P3 Pro Fell From Sky Today

[Nstrong48]

Ugh! Terrible! Was hoping someone smarter than me could look at my flight log and see anything out of the ordinary. The drone is pretty busted up right now.

I lifted off with a Safe to Fly message and a green GPS icon with lots of signal strength in the P mode. Flew about 35 feet up and switched to F mode. Tried to put it in follow me mode but got an error saying the GPS signal wasn't strong enough to enable follow me mode. I tapped the icon a few more times to try again, hoping each time it had achieved a lock.

Then, for no apparent reason (at least, to me!) the drone pitched to one side, spun in wild circles, and spiraled downward and crashed. 3 props were on and 1 was nowhere to be found. The gimbal is bent and the camera is broken off entirely with a torn ribbon cable.

When I put a battery in the drone, it powers on but I get a weird buzzing noise from the bottom (maybe that was there before and I didn't notice... now I'm a bit paranoid) and also, if you try to turn the drone off by tapping the battery once and then again and holding down, the second "hold down" just leaves the battery blinking red. You have to hit it again to turn it off.

If I look at my flight record in the DJI Go app, at the moment the drone starts spiraling out of control, I see a red dot on the bottom right of the screen, whereas before the crash it was blue and up at the top of the screen. I am not sure what this means.

I did pull the sticks down but I did so after the drone hit the ground, in order to keep the motors from burning out in the bush it hit (I don't know if it stops automatically or not). Either way, I wasn't touching the controls AT ALL when the Phantom started spiraling.

I did hand tighten the props, but I kind of think a propeller flew off, given that I can't find it and that it didn't just fall straight down.

I should also note that the firmware is totally updated. I had a perfectly normal flight a few hours beforehand.

Here is the Healthy Drones link: HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

Any thoughts are much appreciated. Getting in touch with DJI tomorrow.

Same thing happened to me at 290 feet.

 

[nix240z]

Agreed with using the tool vs. hand tight.

 

[Phantom751874]

Hand tight is no good. Due to numerous prop issue I have seen others have, I always use the prop tool and tighten the props past the snug point trying to stay consistent with each one.

I also spent a lot of time looking over your data. Your problem of coarse should not have happen, but it did. The reasons I believe contributed to it was trying to do follow me at the height it was, no compass calibration, too close to home point. Other then that everything appeared just as you said it did. Your A/C did not drop that far. A compass issue will also drop the a/c to one side. If a prop comes completely off the a/c will drop and not fly in circles.

Hmm, first I have read of this, recommending the use of the hand tool to put on the props. I respect Frank's judgement in these forums so I guess I will start doing that too. I was always afraid of stripping the props if I used the tool to put the on though.

 

[nix240z]

Hmm, first I have read of this, recommending the use of the hand tool to put on the props. I respect Frank's judgement in these forums so I guess I will start doing that too. I was always afraid of stripping the props if I used the tool to put the on though.

Hand tight to your usual point, then use tool and you will be surprise that you can get another 5 to 8 degrees more of a turn.

 

[impilot51]

Good way to weaken and eventually strip the threads. If the manufacturer recommends hand tight, why disregard?


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[TheRealNick]

Hand tight to your usual point, then use tool and you will be surprise that you can get another 5 to 8 degrees more of a turn.

Be careful not to over tighten, you want to stay in the elastic range of the plastic or you will permanently damage the props. Personally I go maybe 5 deg past hand tight using only my hands. I am way focused when I put them on and make sure they feel the same every time. Same force for the same degrees. My props can then be removed by hand but not super easy. My opinion is that if you need the tool to remove them they are too tight. Also, if you can remove them with one hand they are too loose....

 

[coloradodroner]

Wow what a discussion! Thanks everyone who chimed in and for the great analysis.

The props had 4:45 or so of total flight time and had been put on and removed not that many times.

How often are we supposed to use new props?

There was no damage to them and they'd never hit anything.

I am pretty aggravated that an expensive drone would fall out of the sky because a self tightening propeller came loose. That's dangerous and costly!

How could this have happened?

What does DJI usually do in a situation like this regarding warranty repair?

 

[TheRealNick]

With one hand? How much of an angle do you think you get? I have been working on what the proper angle should be. I have read the threads are 6 mm with 1 mm pitch, so each rotation is 1 mm. So the distance between the bolt thread and prop thread is .5 mm. Using my iPhone I estimate that I go about 3 degrees. This is about .008 mm of deflection for the threads....which doesn't seem too bad...more to come...

 

[nix240z]

Good way to weaken and eventually strip the threads. If the manufacturer recommends hand tight, why disregard?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Actual manufacture recommends
Propellers
4) whenever necessary, use tools(i.e. Wrench, screwdriver ,pliers, etc) to remove or install the propellers.
5) ensure the propellers are securely mounted to prevent them from falling off

Just use common sense when tightening propellers. Some people might not have a strong grip.
That is why the tool is included in the kit.

 

[impilot51]

Funny, but that's not what it says in my copy of the P3P manual.

Here is the page where it talks about installing the props.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[nix240z]

just use common sense when tightening propellers by hand or tool.

 

[impilot51]

Yet another wonderful inconsistency in DJIs manuals. I wish they would make up their **** mind.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[flyNfrank]

Hmm, first I have read of this, recommending the use of the hand tool to put on the props. I respect Frank's judgement in these forums so I guess I will start doing that too. I was always afraid of stripping the props if I used the tool to put the on though.

I appreciate your respect. I would however rather you and anyone else ask why I might do something then to just do it because I do it, or said to do it.

 

[RoyVa]

We all feal your pain but also we all live by the golden flight rule. ". What goes up must come down, somewhere" I know it doesn't ease the pain butt these gadgets are full electronics. While that being said we never know if, when or where but they do, can and will eventually fail. Same goes for our Led TV, or PC or our Laptop or tablet. We don't know why but some last for years on end and other fail in months, weeks or even days. When you are dealing with sensors, transistors, resistors, Moffits and PcB boards that are robotically soldered we all rely upon fate. Any one component fails and it can be devastation as you found out. We are sorry but knowing this we all have to be prepared for That Day. Not fun and certainly heart wrenching. Hope you can recover and are able to fly again soon. Sorry again. Every time I fly I put a dollar away. Up to $487. So far. Just hoping before my time I get enough for my replacment. Good luck!

 

[coloradodroner]

The guy in the DJI pre flight checklist tutorial for the Phantom 3 says you can use your hand or use the wrench.

Regardless of using a wrench or not, DJI has this to say about their propellers:

Using these new propellers, the worry of a propeller coming off during flight, due to incorrect tightening, has been eliminated.​

I haven't heard back yet from DJI about whether my crash is a warranty issue or a pilot error. Holding my breath...