phantom 2 crashed need to figure out why

[nitro thrasher]

Hello guys and girls I had the horrific 1st time accident with my phantom 2 this past weekend and I am just trying to get some confirmation as to why it crashed. I would like to figure out if it crashed due to my own fault or if something actually went wrong with the phantom and if so can I get DJI to fix it. I flew it several times yesterday with no problems until I stopped by a friends how real quick and pulled it out to show him. I did not take the time to allow the lights to turn from yellow to green to connect to the gps. I then took it up and hovered around and did some spins real quick when it just dropped out of the sky. What I am trying to figure out is if the gps is not activated (like it was when I was flying) is it possible that the motors will stop if I accidentally pushed both sticks to the bottom middle corners ( like you do to stop the blades once you land) I'm assuming they would not turn off if it was in gps mode just like if you turn the transmitter off because it would then activate the go home mode.

The quad itself only received damage to the one landing gear that has the can bus attached to it so that will be an easy fix once I get the replacement in. However my H3-3D gimbal is a total loss which hurts bad as well as my go pro. It still lights up when I try and turn it on but the little screen remains blank. I have already contacted GoPro and am working on getting it sent in for repair but does anyone know if DJI does repairs or replacements on the Zenmuse gimbals? Like maybe I send mine in and if they confirm its totaled they will send me a new one at a reduced price? Thanks for the help guys and happy flying!

 

[OI Photography]

Pushing the sticks in to the CSC positions will stop the motors in flight no matter what flight mode you are in at the time.

 

[nitro thrasher]

So even if you are in gps mode and you accidentally move them to CSC position the controller wouldn't take over and prevent it from crashing? I find this to be a major flaw if so because isn't that the same idea of turning the transmitter off or it running dead on batteries and the controller taking over and sending it into "go home" mode? I'm not even sure that is what happened in my case but its really the only explantation i can come up with as to why the motors just turned off and it dropped straight from the sky. I even jammed the throttle all the way up and the motors began to spin up again right before it slammed into the ground.

 

[OI Photography]

Yes, even in GPS mode that will kill the motors. There needs to be some way to kill the motors from the controller in any situation and that's about the best option there is without adding another channel to the controller. Putting the sticks in the CSC position would cause some pretty extreme flight maneuvers that would be hard enough to control as it is, so not many people have accidentally ended up that way...but it does happen.

The manual warns about this specifically, so be sure you're familiar with all the warnings in there like that. If I remember correctly, it also states that if you apply throttle over 50% within 3 seconds it will restart them (which would explain what you saw).

 

[Joel_t]

Sorry for the loss but from what you've explained I would say this is definitely user error.

Personally I would never take off straight away before I've got GPS lock but then fly in GPS mode.

Secondly pushing both sticks down and centered is a command to shut down the motors. It is not like losing transmitter signal. I'm not sure why you would do this during the flight anyway. Max decent, yaw, back and left movement of the Phantom? What were you trying to do?

I know it's too late now but you really should read through a lot more information about the Phantom before flying to avoid these kind of easily avoided accidents.

Sucks that you had to learn the hard way though.

 

[HarryT]

The CSC is a safety feature designed to shut off the motors in an emergency situation. It will shut down the motors instantly, any time, in any situation, and should absolutely not be used in flight except in the case of the type of emergency it's there to handle. Sorry, but I have to agree with the previous posters that this is a clear case of user error.

 

[nitro thrasher]

Ok i'm not 100% as to why I would have even accidentally activated the CSC but isn't there 3 different combinations between the sticks that can activate this? Oh well it already happened no use worrying about it now just want to make sure it never happens again if it is indeed my fault. Does anyone know if DJI has a repair or replacement policy in place for the Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal? Such I send it in and if they can't repair it they can ship me a new one at a discounted price? I know other RC companies such as Traxxas do this. Since I got this gimbal at an already discounted price in the combo with the phantom 2 I feel that $400 for it outright is way overpriced. Thanks

 

[OI Photography]

Can you give details or pics on the gimbal damage, or the way it's behaving now?

DJI does have a repair option, if you want to pay for that and wait a few weeks. I've never heard of them doing a discount replacement program like you're thinking of.

 

[nitro thrasher]

I immediately unplugged it from the phantom after the crash but I am fairly confident it no longer functions in any way as some of the plugs on it are completely disconnected. Here are some pictures.

 

[tarro]

That it's no reparable, buy a new one.
Maybe you could sell to fix another gimbal that need a motor.

 

[OI Photography]

yeah if that were a car the insurance company would total it out

You can try sending it to DJI to get a repair quote but I wouldn't expect it to cost less than a new one.

if you do decide to write it off, I might make you an offer on it for parts.

 

[nitro thrasher]

ok from what it sounds like and looks like yes its totaled and I really don't want to mess with DJI's notoriously slow customer service for weeks. What would you be willing to offer for it? Since I don't have the extra cash right and want a gimbal i'm probably going to settle for the 2d one weather it be a Tarot if they work or a Zenmuse...sigh

 

[OI Photography]

PM sent

 

[nitro thrasher]

I sent one back to you, did you receive it? Thanks

 

[bschaub]

I have also shut motors down in flight by simply holding the throttle full down for too long. Try it on the deck and see if yours does the same. Fortunately mine shut down about 5 feet above the ground. I now am very careful as I descend from high altitude, giving seconds of hover as I step down.

 

[nitro thrasher]

that is a very good suggestion I will now take into consideration. Thank you bschaub! Total so far this accident has cost me $400 for the H3-3D if I do decide to get another one of those plus the damage done to my gopro. The only part that doesn't work on it is the lcd screen but they told me I can get a 40% discount on a new one so thats $239 for the black edition. Very costly mistake that will (hopefully) never happen again!

 

[ussvertigo]

I was under the impression that while in intellegent mode, and in GPS or ATTI, holding just the throttle down will not stop motors in flight. Am I wrong?

 

[sar104]

I was under the impression that while in intellegent mode, and in GPS or ATTI, holding just the throttle down will not stop motors in flight. Am I wrong?

It will only shut down if the FC detects no descent for 3 seconds. Something else must have caused the motors to stop.