RANT: Lastest victim of Phantom 2 Sudden Death/Skyfall

[ianwood]

The battery shut down is a known issue but thankfully not that common. It has been reported on this site at least a few times in the past few months. The flyaway described could be caused by many things. That they both happened together might be indicative of a larger issue. But, unless the OP can post a video, the speculation is pointless as there isn't enough data to draw any reasonable conclusions for either.

DroopyPants: Comparing a phantom crash with a computer crash is stupid. If the computer was sucked out the window and dropped to the ground from 100ft every time it crashed, then your comparison would be appropriate.

 

[HiDroneFlyer]

Hey guys, trying my best to get a video up really. The wifi just blows at every hotel. :-(

Ian - if you want to see it for yourself please PM me your email, it's the best I can do.

 

[CarlJ]

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.

Gotta agree 100% with this.

 

[CarlJ]

Comparing a phantom crash with a computer crash is stupid.

Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel. Funny as hell!

 

[BadKitty]

Been considering getting a Phantom 2, and almost pulled the trigger last weekend at a local dealer, but threads like this have given me pause.

I can take responsibility for my own lack of training / pilot error / etc., but in the case of losing a $1k+ investment to a manufacturers defect, I find that a little harder to accept going in… I understand that there is a lot of tech going into these products, and that for $1k you really are getting a lot, but if battery failures and flyoffs are common - it has me worried both from a monetary loss, and from a liability standpoint.. By agreeing to sell us this product for the price (or any price), it should be implied that the product, with proper maintenance and training, should be able to maintain sustained flight for the duration of its fuel supply (battery) and should not be subject to random flight path deviations not initiated by the pilot - the craft is marketed after all as "Ready to Fly".

So… For now I will continue to observe and learn, but unless lust kicks in, I honestly await word of a fixed firmware or a Phantom 3.

 

[riblit]

Way back at the beginning HIDroneFlyer mentioned iOSD. If that's not the mini you have a record of the flight stored much like an aircraft "Black Box". It may contain a clue as to what happened with your bird.

 

[Xrover]

For all motors to just shut down in mid flight is definitely a serious malfunction. Any chance if you can remember if all the lights went out at the same time? I'm also wondering if there are a batch of defective "Intelligent Batteries" out there that just switch off without warning. I'm just thinking out loud..

 

[Buk]

Those of you with this sudden failure, have you been able to connect the Phantom to a computer and check to see if there are battery anomalies that show up in the Assistant? I'm guessing you pick up a pile of pieces after a fail preventing any troubleshooting.

 

[sergekouper]

I just found out that there are some parachutes for drones, maybe it's worth having a serious look at that. Could be useful to limit damages and dangerous skyfalls.
After the GPS tracker, the floating gadget, now the parachute... If somebody can recommend one for the phantom...

 

[Xrover]

Only problem with a parachute would be you would need to be able to completely kill the motors first otherwise the chute would get wrapped up in the props. Second you would need a separate means of activating the chute.

I do like have a Parachute option.

 

[BadKitty]

Only problem with a parachute would be you would need to be able to completely kill the motors first otherwise the chute would get wrapped up in the props. Second you would need a separate means of activating the chute.

I do like have a Parachute option.

My day job is home automation …. A quick concept would be for somebody to develop something with its own altimeter and a voltage sensor to the motors… if motors lacked voltage for X seconds, and altimeter exceed 10' movement -> deploy parachute…. We would do this with heavy equipment fairly easily … making it lightweight would be the challenge.

 

[Dalite]

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.

You have a great future ahead of you with General Motors. Hey, it's just an ignition switch...

 

[tom3holer]

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.

You have a great future ahead of you with General Motors. Hey, it's just an ignition switch...

Touche

 

[HiDroneFlyer]

Hey guys here's an update with a reply from DroneFly:

Hi Gabe,

We are sorry to hear about this incident and unfortunately the best way to get support in this situation is to reach out to DJI once they authorize us in one way or another to help you out we will be able to move forward. In this case you will need a couple things to get this moving. For one DJI will send you a flyaway form. If they do not offer it you should request it. They will then ask for video footage during your crash and a little more information. Once they have your information they will contact us, usually by adding us to the email thread explaining to us what to do next. We hope this helps please let us know if they give you support.



Thanks!
The DroneFly Support Team
We value your business and strive for outstanding customer support!

 

[HiDroneFlyer]

My apologies again guys, the past few and next couple of day I'll be I'm in deep S.A. In hotels with little to no wi-fi.

Oh!! And just as an FYI, the Safari rangers will not allow you to fly anything while on tour with them, so there went that idea anyway.

However, people can bring their own private vehicles into the S.A. Parks unsupervised.

But then again, I did see a poacher hunter helicopter the air.
I'm guessing if they saw something like the Phantom in the air they'd prolly shoot it on sight. Lol.

 

[Doono]

Looks like DrewPDrawers has left the building.

 

[steveeds]

Things that shouldn't happen that can cause an unhappy moment

A wheel falling off a new car
An aircraft losing all engines
A Phantom motors that stop whilst up in the air
people saying, this S... just happens


S... doesn't just happen it's designed by idiots over many years to fail at the most awkward of times.

 

[ianwood]

Things that shouldn't happen that can cause an unhappy moment

A wheel falling off a new car
An aircraft losing all engines
A Phantom motors that stop whilst up in the air
people saying, this S... just happens


S... doesn't just happen it's designed by idiots over many years to fail at the most awkward of times.

These comparisons to computers, cars and planes are just pointless:

Wheels don't fall off of new cars. Not even shitty new cars. Unless you put them on wrong. And the only thing a Phantom and an aircraft have in common is they both fly. If you want a Phantom that has the reliability of plane, even a plane that is effectively a flying lawnmower like a C172, expect to fork out a lot more money and wait a long time for it to be designed, built, tested, certified, and delivered. And it will be stripped of the gimbal, IOC, RTH, and other features because they'll be too expensive to develop.

My point being that while the battery defect is totally unacceptable and DJI needs to fix it ASAP, to expect that there won't be any issues like this with an $800 flying machine is naive. The Phantom has zero tolerance for failure. If any one thing stops working, it's toast. There's no redundancy, no graceful degradation, no plan B. And unlike a plane (and why I hate flying in helicopters) you can't even glide.

 

[steveeds]

I think that's slightly unfair, a lot/most people that come here are asking for help with their Phantom right out of the box failures.

Again a lot of flyers are like I was, unbox it and fly it, now you may say that is even a stupid thing to do but it's what's expected these days and not unfairly.
These flying machines are expensive and one would rely on that, the enthusiasts (that I assume now have their own private part in this forum) have grown up with it and are enlightened, they are now made for the general public with a point and shoot attitude.

Then it all goes wrong and the enlightened get there chance to be wise and we rely on that help, and thank you for it.

"to expect that there won't be any issues like this with an $800 flying machine is naive"

They are $2500 here, that is a proper investment for some in something that is not a toy and there are expectations that will go with that, number one would be that it doesn't fall out of the sky..for any normal reason. I don't think that's naive I think it's necessary.
I don't wish to be argumentative but the wife said I'm allowed to have an opinion, hers lol

 

[Buk]

Wheels don't fall off of new cars

Oh but they do and so much more. Look at the mess GM is in now for not being proactive about the ignition switches. Or Toyota and suspected Unintended Vehicle Acceleration. Recall lists go on an on for automobiles worldwide. Perhaps a huge overstatement but, "at least one of every product ever produced, has been defective out of the box".

To expect a "perfect" toy product from China, or for that matter anywhere else is unrealistic. How long is the DJI disclaimer page? They've done their CYA, "cover your a**".