Hundreds of Flights First Crash Help P3 Pro

[MattyDread]

My bad (back, knee, hip, shoulder etc) insert as appropriate..

Where has this unfortunate saying come from.?

 

[Dirty Bird]

Not related but something happened to me yesterday afternoon. Lifted off my Advanced from the driveway after snowblowing for a view of the neighborhood. Everything was normal, lifted off, hovered around 30 seconds, then climbed to 150' & held for a moment.

Suddenly I see the aircraft begin to drift, app alerts "Compass Error - Mode switch to P-Opti." That explains the drift...being carried by the wind with no GPS fix. Pop-up says something to the effect of "Strong electro-magnetic interference encountered. Please relocate aircraft or calibrate compass."

So I bring her back & land & calibrate the compass. Power cycle the bird & lift off after she initialized. Everything normal, hover @ 150'. Does the same thing! At this point I just brought her back & bagged it for the day. No idea what was causing the compass issue? Never seen anything like this with my Vision+? I have lifted off from the driveway many times & can't see this being an issue of rebarb or metal in the concrete. Besides it would have had the issue on the ground not at 150' high after liftoff. Very strange...

It appears your craft lost it's compass calibration somehow mid flight at 10:42. That's happened to me recently for the first time, and I'm on 1.6 firmware. When it loses Compass, or a compass error occurs, the bird automatically goes into ATTI mode. You may have mistaken ATTI for "going crazy" since the 9mph eastern wind you had would carry your craft east, then you correct with Westerly compensation to hold the hover, etc. If you haven't flown in ATTI mode much this might induce panic, since the craft isn't as stable and appears to be doing things you don't want it to do, especially in wind. However, only 1 second after it loses compass and goes into ATTI (drifting East) it appears the blades touched something, as in hitting a tree limp or something that obstructs the motor from turning.

When I lost Compass, it was similar. I made two flights in the same area. But on the third flight my compass went whacky only 30 seconds into the flight. Fortunately it wasn't windy, no trees were around and I easily brought the bird back and landed it, then I recalibrated. I'm still not sure what happened that day a couple weeks ago. It's still a mystery to me. I was at the beach and the bird was over scrub brush far away from any metal or structures about 75' high, and bingo,compass error warning, which enabled ATTI mode. Kinda strange.

 

[kandelin16]

Not related but something happened to me yesterday afternoon. Lifted off my Advanced from the driveway after snowblowing for a view of the neighborhood. Everything was normal, lifted off, hovered around 30 seconds, then climbed to 150' & held for a moment.

Suddenly I see the aircraft begin to drift, app alerts "Compass Error - Mode switch to P-Opti." That explains the drift...being carried by the wind with no GPS fix. Pop-up says something to the effect of "Strong electro-magnetic interference encountered. Please relocate aircraft or calibrate compass."

So I bring her back & land & calibrate the compass. Power cycle the bird & lift off after she initialized. Everything normal, hover @ 150'. Does the same thing! At this point I just brought her back & bagged it for the day. No idea what was causing the compass issue? Never seen anything like this with my Vision+? I have lifted off from the driveway many times & can't see this being an issue of rebarb or metal in the concrete. Besides it would have had the issue on the ground not at 150' high after liftoff. Very strange...

I had a weird compass error a couple weeks ago too. In the same place I normally fly.


Sent from my iPod touch using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Jeff48920]

Guys I have made hundreds of flights with my P3 Pro and never had an issue. I had flown on christmas but did not do the latest updated that was pushed on 12/22 until last week. I flew that morning after the update and everything was fine. Next flight that afternoon I flew for 10+ minutes and had 45% battery left on my descent to end my flight i was maybe 100 feet altitude and all the sudden it starts going crazy jerking in all four directions like it was unstable coming down. I tried everything hitting the sticks back up, left, right...etc and it would not stop coming down jerking in all four directions like it was very choppy. So I immediately start running for it to try to catch it and it lands on the top of it flipped upside down and I grab the leg and then it is still stuck in full throttle trying to take off props spinning as fast they could. I was doing everything I could to try to hold the phantom from flying off again. I was not holding teh controller I had set it on the ground so nothing was telling it to try to take off again. I ended up having my son come over and try to push the sticks to shut it off and it would not respond to that. I then tried to reach up with one hand as the props are spinning full speed to try to shut the battery off and it would not respond to that. I ended up having to pull the battery while risking getting cut with the props, it was stuck in full throttle up at this point.

I have never had a crash or any types of issues, I know there are other thread on here but where in the world do I try to begin on what type of issue this was and what I can do to resolve it?

Thanks so much!

Here are a couple of thoughts, according to HealthyDrones, there are a couple of issues that need further investigation.
Starting at 10:43 your logs show obstructed motor which, at first look, could be related to the time it spent upside down but the logs also show that your battery changed its temperature curve abruptly starting to go up faster at around 9:21. I wonder if you have a motor that started seizing up at around the 9 minute mark and causing there to be a bigger drain on the battery and accounted for the out of control activity. The battery starts to heat as a result and, by the time the log ends, the battery was cooked at over 156 degrees F. I would point this out to DJI when contacting them about a free repair.

 

[Geblo]

This is probably not relevant, but I am curious. Your flight time seems extremely short and your battery drain very large. Your battery temperature difference between take off and landing is HUGE. I mean, when I fly the battery does not heat up nearly that much, 20 to 26 degrees difference C is all I see. Were you carrying any additional weight?

 

[ianwood]

This is most definitely vortex ring state. It happened after a full 100% down and the craft descended rapidly and out of control following that. On the P3 it is uncommon but not impossible to induce VRS. The way to recover is to push out sideways with the right stick as hard as you can. Do not throttle up u til you are out of the stall as that only makes it worse.

And if you have prop guards, get rid of them.

 

[Geblo]

This is most definitely vortex ring state. It happened after a full 100% down and the craft descended rapidly and out of control following that. On the P3 it is uncommon but not impossible to induce VRS. The way to recover is to push out sideways with the right stick as hard as you can. Do not throttle up u til you are out of the stall as that only makes it worse.

And if you have prop guards, get rid of them.

The wind readings are such that it is unlikely to be the case.

 

[Jeff48920]

This is most definitely vortex ring state. It happened after a full 100% down and the craft descended rapidly and out of control following that. On the P3 it is uncommon but not impossible to induce VRS. The way to recover is to push out sideways with the right stick as hard as you can. Do not throttle up u til you are out of the stall as that only makes it worse.

And if you have prop guards, get rid of them.

Based on so many other inconsistent telemetry readings, I kind of doubt VRS as the culprit.

 

[TacAir42]

The "weird compass" is what led to my crash into a lake a few weeks ago. DJI told me, here is 30% off a new drone for the low low price of only $699 LMAO

I was in the middle of nowhere, not even a cell tower for miles, much less power lines etc. and they said interference caused it. I have flown here many times with no issues until now.

 

[ianwood]

The wind readings are such that it is unlikely to be the case.

Based on so many other inconsistent telemetry readings, I kind of doubt VRS as the culprit.

I would not put too much value in healthydrones analysis. It's more wrong than right. Everything here is consistent with VRS.

 

[dhsprogis]

Crazy!
I've had some problems flying in the cold - perhaps yours were related - but mine were not as bad.

First, I lost contact with the P3-Pro and it was only 20 yards away. The screen went blank for 20 seconds. The copter held its position. The display came back as abruptly as it disappeared. Later inspection of the video and log showed nothing suspect.

I use a recent version of the iPad mini. It has no other apps on it except stock apps because it is dedicated to this purpose. It has cellular for getting maps. It had a full charge when I started. After 40 minutes of flying (2 batteries) the iPad ran down the battery and shut off. I had to bring the copter back by memory and sight. When I got home and inspected everything and after the iPad warmed back up, it had more than 50% charge in the battery. The temp that day was 26f.

I plan to try taping a glove warmer to the back of the iPad where the battery is on next flight.

As I think about your situation, I wonder whether the copter was trying to fulfill a rogue instruction from the app that was stuck in its memory and that is why it was fighting you. The battery issue is scary - the ability to shut it off seems like an "emergency brake" that should never fail.

 

[ROOF55NO]

I'm having trouble after update 1/25/16 Never had any problems until after update. No signal from RC and warming up notice doesn't go away and I haven't flown it yet. Anybody have solution?

Re-install you iOS Pilot, or GO app for Android. That was my solution when have exactly same problems few days ago.

 

[Martin Smith]

OOPS! Another Firmware Update... If they released a new update every day would you update?

 

[ThommyBoy]

Crazy!
I've had some problems flying in the cold - perhaps yours were related - but mine were not as bad.

First, I lost contact with the P3-Pro and it was only 20 yards away. The screen went blank for 20 seconds. The copter held its position. The display came back as abruptly as it disappeared. Later inspection of the video and log showed nothing suspect.

I use a recent version of the iPad mini. It has no other apps on it except stock apps because it is dedicated to this purpose. It has cellular for getting maps. It had a full charge when I started. After 40 minutes of flying (2 batteries) the iPad ran down the battery and shut off. I had to bring the copter back by memory and sight. When I got home and inspected everything and after the iPad warmed back up, it had more than 50% charge in the battery. The temp that day was 26f.

I plan to try taping a glove warmer to the back of the iPad where the battery is on next flight.

As I think about your situation, I wonder whether the copter was trying to fulfill a rogue instruction from the app that was stuck in its memory and that is why it was fighting you. The battery issue is scary - the ability to shut it off seems like an "emergency brake" that should never fail.

I used to use the iPad Mini 2 with my P3P, but I in the heat of the summer I would start getting pixelization, time lag, and then the black screen. I switched to the iPad Air 2 and haven't had any problems since. Lately, I've been flying in very cold weather, -10F, and haven't experienced any problems.

 

[Jeff48920]

I would not put too much value in healthydrones analysis. It's more wrong than right. Everything here is consistent with VRS.

Sorry for the late response. On what do you base your statement that "I would not put too much value in healthydrones analysis. It's more wrong than right."
I'm really interested in your answer, since everything that I get from HD (with the exception of WIND data" matches independently obtained data and "on screen" data from the GO app to a "T". Further evidence from personal experience with HD shows that in those 3 cases where my battery issues have been logged in HD, DJI has later confirmed that the batteries are faulty and replaced under warranty without question.

BTW increased battery temps are not consistent with VRS as far as I know.

 

[Stan_in_KS]

I tried to read all the posts, but what is the status of the original P3 that started this post? After pulling the battery, can you reboot and see the P3 on the App? Did you try starting the motors? One post said one motor might be seizing, and I can understand a bad motor or motor bearing might create an dangerous flying situation. Lucky it didn't hit the pavement. If the motors start and stop using the remote, does one of the motors feel hot? Sounds like a trip to DJI service is in order.

 

[messenger]

It might be 100% safe to descend at full speed, but I am not sure of that....it is a hard habit to break for me.

A good example of a compass error is shown in this post:

An example of bad compass calibration | DJI Phantom Forum

which references this video....

So I tend to agree that a compass error was not the issue in this crash.

mmmh...how come gps green is shown when no. of satillites appears?? I experince driftng out of control near the bridge and near ports.

 

[Brian Schmidt]

Guys I have made hundreds of flights with my P3 Pro and never had an issue. I had flown on christmas but did not do the latest updated that was pushed on 12/22 until last week. I flew that morning after the update and everything was fine. Next flight that afternoon I flew for 10+ minutes and had 45% battery left on my descent to end my flight i was maybe 100 feet altitude and all the sudden it starts going crazy jerking in all four directions like it was unstable coming down. I tried everything hitting the sticks back up, left, right...etc and it would not stop coming down jerking in all four directions like it was very choppy. So I immediately start running for it to try to catch it and it lands on the top of it flipped upside down and I grab the leg and then it is still stuck in full throttle trying to take off props spinning as fast they could. I was doing everything I could to try to hold the phantom from flying off again. I was not holding teh controller I had set it on the ground so nothing was telling it to try to take off again. I ended up having my son come over and try to push the sticks to shut it off and it would not respond to that. I then tried to reach up with one hand as the props are spinning full speed to try to shut the battery off and it would not respond to that. I ended up having to pull the battery while risking getting cut with the props, it was stuck in full throttle up at this point.

I have never had a crash or any types of issues, I know there are other thread on here but where in the world do I try to begin on what type of issue this was and what I can do to resolve it?

Thanks so much!

I had the same problem on January 6,2016. when it landed (beside a stone wall) I could nit stop the engines. all props were broken off, 2 prop guards and 2 arms broke on the Phantom. The only way it would turn off was when I pulled the battery. A very bad landing. Luckily it was in a snow bank and it didn't damage the Camera. I glued most of the body back together and removed the new firm ware. With new props and guards I got it flying again but it will be going in soon for a new body when I go on holidays. Still not sure what happened but hope it never does it again. !!!!

 

[MikeK]

Not related but something happened to me yesterday afternoon. Lifted off my Advanced from the driveway after snowblowing for a view of the neighborhood. Everything was normal, lifted off, hovered around 30 seconds, then climbed to 150' & held for a moment.

Suddenly I see the aircraft begin to drift, app alerts "Compass Error - Mode switch to P-Opti." That explains the drift...being carried by the wind with no GPS fix. Pop-up says something to the effect of "Strong electro-magnetic interference encountered. Please relocate aircraft or calibrate compass."

So I bring her back & land & calibrate the compass. Power cycle the bird & lift off after she initialized. Everything normal, hover @ 150'. Does the same thing! At this point I just brought her back & bagged it for the day. No idea what was causing the compass issue? Never seen anything like this with my Vision+? I have lifted off from the driveway many times & can't see this being an issue of rebarb or metal in the concrete. Besides it would have had the issue on the ground not at 150' high after liftoff. Very strange...

Having read so many reports of such freaky occurrences I am truly surprised there are not many losses and/or destructive crashes. It does tend to make one a bit apprehensive -- especially about departing from LOS.

 

[Radar335]

Your description sounds a lot like some flights I've looked at lately where propulsion was lost in one motor/prop. See Professional - Need Help With P3A Crash | DJI Phantom Forum It may look like a compass issue but, the P3 actually is spinning. If you want either I, @Luap, or @TheRealNick to look at please retrieve the .DAT and DropBox so one of us can take a look.

We are all interested in getting answers on the cause of this incident. As @BudWalker pointed out, much more information can be extracted from the internal dat file, and he offered help to analyze it. If he is right, you have a very strong case against DJI.

rhwd2003 is it possible for you to retrieve the dat file?