Disaster averted - Phantom dropped from the sky....

Couple of things.

1. What firmware are you on?
2. Litchi automatically uploads to HealthyDrones, DJI GO app doesn't; you will have to manually upload that file.
3. Healthydrones information is really limited for crash assessment. If you can extract the .DAT files from the phantom and post a dropbox link to the flight on here, some kind soul could run it through datcon for you and interpret the results using dashware.


I am using the latest firmware - Here is a link to the file from DJI Go Pilot Record folder on the tab I was using

- Dropbox - DJIFlightRecord_2016-03-08_[12-32-05].txt

Its a text file, are the dat files you are referring to on the actual drone?

Thanks!
 
I am using the latest firmware - Here is a link to the file from DJI Go Pilot Record folder on the tab I was using

- Dropbox - DJIFlightRecord_2016-03-08_[12-32-05].txt

Its a text file, are the dat files you are referring to on the actual drone?

Thanks!

Yeah. You need to start up the remote and phantom, go to MC Settings, then advanced settings and enter flight data mode. Then plug in the phantom to your pc and you should see the phantom as a drive. Download the flight in question to your pc and dropbox that one.
 
Yeah. You need to start up the remote and phantom, go to MC Settings, then advanced settings and enter flight data mode. Then plug in the phantom to your pc and you should see the phantom as a drive. Download the flight in question to your pc and dropbox that one.

Thanks for helping with that -

Here is a link to the folder with yesterday's flight records -

Dropbox - Flight Records

I believe the flight that crashed is FLY098.dat

Again, I really appreciate all your help
 
One thing I noticed, not sure if it contributed, is the maps on my screen in both Litchi & DJI Go were blank - They showed a dot where the drone was but there was no map image -
 
I would think the propeller is pushing as well as pulling, so the moisture it pushes down could come up and over the craft to get sucked back down.

It would be interesting to see what the pattern looks like with a smoke test.
 
One thing that was weird was right before the drone turned off and dropped my DJI Go app crashed as well as my entire tablet - Usually, when the drone turns off DJI Go stays open and it shows disconnected -
 
Ok. I have looked at the converted logs using dashware - with the caveat that I'm a rank amateur. Everything looks perfectly normal; magmod; battery cell voltages; motor loads etc throughout the flight giving no indication of any abnormality. I have extracted the relevant data for information and posted it below.

Examining the area of the data just before the sudden drop - and after looking at the KML file on Google Earth, it certainly looked like a fall from the sky to me - however I noticed that the throttle was continually being held down in various stages at the end of the flight with a corresponding reduction in height of the aircraft. And this made me examine a little more.

On the final few seconds, the throttle was reduced almost fully and the phantom fell out of the sky. Sorry to say it, but it looks like the OP got the throttle up and down commands the wrong way around.

You can see the traces below; The thin red line is the throttle. Anything below 0 is throttling down, above 0 is throttling up. The green line is the height of the phantom above the take off point - with the height represented on the RHS of the table so when the aircraft starts to "fall" it is about 5m or 15' above the take off point. The throttle is held down between 10 and 40% then released almost to the middle, then held all the way down as the aircraft hits the ground.

I'd almost bet that the OP is a pilot. They throttle up by pulling back on the sticks whereas with a phantom it's the opposite way around.

Screen Shot 2016-03-10 at 14.46.51.png
 
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Ok. I have looked at the converted logs using dashware - with the caveat that I'm a rank amateur. Everything looks perfectly normal; magmod; battery cell voltages; motor loads etc throughout the flight giving no indication of any abnormality. I have extracted the relevant data for information and posted it below.

Examining the area of the data just before the sudden drop - and after looking at the KML file on Google Earth, it certainly looked like a fall from the sky to me - however I noticed that the throttle was continually being held down in various stages at the end of the flight with a corresponding reduction in height of the aircraft. And this made me examine a little more.

On the final few seconds, the throttle was reduced almost fully and the phantom fell out of the sky. Sorry to say it, but it looks like the OP got the throttle up and down commands the wrong way around.

You can see the traces below; The thin red line is the throttle. Anything below 0 is throttling down, above 0 is throttling up. The green line is the height of the phantom above the take off point - with the height represented on the RHS of the table so when the aircraft starts to "fall" it is about 5m or 15' above the take off point. The throttle is held down between 10 and 40% then released almost to the middle, then held all the way down as the aircraft hits the ground.

I'd almost bet that the OP is a pilot. They throttle up by pulling back on the sticks whereas with a phantom it's the opposite way around.

View attachment 46655


Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to go through the data!

Looking at your post, does the data show that I just yanked the throttle down and landed it on the ledge and that there was no technical issues with the drone?

I will give a timeline of the crash and maybe we can figure it all out.

I was in DJI Go and my tablet crashed and went completely black. At this point I saw the drone started acting strange so I used the controller to pull it toward me (right stick) and then it just fell. It landed upside down in the grass on the ledge -

It felt like the controller stopped working all together moments before it dropped -

Also, what data file is it that shows the crash?

Thanks again for all your help I really appreciate it!
 
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to go through the data!

Looking at your post, does the data show that I just yanked the throttle down and landed it on the ledge and that there was no technical issues with the drone?

I will give a timeline of the crash and maybe we can figure it all out.

I was in DJI Go and my tablet crashed and went completely black. At this point I saw the drone started acting strange so I used the controller to pull it toward me (right stick) and then it just fell. It landed upside down in the grass on the ledge -

It felt like the controller stopped working all together moments before it dropped -

Also, what data file is it that shows the crash?

Thanks again for all your help I really appreciate it!

There are yaw and forward/reverse movements showing on the traces as well. however the important one is the throttle that controls height. Remember, that if the aircraft is pointing towards you (nose in) that the forward and reverse commands will be in reverse. Think of it as a car coming towards you; if the driver turns to his left, you will see the car turning towards your right. It's the same with the phantom. It won't really add to the analysis as the important thing here was the drop in height. If there had been power lines or trees, then that would have been a different matter, so analysing the direction isn't really relevant here.

I regret to say it, but this really looks like pilot error. The data just doesn't lie - which is why a lot of folk on here are keen to interpret the .DAT file data to avoid any doubt.

I'm just glad that you got it back in one piece.

Remember, that if you get in trouble at any time, just let go of all the sticks, let the aircraft settle and then think about what you're about to do.

If you would like to see what I did, then download the data converter made by @BudWalker and use the dashware programme made by @Luap to see what is happening. It'll take a while to understand, but it is worth it. Here's a link.

P3A/P Dashware profile for for Dat Files
 
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Well thanks again for taking the time to go through the data. I understand that you are providing an interpretation of the data given -

If the files are showing pilot error than the data cant be complete.

I am well experienced in flying manualy and have a solid understanding of the controls. It was hovering then just dropped so unless I had some kind of seizure and somehow got the drone to do a flip and land upside down then I dont know what error i could have caused.

Again thanks for taking the time to go through everything. I was really hoping there was something showing precisely what led up to the crash so I could avoid it in the future but perhaps I have to accept that somehow it was my fault and I just need to be more careful in the future.

I'm looking forward to DJI's response but I'm assuming it will be the same.
 
I downloaded those apps - where can I find out how to use them? I am familiar with dashware just not how to read crash data

Thanks
There is a user manual that is in the .zip that you downloaded. You can also access it by going to Help -> User Manual.
 
From your description of the flight it is obvious to me that if you were descending and bringing it backwards, you inadvertently performed a manual shutdown with your controller.
 
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From your description of the flight it is obvious to me that if you were descending and bringing it backwards, you inadvertently performed a manual shutdown with your controller.

No that didn't happen. The sticks didn't go into the corners at any stage like they do in a CSC.
 

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