Have you crashed?
- Thread starter African wildlife
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Had my p3a sence aug 2015 over 240
flights no crash yet. Been real carefull hand catch everytime too
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I've had my P4 since April '16, and I've flown millions of feet in Go 4 and in Litchi waypoint missions. Personally, I believe I should have crashed many times, but LUCK has always been on my side most of the time.
One day, I was flying in slowly into my yard on a breezy day when my bird got a little too close to the eave of my roof. I moved the stick to the right to make it go left since it was facing me, but it went a hair to the right before moving to the left so I reached up to grab it away before it may have it the eave. When I did, it powered up to maintain it hover, and since I didn't get a good hold of the landing gear, the bird turned to the side. The blades chopped up my right arm while I was trying to go to the ground with it to be able to control it enough to turn off the battery. Of course, it was really trying to get back to its GPS hover position so it really fought me before I was able to turn off the battery. I should have gone to the hospital to get stitches, but I doctored myself back.
Another flight, I was taking off in the bed of my truck from the P4's styrofoam case in high winds while at the beach. Right when there was a little lift, the wind flipped it upside down in the bed.
The first mishap caused a crack in the upper shell case from the battery area and up the right rear arm, and it cost me a broken prop. I just glued the crack, and I'm flying it like it was never damaged. The time it flipped caused no damage at all.
I'm opening my Mavic Pro on Christmas morning, and I'm hoping boneheaded crashes are few and far between.
One day, I was flying in slowly into my yard on a breezy day when my bird got a little too close to the eave of my roof. I moved the stick to the right to make it go left since it was facing me, but it went a hair to the right before moving to the left so I reached up to grab it away before it may have it the eave. When I did, it powered up to maintain it hover, and since I didn't get a good hold of the landing gear, the bird turned to the side. The blades chopped up my right arm while I was trying to go to the ground with it to be able to control it enough to turn off the battery. Of course, it was really trying to get back to its GPS hover position so it really fought me before I was able to turn off the battery. I should have gone to the hospital to get stitches, but I doctored myself back.
Another flight, I was taking off in the bed of my truck from the P4's styrofoam case in high winds while at the beach. Right when there was a little lift, the wind flipped it upside down in the bed.
The first mishap caused a crack in the upper shell case from the battery area and up the right rear arm, and it cost me a broken prop. I just glued the crack, and I'm flying it like it was never damaged. The time it flipped caused no damage at all.
I'm opening my Mavic Pro on Christmas morning, and I'm hoping boneheaded crashes are few and far between.
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I am a bush pilot with an Airline License and I have bent a couple aircraft over a 45 year career and 13,400 hours, with nobody hurt other than metal, thanks God. I crashed my Phantom 4 last month, when I had about 20 hour on type. It was all my fault, just like my full-size aircraft duuuuuuuuuuuh's. I overlooked the terrain elevation in a Litchi mission and into the trees I went. Damage was minor, just three props but a BIG lesson learned. The P4 didn't see the trees coming since it was flying sideways. Other than that, I trust the machine and should not crash in the same way again.
Merry Christmas to all!
Gilles
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I crashed my first drone twice - the second one did it in because it crashed on asphalt. I crashed my second drone two or three times - it still flies. Then I got a Phantom 4. (My first two drones were in the $100 price range and were not very stable.) I have only flown the Phantom 4 once. If I ever do crash this beauty, it will be my fault. It is so solid and so steady - you can move it at will, let go of it, and it stays right there. It is just a joy to fly. I guess there is something to the old saying, you get what you pay for.
If you are flying cheap drones, they tend to get carried off by wind and you will have no control over what happens then. Spend a few, and fly with confidence and ease.
If you are flying cheap drones, they tend to get carried off by wind and you will have no control over what happens then. Spend a few, and fly with confidence and ease.
I crashed my P3A once. Low altitude. Was hovering 6 in off the ground like a dummy after coming in for a landing and drifted into my car tire. Drone flipped upside down and freaked out spinning props upside down on the concrete. Broke a prop. When I picked it up and turned it right side up it was it was vibrating badly and beating itself to death until I got it shut down. It affected the camera gimbal. DJI replaced it all under warranty because it was within my first year of owning it. that's the only mishap I've ever had in 2 years of flying.
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GadgetGuy
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DJI told me that forward obstacle avoidance on the P4P is a safety feature, and not a guarantee, while denying warranty coverage for a crash caused by OA failure!
Rudder Bug: Thank you. I stand corrected. Just hope you don’t fly London-Cape Town for Emirates!
pdmike: Excellent comments.
Rick1964: crashing into your.....car tyre! Oh dear, you’re in danger of getting the award for “Most embarrassing crash”.
So far, it’s looking like more people have never crashed than might be sometimes appreciated. Trust the wonderful wife!
pdmike: Excellent comments.
Rick1964: crashing into your.....car tyre! Oh dear, you’re in danger of getting the award for “Most embarrassing crash”.
So far, it’s looking like more people have never crashed than might be sometimes appreciated. Trust the wonderful wife!
I would agree if you fly more, the chances of crashing multiple times are greater. On the other hand, I also agree that some pilots are much more prone to crashing than others. One of the biggest causes of repeated crashes is flying beyond the VLOS and hoping for the best in terms of battery life and obstacle avoidance. Another great cause is improper software maintenance.
The best way to avoid crashes is to read this forum and review all the ways you can crash on YouTube and LEARN from other’s mistakes.
I really liked the suspense of the “appearance” of flying backwards in such narrow quarters. A creative touch with some prior planning always works. Nice job!
Rudder Bug identified one of the potential likely reasons for a crash: misreading the terrain elevation. (As a professional bush pilot with decades of experience behind him, he probably knows more about this than anyone else on this forum.) Our reserve is the opposite to flat, with constantly changing elevations - even on the plateau, let alone our spectacular mountainsides.
Nearly two weeks ago, we were down in our lower valley section, some 730m or 2,400ft below the plateau. We were flying up a tree-lined river, going back up towards the base of the mountains, trying to count kudu. We went 2.7km from the home point, up to the end of a side-branch of the river. Judging the height was really difficult. We stayed well above the tree tops, but the increasing elevation wasn’t steady and times abrupt. My wife, who is brilliant, was using binoculars but it still wasn’t easy. The P4P Plus screen is great, but nevertheless still 2D. I’m very nervous flying at times - especially in situations like this - because operating the drone isn’t a hobby for us and we’re (to quote a song) under pressure. At times, I can really see the benefits of flying a drone simply for pleasure as the stress/expectations would be considerably reduced.
And then there are eagles to watch out for - we have five species, including the martial and black eagles (Africa’s two biggest) - so forget suggesting “Take it easy”. If one does eventually get our Drone Ranger, I’ll put it down to “misidentification” - think duck - rather than a crash!
Nearly two weeks ago, we were down in our lower valley section, some 730m or 2,400ft below the plateau. We were flying up a tree-lined river, going back up towards the base of the mountains, trying to count kudu. We went 2.7km from the home point, up to the end of a side-branch of the river. Judging the height was really difficult. We stayed well above the tree tops, but the increasing elevation wasn’t steady and times abrupt. My wife, who is brilliant, was using binoculars but it still wasn’t easy. The P4P Plus screen is great, but nevertheless still 2D. I’m very nervous flying at times - especially in situations like this - because operating the drone isn’t a hobby for us and we’re (to quote a song) under pressure. At times, I can really see the benefits of flying a drone simply for pleasure as the stress/expectations would be considerably reduced.
And then there are eagles to watch out for - we have five species, including the martial and black eagles (Africa’s two biggest) - so forget suggesting “Take it easy”. If one does eventually get our Drone Ranger, I’ll put it down to “misidentification” - think duck - rather than a crash!
Twice, 1st time snagged a limb, about 6' off ground. Still broke camera off. I repaired that. 2nd time fell from 150'. Same visible damage, plus body cracks, but replaced drone. Didn't know what unseen damage I may have had.
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Where do you fly at? Sounds like you are from up here, or Canada. I have flown a "12", and super cub for many years.
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I had three incidents. First time, sun was on Ipad, and got to close to some brush. No damage.
Second time, I was showing a friend how dependable they where. Hit RTH. It came back, hovered over us for about 10 seconds, and took off. Tracked it down, thanks to the fact I was recording video at the time. No damage. It landed in a swamp with low battery. DJI send me a new drone, and let me keep the old one.
Third time was flying at a distance. It was almost back to the home point. Started to land in the river. I flew it to the shore. That was fun retrieving. It was insuranced. Took three hours to find it. We found the battery first. It came out of the drone. We got a rope, and had to go down a steep cliff. No damage. The battery had 14% left. Minimum battery was set to 10%. Uncertain what happened.
All this in a short period of time. I am one of the most careful people on the planet now. There where a few more, WTF moments. There are a lot of micro wave, and other transmission devices from the gas pads, and drilling operations in the are. The last two happened in that area. The first one was at a practice field I use with the drone.
Second time, I was showing a friend how dependable they where. Hit RTH. It came back, hovered over us for about 10 seconds, and took off. Tracked it down, thanks to the fact I was recording video at the time. No damage. It landed in a swamp with low battery. DJI send me a new drone, and let me keep the old one.
Third time was flying at a distance. It was almost back to the home point. Started to land in the river. I flew it to the shore. That was fun retrieving. It was insuranced. Took three hours to find it. We found the battery first. It came out of the drone. We got a rope, and had to go down a steep cliff. No damage. The battery had 14% left. Minimum battery was set to 10%. Uncertain what happened.
All this in a short period of time. I am one of the most careful people on the planet now. There where a few more, WTF moments. There are a lot of micro wave, and other transmission devices from the gas pads, and drilling operations in the are. The last two happened in that area. The first one was at a practice field I use with the drone.
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