This happened in Brighton, UK, yesterday. I took my P2 to the beach, lovely day, no strong wind. GPS captured the satellites and I took off to about 40 feet, taking care to avoid the seagulls flying below. Had attached a small digital camera to the bottom, no problem of balance. Video running, flew over the pier and returned to the town area. After a couple of minutes always, having it in sight, starting to bring it back towards me while SLOWLY descending, still on GPS. However, motors suddenly seem to have stopped, and the quad started to drop, more or less like any other not too heavy object would. I immediately attempted a CSC, NOT taking the stick all the way to zero, but during those 3 or 4 seconds nothing worked and it disappeared.
My wife and I walked then around the general area where we perceived it to fall, some 150 meters in radius, but this is a very populated zone, with many buildings of all sizes, and we never found it. We assume the best bet is that it' s still on top of some roof, which means it won't be seen for a long time.
The relevant question is WHY this happened. I was aware that one must avoid the stopping command in flight and feel confident that I never took the sticks all the way down to initiate that action. Anyway, I only did the CSC AFTER the P2 started to fall. Perhaps I should have inititated the return to home by switching off the transmitter and thus have saved it, but 3 or 4 seconds are a very tiny window of opportunity. I am convinced that the software should prevent this by not allowing the stopping action without checking the barometer, ie, unless the quad is very close to the taking off height. Something for DJI to consider.
This may be the end of my hobby, as I can't possibly afford buying a another P2, and the risk of losing about £600 so easily is too scary anyway.
I just thought the incident may be educational: never fly over rooftops! And DJI, consider my suggestion.:!:
My wife and I walked then around the general area where we perceived it to fall, some 150 meters in radius, but this is a very populated zone, with many buildings of all sizes, and we never found it. We assume the best bet is that it' s still on top of some roof, which means it won't be seen for a long time.
The relevant question is WHY this happened. I was aware that one must avoid the stopping command in flight and feel confident that I never took the sticks all the way down to initiate that action. Anyway, I only did the CSC AFTER the P2 started to fall. Perhaps I should have inititated the return to home by switching off the transmitter and thus have saved it, but 3 or 4 seconds are a very tiny window of opportunity. I am convinced that the software should prevent this by not allowing the stopping action without checking the barometer, ie, unless the quad is very close to the taking off height. Something for DJI to consider.
This may be the end of my hobby, as I can't possibly afford buying a another P2, and the risk of losing about £600 so easily is too scary anyway.
I just thought the incident may be educational: never fly over rooftops! And DJI, consider my suggestion.:!: