I crashed into the sea, what should I do?

McGuardian · May 6, 2016

Hello guys!
It's my first forum post and I wish it was under better circumstances but I'm in a mild state of panic.

This morning I crashed my Advance into the water, I suspect it's because a worn out threads in one of the propellers.
Just 10 seconds after takeoff one propeller just shot of the rotor and the drone plunged down. Luckily I could recover the drone whit a home made hook and I washed it in normal tap water since I crashed it in salt water (I mean it can't get anymore wet right?)
Right now I'll just let the drone dry for a few days before I try to start it, since the battery is lithium I don't have high hopes for it and I will store it outside in a metal bucket just in case.

So now I'm calling on you the pros for advice.
What should I do?
Is it even worth to try and start it up after it's dry?
Is it something I can do to further reduce the damage?
To anyone who had a similar experience what did you do?
And did I so far do things right or did I make it worse?

Thank you in advance!

Edit1:
Thank you all for the tip, I did put my drone in a sealed bag whit rice and for now I just hope for the best. I'll keep this thread updated so future pilots who gets through the same nerv wrecking experience can find some help!

MikeyOnline · May 6, 2016

Sorry to hear of your mishap. I'd suggest searching the forum for terms like "wet", "dry", and "rice". I've seen multiple threads where people use rice to dry it over days or a week. I've read about methods like putting it in a bag with a few pounds of dry rice and the rice removes the moisture, keeping humidity low in the bag, which aids in evaporation. I don't think you did any more damage with the fresh water bath. I think you're right: wet is wet and fresh water is better than salt water.

Mike

Dirby · May 6, 2016

you may have to send it back to DJI for repair.

tcope · May 6, 2016

I'd get a bag and put some rice in it and seal the drone up. Bag does not need to be filled, just a few bags of rice added. Let it sit for a week.

ianj · May 6, 2016

I've read about using 99% isopropyl alcohol to rinse the electronics, as it helps evaporate the water much faster. See if you can find a relevant topic about it here, I'm sure there is one.

The technique is used for wet cellphone recovery and things like that, so in theory with the electronics on-board it should apply.

Edit: Here's one

TWP723 · May 6, 2016

WD40.

McGuardian · May 6, 2016

Thank you all for the tip, I did put my drone in a sealed bag whit rice and for now I just hope for the best. I'll keep this thread updated so future pilots who gets through the same nerv wrecking experience can find some help!

WetDog · May 6, 2016

You have a fair chance of getting the flying parts back - the camera not so much. I would open the thing up as much as you can and flush it with copious quantities of fresh water then a distilled water / dilute isopropyl alcohol mix. The distilled water to flush out any salts and the alcohol to drop the surface tension a bit and allow for better drying. The rice thing is fine but so is warm dry air - a clean room, the oven on low, a fan.

It's certainly worth a try - you don't have much to lose.

Quadcopterpilot · May 6, 2016

I used a hair dryer to help speed-up the process but the rice should work fine.
Give it at least 3 days and then fire it up.
Mine is still working a year later and many many flights.
Good luck and let us know the outcome?

syotr · May 6, 2016

McGuardian said:
Hello guys!
It's my first forum post and I wish it was under better circumstances but I'm in a mild state of panic.

This morning I crashed my Advance into the water, I suspect it's because a worn out threads in one of the propellers.
Just 10 seconds after takeoff one propeller just shot of the rotor and the drone plunged down. Luckily I could recover the drone whit a home made hook and I washed it in normal tap water since I crashed it in salt water (I mean it can't get anymore wet right?)
Right now I'll just let the drone dry for a few days before I try to start it, since the battery is lithium I don't have high hopes for it and I will store it outside in a metal bucket just in case.

So now I'm calling on you the pros for advice.
What should I do?
Is it even worth to try and start it up after it's dry?
Is it something I can do to further reduce the damage?
To anyone who had a similar experience what did you do?
And did I so far do things right or did I make it worse?

Thank you in advance!

Edit1:
Thank you all for the tip, I did put my drone in a sealed bag whit rice and for now I just hope for the best. I'll keep this thread updated so future pilots who gets through the same nerv wrecking experience can find some help!

This could have been caused by a failure in the ESC. Even with props installed pretty snug, a single glitch in the ESC will lock the motor up and cause the prop to spin off. You may want check the log file. Also when you power the phantom up, if the motor which is missing a prop, does not run, then your prop loss is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

MikeyOnline · May 6, 2016

syotr said:
This could have been caused by a failure in the ESC. Even with props installed pretty snug, a single glitch in the ESC will lock the motor up and cause the prop to spin off. You may want check the log file. Also when you power the phantom up, if the motor which is missing a prop, does not run, then your prop loss is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

Good point. And in such a case, I would think DJI may cover it (give you a new AC).

Mike