RANT: Lastest victim of Phantom 2 Sudden Death/Skyfall

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**UPDATE June 16, 2014: Got back home safely and finally uploaded the video of the fateful moment. Also I'd like to thank the community at large of PhantomPilots.com for their continued support, input, and information. The more we support each other positively makes us a stronger Phantom Pilot community.**

http://youtu.be/FWeUhHaz20o



WHAT THE HECK.......
My brand new Phantom 2 with H3-3D just shut off and plopped right down to the concrete...done...

*Disclaimer: Before anyone starts flaming into "pilot error" comments I wanna remind folks that I have been flying since the Phantom 1's release and have hundreds of pilot hours behind it. You guys always have access to my YouTube videos in my sig.*

History:
Again, I've been flying with my Phantom 1 and F550 builds for quite some time and I knew a Zenmuse H3-3D was in the pipeline and I waited. Then BAM, Dronefly.com had pre-orders and my purchase of a Phantom 2 + H3-3D Production Kit from them came just LAST MONTH, right before my trip to South Africa, perfect timing to capture awesome safari videos and such right????

What happened:

Was in Cape Town city square, fairly large one too. Did my usual flight check; check for full battery, compass cali., set on level ground, wait for "green light", and I even wait to for AT LEAST 8 satellites to catch (i got the iOSD)....all checked out. Sent it only straight up, nothing crazy, just went up to about 300ft last I looked on the iOSD to do a 360 panorama. Suddenly it starts to drift and I lose all stick commands, holy crap there it goes (fly-away). Instantly I went to fail safe and thankfully it hovered and I see the yellow lights blinking and it started coming back...whew.....

WRONG!!! As I see it hovering back towards the home point perfectly as it should, BAM, power cuts off and it falls. Luckily it went top-down first so the GoPro was saved. P2 is in shambles; broken arm, lipo was thrown away (puffy), gimbal frame demolished...

Rant: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I'm normally not one to finger point or go on rants, I like to think myself a positive guy and have always been happy with my DJI Products; P1, F550, etc. HOWEVER, this plain just pisses me off...what the heck happened!? WHO the heck releases something that just TURNS OFF all of a sudden!!?? If this was a toy car or anything that is based on the ground, no big deal, but this is a Quadcopter capable of thousands of feet height of flying!!?? Fly aways, ok, that sucks worse, I know. I already hear you guys saying "at least you got it back", yes and I agree on that.
But how is this "quality control" guys? After this crash, I'm now learning about the other multitude of issues; the "J-hook", the "Sudden Death", and the "Fly aways" all majority are the "new" Phantom 2's!!!! Why is there no class-action lawsuit by now?? (which I will happily join by the way). My confidence now in DJI is absolutely shot. I strongly feel this incident is all on DJI's hands. This isn't pilot error, this isn't me flying into a building, this is simply CATASTROPHIC FAILURE (Edit: That can also possibly seriously HURT SOMEONE), which is simply unacceptable on all levels.


I'm simply at a loss for words (a rarity) right now. I'm ultra raging and feel helpless at the same time, because we ALL KNOW how (sarcasm) awesome DJI's support treat us. I can't go back to Dronefly.com (or can I?) because they're just the seller, what can they do? So the best thing that makes ME feel better, is to post this and hopefully it'll at least show ONE MORE victim of something that should absolutely NOT HAPPEN.

RANT FINISHED.

Thank you guys for reading/listening to my rant. It's all I can do right now to feel better. I'm open to any suggestions or comments about this to help further understand or help prevent this from happening to my fellow flyers. I hope to post the video of what happened when I get a better wi-fi connection that will let me at least upload SOMETHING. Take care, and may the drone gods be with you.

-Gabe
 
Yikes that sucks :shock: How many successful flights had the P2 made previous to this crash?
 
Gabe,
You are not the only one that has had battery problems. I know that does not help but yes, it is an issue.

I lost my 2 week old P2 with new GoPro 3+ black a month ago. I was hovering some 700 meters away and all of a sudden lost all video downlink. Initiated rth but it never came back. It was most likely the same issue. Several days of searching to no avail.

It was reported that they were working on "Battery Issues" a short while back.

You have the corpse which may be very helpful. I would first contact Dronefly and see what they have to say. If they are reluctant to help then contact DJI via their website and explain your experience and what happened with photos. I would be surprised if one or the other does not help with replacement.

I had no corpse and was offered a 30% discount on a new P2 H3-3D. It was helpful although I was still out my FPV gear and a new GoPro.

Good luck,

Tom
 
tom3holer said:
Gabe,
You are not the only one that has had battery problems. I know that does not help but yes, it is an issue.

I lost my 2 week old P2 with new GoPro 3+ black a month ago. I was hovering some 700 meters away and all of a sudden lost all video downlink. Initiated rth but it never came back. It was most likely the same issue. Several days of searching to no avail.

It was reported that they were working on "Battery Issues" a short while back.

You have the corpse which may be very helpful. I would first contact Dronefly and see what they have to say. If they are reluctant to help then contact DJI via their website and explain your experience and what happened with photos. I would be surprised if one or the other does not help with replacement.

I had no corpse and was offered a 30% discount on a new P2 H3-3D. It was helpful although I was still out my FPV gear and a new GoPro.

Good luck,

Tom

Thank you for your reply Tom. My condolences for your loss as well. I have already emailed Dronefly.com (I'm an affiliate no less!) and we'll see what they say tomorrow. I'm thinking of sending the link to this thread as well. As for DJI, I'll send them all the details now that you've suggested it, but I'm not hopeful. At least I hope they'll take note.
 
I would deal with Dronefly and let them communicate with DJI. If DJI is getting info from you and Dronefly, it may complicate things. You can always go direct to DJI later if you have no luck with Dronefly.
 
I also had a kind of failure on a PV2+, can you hook it up on the assistent software and see if you get a quick popup with Non DJI Intelligent Battery ?
 
Exact same issue here. My P2 even landed square on the top too and my Zenmuse H3-3d was shot. It didn't have the partial fly away beforehand though. I was at 60' or so. I was only on my 9th flight with it. I went back through my dealer. Made me very glad that I went through a reputable dealer. (Happy to give dronesmadeeasy.com a plug here). I can't say for sure but I highly doubt DJI would have ever done anything about it should I have purchased from them direct.

Thankfully I was rolling video. I submitted that and it was obvious it was not pilot error. So, they had me a new P2 within a few weeks. Still waiting on my Zenmuse replacement though. Kind of bummed as I am told I am now getting v1.1.

Nonetheless, it is very concerning to me now seeing that these can just lose power and drop from the sky. Very unsafe and we really need to watch what we are over. Best of luck with your replacement. If dronefly is anything like dronesmadeeasy then I am confident the will work with DJI to get you taken care of.
 
dronehike said:
I also had a kind of failure on a PV2+, can you hook it up on the assistent software and see if you get a quick popup with Non DJI Intelligent Battery ?

I appreciate the suggestion however I wouldn't advise it for 2 reasons:
1. I dunno how to do what you're suggesting. Haha.
2. I wouldn't mess with lipos in its current state any crossed wires or shorts in the board spells disaster all over the place.
 
HiDroneFlyer said:
I can't go back to Dronefly.com (or can I?) because they're just the seller, what can they do?
-Gabe

Sorry to hear about the problems.

I'm trying to remember my experiences in the US but basically, your contract is between YOU and whoever supplied you with the goods. If that's not DJI directly, then your first port of call should always be with whoever took your cash. Try to resolve things on the private side first before going down the legal route. Ultimately, they are probably getting stung by DJI (if they bought from them directly). If they try and refer you back to DJI, you're effectively paying them AND doing their work for them.

Best of luck,

bmews
 
It amazes me how little personal responsibility/liability people have. Did you call Microsoft or apple the last time your computer froze? Did you call AT&T when your phone froze?

Guys - all this crap that it is someone else's fault is ridiculous!!

-It is an expensive electronic TOY.
-It is a new-ish technology.
-Sh** happens with electronics.

Quit being so butt hurt about it. It sucks, I get it. BUT have to know that there is a better than small chance that something can go wrong with flying electronics.

It's not DJIs fault. Its not drone fly's fault. Sh** happens. Stuff breaks. YOU are the one that purchased an expensive something for hobby.

OWN IT. You are not 12, life is not fair.

I am going flying. If something bad happens, too bad for me. I understood that when I purchased my Phantom.
 
DrewPDrawers said:
It amazes me how little personal responsibility/liability people have. Did you call Microsoft or apple the last time your computer froze? Did you call AT&T when your phone froze?

Guys - all this crap that it is someone else's fault is ridiculous!!

-It is an expensive electronic TOY.
-It is a new-ish technology.
-Sh** happens with electronics.

Quit being so butt hurt about it. It sucks, I get it. BUT have to know that there is a better than small chance that something can go wrong with flying electronics.

It's not DJIs fault. Its not drone fly's fault. Sh** happens. Stuff breaks. YOU are the one that purchased an expensive something for hobby.

OWN IT. You are not 12, life is not fair.

I am going flying. If something bad happens, too bad for me. I understood that when I purchased my Phantom.

A worthwhile reality check, but don't forget that the manufacturer does have a duty to sell goods fit for their advertised purpose. Occasional failures are normal but, if they are widespread and result from defective design or materials, then that is not regarded as the customers' liability.

Not proven by any means, but this particular problem, just like the compass issue, is starting to look like a defect.
 
DrewPdrawers: "you call Microsoft or apple the last time your computer froze? Did you call AT&T when your phone froze? "

What you fail to understand is that when your computer or phone freezes its merely an inconvenience, not a high risk incident.

When a UAS drops from the sky, there is a very real risk for someone getting seriously hurt or worse or there being damage to property. There is huge liability issue which is absent in a case where your computer or phone dying. An UAS is most definitively NOT a toy! If you fail to understand this simple yet very importance distinction, then you have absolutely no business flying a UAS.

There is no excuse for a UAS falling out of the sky or flying away due to a mechanical, electrical, electronic or firm/software issue. Period.

Based on the amount of reports online of UAS' , Phantoms in particular, dropping out of sky or flying away, one would assume that DJI would be very busy investigating these incidents and communicating with the DJI pilots community. Right now we hear nothing from them, and the impressions we get is that they are not looking into it but rather dismissing it all as user Id 10T while just churning out and selling as many phantoms as possible until it all come "crashing down". If this not an accurate description of how they look at it, then they should come out and communicate clearly about this issue, because at this point it is a BIG issue. Pretty much the word "flyaway" has become associated with the brand. When I talk to people who do not have phantoms or other UAS and tell them that i have one, pretty much the first thing they ask is if I ever had a flyaway. So it is THAT known and massively bad for both the DJi brand and the entire UAS community.
 
Drew - I expected a response like yours: the "too bad so sad, **** happens, own it, be a man, it's a toy, stop buying drones, etc etc" to come eventually. And I know where you're coming from. Really. Like I said before I want this to be an open discussion and not a flame war.

With that being said, I always counter with this point to gain your perspective:
You drive a car yeah? Imagine if you bought a new car and one day it steers itself suddenly and unexpectedly into a tree, worse off, killing a love one in the process. It's far fetched sure, but "**** happens, own it" also applies here in this tragic situation as well. But I digress, my point is ACCOUNTABILITY of companies for unexpected (catastrophic) issues. Especially when HUMAN SAFETY is involved.

Simply put, **** DOES happen, I agree. But there's **** that SHOULDN'T HAPPEN (compromise of human safety) and that was the point of my rant.
 
Truly strange post. I confess I understand little, if any, of the reasoning, to the extent there is reasoning at all.

When you buy a new product and it fails from a known issue it is the responsibility of the manufacturer/retailer to address it. This is not some new, crazy concept. It's just how it is.


DrewPDrawers said:
It amazes me how little personal responsibility/liability people have. Did you call Microsoft or apple the last time your computer froze? Did you call AT&T when your phone froze?

Guys - all this crap that it is someone else's fault is ridiculous!!

-It is an expensive electronic TOY.
-It is a new-ish technology.
-Sh** happens with electronics.

Quit being so butt hurt about it. It sucks, I get it. BUT have to know that there is a better than small chance that something can go wrong with flying electronics.

It's not DJIs fault. Its not drone fly's fault. Sh** happens. Stuff breaks. YOU are the one that purchased an expensive something for hobby.

OWN IT. You are not 12, life is not fair.

I am going flying. If something bad happens, too bad for me. I understood that when I purchased my Phantom.
 
DrewPDrawers said:
It amazes me how little personal responsibility/liability people have. Did you call Microsoft or apple the last time your computer froze? Did you call AT&T when your phone froze?

Guys - all this crap that it is someone else's fault is ridiculous!!

-It is an expensive electronic TOY.
-It is a new-ish technology.
-Sh** happens with electronics.

Quit being so butt hurt about it. It sucks, I get it. BUT have to know that there is a better than small chance that something can go wrong with flying electronics.

It's not DJIs fault. Its not drone fly's fault. Sh** happens. Stuff breaks. YOU are the one that purchased an expensive something
OWN IT. You are not 12, life is not fair.

I am going flying. If something bad happens, too bad for me. I understood that when I purchased my Phantom.

What's it like in your world?
 
It is for this reason that I will probably switch to the F450. There are slight disadvantages compared to the Phantom but there some real advantages as well. One being, I hope, that it won't just drop out of the sky like Phantoms now appear to be doing.


HiDroneFlyer said:
WHAT THE HECK.......
My brand new Phantom 2 with H3-3D just shut off and plopped right down to the concrete...done...

*Disclaimer: Before anyone starts flaming into "pilot error" comments I wanna remind folks that I have been flying since the Phantom 1's release and have hundreds of pilot hours behind it. You guys always have access to my YouTube videos in my sig.*

History:
Again, I've been flying with my Phantom 1 and F550 builds for quite some time and I knew a Zenmuse H3-3D was in the pipeline and I waited. Then BAM, Dronefly.com had pre-orders and my purchase of a Phantom 2 + H3-3D Production Kit from them came just LAST MONTH, right before my trip to South Africa, perfect timing to capture awesome safari videos and such right????

What happened:

Was in Cape Town city square, fairly large one too. Did my usual flight check; check for full battery, compass cali., set on level ground, wait for "green light", and I even wait to for AT LEAST 8 satellites to catch (i got the iOSD)....all checked out. Sent it only straight up, nothing crazy, just went up to about 300ft last I looked on the iOSD to do a 360 panorama. Suddenly it starts to drift and I lose all stick commands, holy crap there it goes (fly-away). Instantly I went to fail safe and thankfully it hovered and I see the yellow lights blinking and it started coming back...whew.....

WRONG!!! As I see it hovering back towards the home point perfectly as it should, BAM, power cuts off and it falls. Luckily it went top-down first so the GoPro was saved. P2 is in shambles; broken arm, lipo was thrown away (puffy), gimbal frame demolished...

Rant: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I'm normally not one to finger point or go on rants, I like to think myself a positive guy and have always been happy with my DJI Products; P1, F550, etc. HOWEVER, this plain just pisses me off...what the heck happened!? WHO the heck releases something that just TURNS OFF all of a sudden!!?? If this was a toy car or anything that is based on the ground, no big deal, but this is a Quadcopter capable of thousands of feet height of flying!!?? Fly aways, ok, that sucks worse, I know. I already hear you guys saying "at least you got it back", yes and I agree on that.
But how is this "quality control" guys? After this crash, I'm now learning about the other multitude of issues; the "J-hook", the "Sudden Death", and the "Fly aways" all majority are the "new" Phantom 2's!!!! Why is there no class-action lawsuit by now?? (which I will happily join by the way). My confidence now in DJI is absolutely shot. I strongly feel this incident is all on DJI's hands. This isn't pilot error, this isn't me flying into a building, this is simply CATASTROPHIC FAILURE (Edit: That can also possibly seriously HURT SOMEONE), which is simply unacceptable on all levels.


I'm simply at a loss for words (a rarity) right now. I'm ultra raging and feel helpless at the same time, because we ALL KNOW how (sarcasm) awesome DJI's support treat us. I can't go back to Dronefly.com (or can I?) because they're just the seller, what can they do? So the best thing that makes ME feel better, is to post this and hopefully it'll at least show ONE MORE victim of something that should absolutely NOT HAPPEN.

RANT FINISHED.

Thank you guys for reading/listening to my rant. It's all I can do right now to feel better. I'm open to any suggestions or comments about this to help further understand or help prevent this from happening to my fellow flyers. I hope to post the video of what happened when I get a better wi-fi connection that will let me at least upload SOMETHING. Take care, and may the drone gods be with you.

-Gabe
 
ChimayMan said:
HiDroneFlyer said:
dronehike said:
I also had a kind of failure on a PV2+, can you hook it up on the assistent software and see if you get a quick popup with Non DJI Intelligent Battery ?

I appreciate the suggestion however I wouldn't advise it for 2 reasons:
1. I dunno how to do what you're suggesting. Haha.

This speaks volumes.

Oh? Can you please elaborate?

Does it speak volumes that I am not supposed to know how to do something that is not according to manufacturer suggestions/spec? I UNDERSTOOD what he is suggesting because I have tons of P1 Lipos laying around. With that being said I don't want to know what he's suggesting because it's possibly dangerous, hence #2 which was missing from your quote.
 
For whats it worth there was a post on another thread here about a similar issue with what appears to be a power failure.

Th op was running 3.02 I believe.

Tom
 
tom3holer said:
For whats it worth there was a post on another thread here about a similar issue with what appears to be a power failure.

Th op was running 3.02 I believe.

Tom

FWIW my story is a sad one too; it just fell out of the 20 foot hover and fell in the BAY. It was NOT pilot error!! To the guy with the smart mouth; I hope it happens to you next.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=16271
 

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