Now that's a crash!

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Part of the advice I was given when I started using a drone for aerial filming was, "You will crash the first one, probably the second as well!" No way, not me I thought|! I'm going to be super extra very especially careful!

Well it finally happened... 48 flights, 13 video's and an enormous amount of fun & learning later I flew it into a mountain! Strangely enough the mountain won the contest. Bye bye DJI Phantom 2. Bye bye Zenmuse Gimbal. And bye bye GoPro... Ouch!

Flying via the FPV Monitor and not watching the drone itself (but with an observer present) I was flying back and forth over the edge of a mountain. During a backing up shot (so no visuals of where I was going from the camera) I was lower than anticipated and clipped a rocky outcrop just as the observer shouted "Look out!". Game over!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJSUkvmtHl0[/youtube]

Regards
Jean.
 
Saw this on facebook and yes, what a crash!

Beautiful scenery in the Richtersveld. I just did a flight at Augrabies National Park and the Northern Cape in South Africa is really beautiful.

Once again, sorry for your loss and at least you got the best crash video ever out of it. Tough these Gopro's are!:grin:
 
Yes I did make a video and uploaded it to youtube. I will send you a friend request on facebook, you can see it on my page.
 
You win. Thanks for posting. Amazing!
 
That was by far the most beautiful horrible crash i have seen. The location is gorgeous but OUCH! Did you take any after pictures of the Phantoms condition? How bad was the Gopro messed up?

What a fall...
 
Spectacular, before crash and during. I was suprised the Gopro lasted as long as it did. Did you fire the observer?
 
FIVE STARS :mrgreen: For the video, and the fact you shared with us. Great job editing. Bout peed myself when you showed the battery, and then the transmitter.

I'm thinkin' if I was you, I would have a custom built, 3D frame made to hang on my wall of shame. I would have several snapshots of the highlights behind the parts & pieces. Maybe even dedicate a tablet to the video and you could play it at the touch of a button. Did you happen to be recording from the ground as well? I'd really enjoy all the expletives, and your expressions as you watched the free-fall.

You have to post carcass pics. Please, oh please. :D

I'll throw ten bucks into the kitty for you to get another one, ifn's you need it.

You're my new hero.



Prop guards may have changed the outcome significantly. ;) Just sayin'.
 
I'm thinkin' if I was you, I would have a custom built, 3D frame made to hang on my wall of shame.

Wahahaha that's a great idea!

Damage was actually much less than I anticipated, given the beating it took. Man those Phantoms are tough! Basically everything outside was trashed and most of the insides are fine. The landing gear stayed intact but the compass and CAN bus were destroyed. The gimbal/camera was still attached (the little plastic retaining pins held) but it took a beating and two of the gimbal motors are cooked. The camera lens was scratched but otherwise it is fine. Obviously the micro SD card survived so I was able to obtain all footage as well as that from previous flights not yet downloaded. The final impact after the long free fall was onto one of the arms and that was bent. The motor on that arm as well as the ESC are broken, but otherwise all other motors/ESC's are fine. All props destroyed but that's to be expected. To get it flying again just needs a new shell, motor, compass, CAN bus and ESC. That's the cheap part. To get it filming again requires a new gimbal, video transmitter and camera, which is the expensive part! Overall I'm super impressed at how tough they are, well done DJI...

The hard part was the rock climb to retrieve the carcass. Luckily one of my friends is a professional climber and had all the gear which made the job a little easier.

Here's the footage from the previous few days if anyone is interested in the area...

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3gTYE6YGvw[/youtube]

Regards
Jean.
 
Cool Jean, :cool:

I've never crashed like you, yet. I have run into all kinds of stuff though and kept right on flying most of the time. Tough little machines they are.

Does anyone know if we hand out Emmys here?
I do, so here you go Jean.
 

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