrong. Signal did not come back even after attempting to reposition myself in relation to the drone, which was 150 meters away from me. Then I got a weak signal that said it was initiating a fly-home because it lost signal for more than 10 seconds. before I could stop it, it lost signal again. Then I got a signal just in time to see it spiral out of control and then the image went black.

So I tracked down the unit, which was in piece. In it's attempt to fly-home, it struck the water tower, inverted and then sped to the ground at fly-home speeds. I brought the unit home, contacted support and copied the logs. In reviewing the logs I noticed something. The fly-home was initiated at 50 meters, however my fly-home altitude was set at 30. The impact occurred at 50 meters, not 30. So the unit failed to descend prior to flying home. Given the dimensions of the tower, had the unit descended, it would not have impacted with the tower.

In talking with support, they were incredibly helpful. I mean this guy was the nicest CSR I have ever spoken to. He made me feel a lot better about my situation. Then I received the invoice which stated, "NON -WARRANTY AS A RESULT OF THE FLIGHT LOG ANALYSIS" So I called DJI and asked about the fly-home. No kidding, I was told that none of that mattered because the unit hit an obstruction. Collisions are immediately a NON-WARRANTY issue. I reiterated the 30 vs 50 meters issue. The lady talked over me, shut me down, was incredibly rude (almost like a debt collector) and demanded I accept their terms. I didn't. SO she "escalated" it to a supervisor who is offering me a 15% discount on the $500 repair.

So my question is, do I "suck it up buttercup" and pay the bill then invest in some 3rd party protection plan, or should the unit have descended before flying home and thereby give me some justification in not wanting to pay the full tab. And for the record, I am not against paying something, but I just feel that had it descended, a lot of this would have been avoided.

PM me. I will call on your behalf, pretend I'm your brother and I will take bets that I can get your bird fixed for free.

Whoever said that a collision is an auto-pilot error is a moron. It might very well have been but that statement is illogical.

What if the bird just flys like crazy because of a flight board and hits something. Pilot error?

Fact is, it was probably pilot error. If you want, I'm very good at getting CSR people to get what I wan them to do. My friends call me "bulldog" because of it. I basically just annoy the **** out of people until they do it.

PM me.

If you are still in warranty the should cover everything. They are getting a little frisky lately because of this new DJI care. I knew this would happen. DJI, I will go to the highest bidder. If god forbid something happens to a bird that is under warranty and you don't replace it like you do everyone else's I will be pissed. Luckily I have a few friends either at DJI or are sellers for the so I'm not concerned.

I will have my Typhoon H at the end of March. I should get it a couple week before the general public. I can't wait!!!!

 

[30secs]

PM me. I will call on your behalf, pretend I'm your brother and I will take bets that I can get your bird fixed for free.

Whoever said that a collision is an auto-pilot error is a moron. It might very well have been but that statement is illogical.

What if the bird just flys like crazy because of a flight board and hits something. Pilot error?

Fact is, it was probably pilot error. If you want, I'm very good at getting CSR people to get what I wan them to do. My friends call me "bulldog" because of it. I basically just annoy the **** out of people until they do it.

PM me.

If you are still in warranty the should cover everything. They are getting a little frisky lately because of this new DJI care. I knew this would happen. DJI, I will go to the highest bidder. If god forbid something happens to a bird that is under warranty and you don't replace it like you do everyone else's I will be pissed. Luckily I have a few friends either at DJI or are sellers for the so I'm not concerned.

I will have my Typhoon H at the end of March. I should get it a couple week before the general public. I can't wait!!!!

That's nice of you.

 

[MindFever]

Ok from what I understand the RTH altitude means it will ASCEND +X meters/feet and then return home . That's how it worked for me anyway.

The only time P3 will return home without any altitude change is if you move any of the control sticks during the RTH phase.

 

[MindFever]

Oh and another thing ,never buy from DJI ever. Buy it on amazon for example,you'll get a free replacement immediately if they think it was a product failure.
People forget but retailers have an obligation to their customers as if hey were DJI/3DR/X-brand themselves.


Edit: just remembered this is how some other aircraft behaved ...never mind

 

[Oso]

The only time P3 will return home without any altitude change is if you move any of the control sticks during the RTH phase.

Not entirely true. As noted throughout the thread, the P3 will also return home with no altitude change if it is already above your preset RTH altitude.

 

[MindFever]

PM me. I will call on your behalf, pretend I'm your brother and I will take bets that I can get your bird fixed for free.

Whoever said that a collision is an auto-pilot error is a moron. It might very well have been but that statement is illogical.

What if the bird just flys like crazy because of a flight board and hits something. Pilot error?

Fact is, it was probably pilot error. If you want, I'm very good at getting CSR people to get what I wan them to do. My friends call me "bulldog" because of it. I basically just annoy the **** out of people until they do it.

PM me.

If you are still in warranty the should cover everything. They are getting a little frisky lately because of this new DJI care. I knew this would happen. DJI, I will go to the highest bidder. If god forbid something happens to a bird that is under warranty and you don't replace it like you do everyone else's I will be pissed. Luckily I have a few friends either at DJI or are sellers for the so I'm not concerned.

I will have my Typhoon H at the end of March. I should get it a couple week before the general public. I can't wait!!!!

LOL. ..either that's a bit of an inflated anecdote and you used a bit of poetic licence or you were extremely lucky. If you push any csr if they think you're wrong they are automatically in a moral high ground and can refuse your requests on a whim.Being aggressive is not the answer. knowing your **** is the answer.

I would ask them again and explain my position THEN if you can show you weren't to blame you can ask your credit card company to reimburse you.