Things to check after salt water crash

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I flew my P3A over the water yesterday. And it too far to see the quad with naked eyes. So I look through my phone. It was about 1km away.

Everything was ok, 20 GPS signals, remote controller signal is full bar, got only an image weak alert.

Then tragic happened. I saw the camera flip a lot then the quad disconnected. I asked a local diver nearby to salvage the quad. The camera gimbal was cracked and fell off. It was sunken for about 15 mins.

After cleaning, drying session. I put in a new battery and start it up. It starts with a gimbal error. So I can't start the motor to check if other things are malfunctioned or not. I check other parts status in DJI app and all of them are normal. So I guess it would take off again after replacing the gimbal & camera.

I have some questions:
  1. Is there anything I should check physically?
  2. How do I view the crash reason?
  3. Can I claim warranty from DJI if the crash reason is some bird (or jerk) attack my quad?
This is my flight record:
Got a lot of speed error before crash.
 
Last edited:
After swimming in salt water, I'd never trust the Phantom again.
Salt causes corrosion that keeps going across the circuit boards and components.

Depending on the cause of the incident, you might have luck with DJI if it can be proved that it was a malfunction.

Go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident
 
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After swimming in salt water, I'd never trust the Phantom again.
Salt causes corrosion that keeps going across the circuit boards and components.

Depending on the cause of the incident, you might have luck with DJI if it can be proved that it was a malfunction.

Go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident

After quad retrieval, I rinse it with tap water and sink it in tap water for about 5 mins. I don't see any corrosion on circuit board, but a lot on the battery. So I dispose the battery.

I'll try and upload flight record here after a moment.
 
After swimming in salt water, I'd never trust the Phantom again.
Salt causes corrosion that keeps going across the circuit boards and components.

Depending on the cause of the incident, you might have luck with DJI if it can be proved that it was a malfunction.

Go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
Follow the instructions to upload your flight record.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident

Hi @Meta4

I've uploaded flight record. Could you help me diagnose it?
 
You should buy a lottery ticket. Found a diver who managed to find it in 15mins 1km away, that was very lucky, a miracle.

After a dip in salt water its probably not worth wasting your time. If you manage to get it working it wont for long.
 
You should buy a lottery ticket. Found a diver who managed to find it in 15mins 1km away, that was very lucky, a miracle.

After a dip in salt water its probably not worth wasting your time. If you manage to get it working it wont for long.

Except some corrosion on the screw, there's nothing on the circuit board. I'm hoping I can claim warranty from DJI.

Still waiting for some experts to help me diagnose my flight record. Fingers crossed.
 
after max flight altitude your aircraft started descending with 78km/h !!!! I guess this is free fall.
 
I would get the .dat file diwnloaded from the AC while it still powers on.

The .dat will provide much better chance for determining the cause
 
I would get the .dat file diwnloaded from the AC while it still powers on.

The .dat will provide much better chance for determining the cause

I follow the guide from phantomhelp.com and it said download the log from my iPhone. Is there any different between log from phone and quad?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I follow the guide from phantomhelp.com and it said download the log from my iPhone. Is there any different between log from phone and quad?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
Yes.... big difference. The aircraft log has a great deal more information. Good chance it wont be long before the AC wont power on again so it would be nice to have the file, especially if you are hopefull of getting DJI to come to the party under warranty.

DjI could.probably get the file if it doesnt oiwer up but would still be nice to have it yourself. There are a few members here who constantly amaze me in what they can get out of the flight logs
 
Yes.... big difference. The aircraft log has a great deal more information. Good chance it wont be long before the AC wont power on again so it would be nice to have the file, especially if you are hopefull of getting DJI to come to the party under warranty.

DjI could.probably get the file if it doesnt oiwer up but would still be nice to have it yourself. There are a few members here who constantly amaze me in what they can get out of the flight logs

Could you tell me how to get the file? I turn on the quad and plug it in my Mac, but nothing happen
 
You can find instructions for retrieving the DAT flight log here.
 
Enable flight data mode in the go app then connect to computer with usb cable (port on front of bird, not gimble plate.
You can find instructions for retrieving the DAT flight log here.

I think mine internal storage was burned. I couldn't find the disk after enter flight data mode & use disk utility.

The only log I could retrieve is from my phone.

I think I will take it to local DJI Care and see what they can do.
 

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