Phantom 3pro lost motor mid flight.....total loss

[mikesmiley]

I'm not worried about being injured. Not since I quit wasting my money on carbon fiber props, lol.

My only worry is wrecking somebody else's day, along with my life.

 

[Mario_SB]

Is there any chance this was a bird strike?

 

[mikesmiley]

Is there any chance this was a bird strike?

I wondered the same thing. The video stops before the incident. I was hoping to see the whole thing. From the pictures it doesn't look like it, but you can't see the ends of the prop.

 

[Mario_SB]

I wondered the same thing. The video stops before the incident. I was hoping to see the whole thing. From the pictures it doesn't look like it, but you can't see the ends of the prop.

I'm also wondering if this was originally a stress crack issue.... His Phantom is just about as old as mine. I had to send mine in about 3 months ago for the stress crack issue.

 

[wolfweb]

You shouldn't be flying over the top of people. If you don't you can never hurt them. It's illegal to fly over the top of people in my country, should be in yours too if it's not.

 

[Noodle]

Gosh, this could easily happen to my P3A recently too

My drone (also bought in November 2015) is currently grounded with ESC error. I last flew it a week ago, also an uneventful flight, but after the flight I started to pack it away and I noticed a full-thickness crack on one of its arms. Imagine that motor could break away and fly off just like yours, and my drone would have also crashed down hard too.

 

[BrandAL]

Just speculating that maybe a prop went bad or was way out of balance and the vibration from that is what helped crack the plastic and dislodge the motor. I say this because the crack surrounds the bolt pattern exactly...
I'm not trying to add fuel to any fire, but in actuality, you could have prevented it by adding the strong arm supports when you bought it like many of us have. This shell failure just shows for a fact that adding the strong arm supports when new makes a huge difference. I'm also assuming that you do balance the props and that one of them failed or lost a tip or something

Ok I'm curious. What arm supports are you talking about. Where can I get them ?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Photofun]

This is really of great concern. I find it difficult to accept that a company will allow their clients to continue using potential dangerous products, products that can seriously harm or even kill people. Must say this is were my loyalty stops.........after reading this report both my P3A & P3P will go up for sale. Will be in the market for something more reliable and of non-chinese design & manufacture.......

 

[Oso]

Ok I'm curious. What arm supports are you talking about. Where can I get them ?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

Back when the stress crack issue first arose (before the new shell designs) there was a company selling add on plastic plates that they advertised would help with cracks. There were many threads about the usefulness of the plates, but they did sell a good amount of them during the peak of the stress crack scare.

The discussion at the time was divided into basically two groups. One group thought the plates didn't help at all with cracks, but could possibly help stop a complete motor loss. The other group believed the plates would prevent cracks or at least help slow or stop existing cracks, and couldn't do harm so why not.

Strong Arm Reinforcement Plates

 

[N017RW]

This is really of great concern. I find it difficult to accept that a company will allow their clients to continue using potential dangerous products, products that can seriously harm or even kill people. Must say this is were my loyalty stops.........after reading this report both my P3A & P3P will go up for sale. Will be in the market for something more reliable and of non-chinese design & manufacture.......

All radio control aircraft can be dangerous.
There should be little to no risk to people and property when operated within the FAA and others' guidelines.

Good luck with the non-chinese thing BTW.

 

[CCDD]

This is really of great concern. I find it difficult to accept that a company will allow their clients to continue using potential dangerous products, products that can seriously harm or even kill people. Must say this is were my loyalty stops.........after reading this report both my P3A & P3P will go up for sale. Will be in the market for something more reliable and of non-chinese design & manufacture.......

There's quality control issues with every product, not just items built overseas. Don't forget, most of the major companies including the one that made your smartphone, likely produced it over in China. The crack shell issues with the Phantom line was confirmed as a problem and is far less of an issue today than last year. DJI replaced many shells and reinforced frames on newer releases. Many members of this forum still fly their original Phantoms without ever experiencing the "cracking" problem. The separation of a motor is a very rare occurrence, in fact, how many circumstances of the same have you heard about? Crazy events can happen with anything, especially when mass produced. There were claims of iPhones catching fire in peoples pockets, did this stop people from buying them? DJI does a decent job with their products, and although many have complained about their customer service, there are a number of members on this forum that have praised them as well. There are so many of us that have purchased DJI products and continue to enjoy them everyday. I think many need to be reminded that these forums are often found and utilized by people that have had issues therefore, one is more likely to find negative comments rather than positive ones. Just keep in mind the number of these products that have been sold and how many of the owners are totally thrilled with their purchases.

 

[AIRNUTS]

Already contacted DJI this morning, very fast and professional service, they explain the warranty procedures and I was giving a RMA number and the shipping label, im sending the Phantom tomorrow morning, lets see what happens. so far so go

 

[soulphantomflyer]

With the distance and height capability of today quad and how some like to operate it(long distance, cross over road/building/possible human!) we should adapt a similar attitude as flying a real aircraft.

Preflight check before every flight, not just the first flight of the day

Any crack, sign of weaken frame such as discoloration, dent, irregular battery voltage, prop nick-crack etc should mean instant halt of flight until a repair/replacement is done.

With capability come responsibility!




Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Reed L]

Already contacted DJI this morning, very fast and professional service, they explain the warranty procedures and I was giving a RMA number and the shipping label, im sending the Phantom tomorrow morning, lets see what happens. so far so go

My bet is that they send you a new one because this has been normal in the past but... You will have the latest fw installed on everything either way, no big

 

[mikesmiley]

Already contacted DJI this morning, very fast and professional service, they explain the warranty procedures and I was giving a RMA number and the shipping label, im sending the Phantom tomorrow morning, lets see what happens. so far so go

From the pictures you posted, I have no doubt at all that you will be getting a brand new bird.

Just out of curiosity, are they having you send back the entire package, or just the aircraft?

 

[BDOG]

Good to hear that it looks like DJI is taking care of the issue. Now your new bird will have the internal X brace (ribs) to help strengthen the area on the arms where the motors mount.

 

[AIRNUTS]

From the pictures you posted, I have no doubt at all that you will be getting a brand new bird.

Just out of curiosity, are they having you send back the entire package, or just the aircraft?

I was told to just sen the aircraft, the camera and the loose motor, nothing else. And pictures of the damaged battery

 

[flyNfrank]

After seeing the nice big clear images posted I feel pretty confident the plastic becoming heat soaked plays a large role in this. The breaking points were also the weakest points if it were due to heat. The areas that let go were from pure torque as if the A/C was heavy and having to be full throttle as it climbed upward.

Btw, most on here know I try and help in awkward situations(like this one) by diagnosing the Flight Log. I came across a members flight log a few weeks ago that had to do with a crash and complete damage loss of their P3. Anyway, in this particular flight I found where the motors on this P3 had turned over 12,000 rpm! The normal rpm's is around 7600. So who knows, maybe the OP's A/C suffered from freakish event?

AIRNUTS are you able to attach at least the .txt Flight Log version here for diagnosing?

AIRNUTS are you able to attach at least the .txt Flight Log version here for diagnosing?

 

[Mario_SB]

DJI customer service has been very good and speedy. I had to send mine in to the facilities down in Carson, CA for stress cracks and later a camera that stop working. The fact they they readily sent you an RMA without much of a hassle is a good sign. My bet is that it was plastic fatigue wear and that the stress cracks finally got the best of your Phantom. Good luck and please let us know the results.

 

[GenesisX]

Good to hear that it looks like DJI is taking care of the issue. Now your new bird will have the internal X brace (ribs) to help strengthen the area on the arms where the motors mount.

Forgive my noobie ignorance...how can I tell if I have the internal X bracing? I just bought a P3P, and would like to know if mine has it. When was the change implemented and is there date code somewhere on the aircraft?