Sudden crash

I was doing some gentle maneuvers and practice flying this morning when my P3P suddenly threw off a motor and crashed to the ground from about 30 feet. I was in a hover and the motor ripped itself off! I can't believe this! I have flown my P3P for months and have done hard maneuvers and long distance flights and never had a problem. Now, when flying super conservative and easy the thing literally self destructs in mid-air while hovering.

The motor was totally torn off. The camera is broken into two pieces.

I wasn't filming at the time. Is there a flight log? Will DJI cover this under warranty?
Wow. What a scary situation. Not that you did, but it sure reminds us why we can't fly over people.

BTW, I do see cracks in your 2296 photo. The crack is in the left screw on the arm. Perhaps you did also have motor mount cracks prior, or perhaps the crack in the arm occurred as part of this crash. There's no way to tell.
 
I doubt it was the firmware. I've been flying with it for several weeks (the developers version for the Letchi Alpha app). This is clearly a structural issue. Maybe the firmware exacerbated an already defective physical problem, but I can't see how the motors alone could possibly cause this.
 
I doubt it was the firmware. I've been flying with it for several weeks (the developers version for the Letchi Alpha app). This is clearly a structural issue. Maybe the firmware exacerbated an already defective physical problem, but I can't see how the motors alone could possibly cause this.
It is not the 14.0.10 so, it is the 14.0.05!
 
This is the firmware version: P3X_FW_V01.04.0001.bin
Ok it's the developer fw like i have (to use with litchi). Mine for the P3A ends with 05 if I'm not wrong.

The last dji ones ends with 10


Ps: sorry for your loss but I'm sure dji will cover it under warranty
 
The Asia plastic fetish makes news again, I would pay $$$ extra for a carbon fiber body, someone could make loads with shell mods. Perhaps they do. Anyone seen this?
 
Has anyone dealt with DJI and warranties? How long does it take?

No joke, I wouldn't expect to get it back before the end of the year.

If you wanted, you could do the repair yourself. You would need a new shell and a new motor which will require soldering of the wires. As for the broken gimbal, instead of paying $600 for a whole new unit, you could go this route: DJI Phantom 3 Gimbal Repair Kit

You would need a new ribbon cable too. In total, the repair would be about $250. Then order the reinforcement plates from UAVbits to prevent such a disaster again.
 
Searching the web it looks like about 6 weeks before DJI would do anything. 6 weeks without flying is a painful prospect especially as the temps are getting cooler. The timing of this disaster just sucks. I have been planing a hiking trip for 2 weeks and even took off work on Thursday to spend the entire day hiking in and flying some beautiful mountain areas. I'm considering just buying a new P3A and getting is shipped overnight so I can still take my trip.
 
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Searching the web it looks like about 6 weeks before DJI would do anything. 6 weeks without flying is a painful prospect especially as the temps are getting cooler. The timing of this disaster just sucks. I have been planing a hiking trip for 2 weeks and even took off work on Thursday to spend the entire day hiking in and flying some beautiful mountain areas. I'm considering just buying a new P3A and getting is shipped overnight so I can still take my trip.

Crashed phantoms are selling for a good amount of money on eBay too.
 
Yep.. I had the hairline cracks on two arms after a few hours of flight time. Since I have packed the tips where the motor mounts are.. with hot glue. Also have installed clip off prop mounts which help provide reinforcement from motor. Then have silicone the prop clips to the arms as well, to absorb any excess vibration. So far so good!
 
I was doing some gentle maneuvers and practice flying this morning when my P3P suddenly threw off a motor and crashed to the ground from about 30 feet. I was in a hover and the motor ripped itself off! I can't believe this! I have flown my P3P for months and have done hard maneuvers and long distance flights and never had a problem. Now, when flying super conservative and easy the thing literally self destructs in mid-air while hovering.

The motor was totally torn off. The camera is broken into two pieces.

I wasn't filming at the time. Is there a flight log? Will DJI cover this under warranty?

Man oh man. First off, so sorry for the loss. Saying this sucks is an understatement. Second, Let us know how DJI handles this. I just sent my busted and battered P3 in for "assessment". Was flying at 400 feet in a straight line on a beautiful day and it literally feel from the sky. I had noticed small stress cracks developing on my P3 and was keeping an eye on them. (Stress cracks don't matter much when it falls from the sky though.)

Hope they do you right and get you back in the air soon. Best of luck.
 
And thanks for sharing, Chris. Mine hasn't shown any signs of stress cracks - but seeing your pictures drove me to order the uav bits strong arms.
 
Once the first one throws a motor and it falls and injures someone, DJI might finally taking it seriously. For now, the cost benefit is to ignore it.
 
That's terrible. Hope DJI replaces it for you. If I was you I'd just order a P3A (especially with the upgraded resolution as of today) and send yours off to DJI. When you get the damaged one back from DJI you could decide which one to sell.

I'm very happy I installed these now...Strong Arm reinforcement plate
 
Chris, Sorry about the loss. Really stinks. Btw, all the talk of warranty repair got me to thinking. I'm a new P3P owner, a couple weeks now and getting comfortable, a marvel of technology, to say the least. But my question, is there a warranty registration process with DJI, or a card that comes with it that I overlooked? I don't want to be in the situation one day like this happening and they tell me I didn't register. What's the process? Thanks
 
Man that's awful . I'm sorry for your loss. Dji better give you a new bird . That's ridiculous! ! Good luck with everything !!!
 
Hey all,

Been reading forums for quite awhile, first post here. Had to post here!

I recently got my phantom 3 pro 2 weeks ago. Having only installed dji prop guards and about 13 flights, I've noticed some slowly growing lines in a couple of the screw holes. I'm guessing these are the beginning of stress cracks? Should I throw a zip tie on the end to help relieve maybe some pressure? Can u still use prop guards with the reinforcement plates?

ImageUploadedByPhantomPilots - DJI Phantom Forum1441723974.404030.jpg
 

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