DJI Update - Phantom dropped from the sky at 400ft w/video. Options for sending in?

I would send it in. How does a prop come off while under a load. I'm not sure but you should still be able to find out why it went down with the flight data. To bad you couldn't load it up here. One of the really sharp guys would be able to tell you what happened.

I've tried to figure out how to find that .DAT file that people talk about. I followed directions, but do not see the log menu in my app. I can boot up the drone, but the app/controller doesn't act like it sees it.
 
Yeah, suppose you're right about tightening if it hit a bird. Guess I was thinking backwards.

So under normal circumstances, how would a prop just fly off? How is it possible to get that far with it on? When I install the props, I spin them until they stop, and then give it a light snug down.

Could it have been the threads just gave way?
The prop has inertia. When the motor is spinning at high speed and suddenly stops the prop will try to keep spinning in that direction which unscrews it. The threads did not give way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alex Baxter
Any idea about sending the drone in WITHOUT the camera and gimbal? I asked the hard-to-understand customer service rep. She hesitated and then said "yeaaaahhhhhhhhhh....It will be....okkaaaayyyy."

Didn't give me a whole lot of confidence.
 
Any idea about sending the drone in WITHOUT the camera and gimbal? I asked the hard-to-understand customer service rep. She hesitated and then said "yeaaaahhhhhhhhhh....It will be....okkaaaayyyy."

Didn't give me a whole lot of confidence.
just buy a new one be better off
 
  • Like
Reactions: captainmilehigh
Here is a test I did to try and simulate a prop coming off in flight. It was very difficult to make it happen by grabbing the motor bell and stopping it. You can see that I put the props on as loose as possible. Just starting the motor tightened them up pretty snug. The P3 has active braking which can slow the motor very quickly. That's why DJI went to composite hubs on this model. Props were coming unscrewed in flight when the motor slowed down or stopped quickly. The same thing happened with the first Inspires before they added prop locks.
At the end of the video, you can see what happens when one phase is disconnected going to the motor. You might think that the motor would continue to spin, but it instantly locks up solid. I could consistently throw a prop 10 out of 10 tries by disconnecting one phase, even when the prop was very snug.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Oh wow. Crazy how easy that was. Would have thought it would have had enough inertia to keep spinning too, since those are easy to rotate by hand.
 
Looks like in the video that you lost a prop.
No prop.jpg
 
I figured a bird hit it, and it just shattered it.

I'm sorry for your loss.

For those that are concerned about birds attacking your Phantom, just strap one of these bad boys on it. That should keep most birds away ... :D

kNkNdUe.jpg
 
If you sent it in and they don't repair it for free, they usually give a good rate on repair. might be worth it to find out if they will repair for free and if not, what the cost will be. If you refuse payment they will simply return the Phantom to you. No shipping charges either way. So why not see what they have to say? As mentioned above, their repair charges appear to be very reasonable. Lacking a repair they may very well send a refurb unit. If that did not work, they should address that issue as well.

After-Sales Service Policies - DJI

Warranty period of Main Parts
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dustin_W
I am trying to get a definite answer from DJI, and all I keep getting is "Send it in." I'm trying to figure out if it will just be easier and quicker, and just as much to just buy a replacement.

Here's my situation.

This past saturday I was flying my P3 Pro. I was flying over an old minor league ballpark converted into apartments. The facade and field are still there. I had just reached 400 feet, and then was going to track back. The camera was facing straight down. Just a second after starting to move back, the drone took a hit. My guess was a bird. The left side landing gear and front left propeller (from the POV of the camera) were instantly in frame. From that point on, the drone tumbled down 400ft end over end.

My app logged that at the moment of impact it was going about 130 mph down, and about 52 mph laterally. It hit the roof of the building, and skipped off it. I was super lucky to find the drone had landed on the ground in about a 10 foot wide patch of grass, and not on top of a car in the parking lot just feet away.

The drone is completely busted. Two arms are broken, one side of the landing gear is broken. The drone has split at the seam and a PCB card is popping out with some cables. The body has crease damage. AND the camera/gimbal completely snapped off. The base with the memory card was still barely attached, but the the camera rig snapped off just below that. I was unable to locate the camera or gimbal.

I have contacted the building to see if they'll let me, or send someone on top of the roof to look for the camera, but haven't heard anything back.

So my question is. This drone is probably a total loss. I can't imagine that they've seen much worse. The question that I cannot get out of DJI is, if I purchase the Care package after the crash, can I still apply it to this drone. I know that they'd be able to tell when the crash was, so I wouldn't try to hide that fact. All I keep getting is "fill out an RMA so that we can inspect it and to see if it's under warranty."

This was purchased in June '16 from Amazon. I was 300 ft above running into anything. The stadium lights are still up, and in the video, you can clearly see I'm way above them. So I am 100% confident that I did not cause this issue.

Anyone have any insight as to what my options are, or a better idea at how this process will work? I see I can purchase a replacement for just over $700. If I send it in without any warranty or Care, and it does need replacing and not fixed, will it be any cheaper? or be more because of the inspection and shipping?

I've attached a screenshot of the log the app took at the last moment.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I find it hard to believe a bird would be flying at 400ft. That's pretty high. I can barely see my drone when I go that high, and have never seen a bird that high. Usually clear skies after you reach about 200ft...


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 
Oh wow. Crazy how easy that was. Would have thought it would have had enough inertia to keep spinning too, since those are easy to rotate by hand.
The motor does have inertia too, lots of it. The problem is that the ESC stops it dead. The way these work is that only two of the three phases are powered at any instant. The third phase is used to detect when the magnet passes the center of the adjacent coil so that the ESC can determine when to switch to the next set of coils. If one phase is disconnected, the signal never comes and the magnets are locked in position to the coils, waiting. I was really surprised to see how suddenly it stopped. If you disconnect the voltage going to the ESC instead, the motor will keep spinning, since all phases lose power at the same time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dustin_W
I find it hard to believe a bird would be flying at 400ft. That's pretty high. I can barely see my drone when I go that high, and have never seen a bird that high. Usually clear skies after you reach about 200ft...


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
guess you never seen a hawk
 
The prop has inertia. When the motor is spinning at high speed and suddenly stops the prop will try to keep spinning in that direction which unscrews it. The threads did not give way.

So when exactly would the motors come to a full stop in flight other than an obstruction? I understand inertia and physics but on a quad, which essential is a flying brick, that remains airborne only because of the thrust produced by the props what maneuver would result in an abrupt stop of the props? I believe they slow down but abrupt stop? I'm not buying that.

I'm not trying to start an argument but I don't believe the prop just spun off. Maybe an engine failed, seized or an ESC failure. Which would make the cause of the accident something other than... he didn't tighten the props and more a problem with the Phantom which would be covered under warranty. I would claim ESC failure
 
Last edited:
I've seen an eagle or a hawk flying around 4000ft from an airplane. :)
Some geese can fly up to 30,000 ft. They have a special ability to extract oxygen from the air at that altitude. However, most birds fly under 500 ft.
 
Send it in.. At least what's left of it. My guess is ESC failure which caused the prop to come off.
 
So when exactly would the motors come to a full stop in flight other than an obstruction? I understand inertia and physics but on a quad, which essential is a flying brick, that remains airborne only because of the thrust produced by the props what maneuver would result in an abrupt stop of the props? I believe they slow down but abrupt stop? I'm not buying that.

I'm not trying to start an argument but I don't believe the prop just spun off. Maybe an engine failed, seized or an ESC failure. Which would make the cause of the accident something other than... he didn't tighten the props and more a problem with the Phantom which would be covered under warranty. I would claim ESC failure
I don't have a P3 to test or I would experiment to see if any amount of normal active braking would throw a prop. I was doubtful, but DJI says it was very common. It was number 2 on their top ten list of reasons for a crash (which they blamed on the pilot.) This problem seemed to begin with the P3 when active braking was added. I don't know if active braking actually stops the props. (There are some 3d quads which actually reverse the props and are able to do all sorts of wild maneuvers including inverted flight.)
In this flight there did not appear to be any drastic changes in speed or direction prior to the prop loss, so you would not expect any need for sudden braking. If there was a glitch in the ESC, it might show up in the flight log.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m0j0
So when exactly would the motors come to a full stop in flight other than an obstruction? I understand inertia and physics but on a quad, which essential is a flying brick, that remains airborne only because of the thrust produced by the props what maneuver would result in an abrupt stop of the props? I believe they slow down but abrupt stop? I'm not buying that.

I'm not trying to start an argument but I don't believe the prop just spun off. Maybe an engine failed, seized or an ESC failure. Which would make the cause of the accident something other than... he didn't tighten the props and more a problem with the Phantom which would be covered under warranty. I would claim ESC failure
there have been a lot of pilots on here that had very same thing after awhile they did say yeah thought props where self tighteng and same result yes you have to snug them on happens a lot from newbies
 
I don't have a P3 to test or I would experiment to see if any amount of normal active braking would throw a prop. I was doubtful, but DJI says it was very common. It was number 2 on their top ten list of reasons for a crash (which they blamed on the pilot.) This problem seemed to begin with the P3 when active braking was added. I don't know if active braking actually stops the props. (There are some 3d quads which actually reverse the props and are able to do all sorts of wild maneuvers including inverted flight.)
In this flight there did not appear to be any drastic changes in speed or direction prior to the prop loss, so you would not expect any need for sudden braking. If there was a glitch in the ESC, it might show up in the flight log.
Exactly. I saw the video. The motor slowing and speeding up during normal flight just doesn't seem likely to throw the prop. It is pretty clear that he is moving but there really isn't a drastic change in direction that might cause I huge difference in the speed of the props. It just drops...off. That would indicate like the video showed earlier that there was a error.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,355
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.