Lost drone :-(

[Tony Cowan]

First off, sorry about your lost quad. I have a question for the experts as I bought mine to do filming with boating and wakeboarding. A)should I set the loss connection default as hover as I will be over water in the boat. Then if I lose connection head to the drone B)if it was system error for the OP, how is that determined and does DJI replace his lost unit?


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I would set to hover until you can land it yourself. Dji will not replace it unless he can Recover it and it was proven system error not pilot error. If you are getting so much interference the drone is telling you right there it is not safe to fly. Land ASAP. I got this too this other day off a bridge. I landed immediately.


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[FLRobbo]

I was using an iPad Air 2 with wifi and cell. When this happened, I got the lost RC message and the video went out, that's it. Normally it would reconnect within a few seconds once RTH was activated. After about 30 seconds my heart sank and I had a feeling something was up. Starting walking towards the drone, initiated a manual RTH using the switch, nothing happened. Terrible feeling knowing it was gone.

 

[FLRobbo]

I would set to hover until you can land it yourself. Dji will not replace it unless he can Recover it and it was proven system error not pilot error. If you are getting so much interference the drone is telling you right there it is not safe to fly. Land ASAP. I got this too this other day off a bridge. I landed immediately.


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Does anyone know if anything can be recovered from a wet drone? I doubt anything is usable but as far as following up with DJI, is there any value in trying to recover it? Water depth is about 4 feet there I estimate. It may be possible to find it based on the last known co-ordinates.

 

[henick]

You'd be surprised. Depends what happened. If power was cut before water or if the battery contacts failed first then most of it is probably fixable.

Battery will be toast.

Was it salt water?

 

[Dirty Bird]

Flight logs are stored on an internal Micro-SD on the mainboard. Such cards are generally waterproof so there is a good chance the data is retrievable if you can recover the Phantom. As far as the aircraft itself it depends on the type of water, depth, & how long she remains submerged.

Does anyone know if anything can be recovered from a wet drone? I doubt anything is usable but as far as following up with DJI, is there any value in trying to recover it? Water depth is about 4 feet there I estimate. It may be possible to find it based on the last known co-ordinates.

 

[FLRobbo]

It's a freshwater lake. I may give this a go. Thanks. Anyone know how accurate the last known co-ordinates are? If they are as accurate as the home position etc. I'd be hopeful it could be found. I'm assuming it did actually continue to land in that spot.

 

[msinger]

FLRobbo, for some reason, I'm only able to convert about half of your flight log via the DJI Log Converter. Healthy Drones is able to read the entire log, so there must be some kind of bug in the DJI Log Converter.

From the CSV file I downloaded from Healthy Drones, I can see your flight ends while your Phantom is high in the sky. That means either part of the log is missing or your battery shut off mid-flight. The battery voltage isn't anywhere near 3.0V, so it would be odd that it would shut off due to low voltage. I suppose your battery cells could have been really out of balance.

 

[oposum]

I know if I get any warning I'm coming back at once and find me somewhere else to fly. If you are flying a standard you can you lose control because is operating off of Wi-Fi. Its like the router in your house if you get behind something your signal is not as good and can be lost

 

[Samlilly2]

I crashed my drone almost a mile out.. It was on auto RTH.. Since I was used to it coming back and not gaining control for a minute or so. I let the controller rest off my laniard... I accidentally locked the decent stick..


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[Tony Cowan]

It's a freshwater lake. I may give this a go. Thanks. Anyone know how accurate the last known co-ordinates are? If they are as accurate as the home position etc. I'd be hopeful it could be found. I'm assuming it did actually continue to land in that spot.

I think you might be able to salvage something hung. Read where one was saved.


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[Mark The Droner]

Sorry for your loss.

I've read posts where pilots have lost their craft in water and made full recoveries.

I know it's depressing and somewhat humiliating to lose your aircraft, but threads like this remind us all of mistakes or judgment errors or risks we maybe should not make.

Good luck! Thanks for posting.

 

[FLRobbo]

FLRobbo, for some reason, I'm only able to convert about half of your flight log via the DJI Log Converter. Healthy Drones is able to read the entire log, so there must be some kind of bug in the DJI Log Converter.

From the CSV file I downloaded from Healthy Drones, I can see your flight ends while your Phantom is high in the sky. That means either part of the log is missing or your battery shut off mid-flight. The battery voltage isn't anywhere near 3.0V, so it would be odd that it would shut off due to low voltage. I suppose your battery cells could have been really out of balance.

I really appreciate your input. As I lost contact with the Phantom, wouldn't we expect the log to just end? Why would there be anymore entries after a lost of contact event?

 

[Samlilly2]

I got lucky, after 3 hrs of searching through farmers fields I found mine... Looking at my log this is was I found..

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[FLRobbo]

I'm about to venture out on my boat to look for it. Really hope I find it. Wish me luck!

 

[richardtomcat]

You were in 26 Mph wind gusts from what I read. I would never fly in those conditions. Imagine how much pitching the craft is doing, let alone battery use.

If my bird had those kinds of interference problems and decided to come home I would not have cancelled the RTH. Flying over water one takes their chances. This pilot can obviously afford boo boos.

 

[RodPad]

You were in 26 Mph wind gusts from what I read. I would never fly in those conditions. Imagine how much pitching the craft is doing, let alone battery use.

I agree, but there is warning for high wind.

OOPS 2/15/2016
I agree, but there is no warning for high wind.

This is message to all about wind.

I had no idea my flight on a nice Sunday near my house 200' up ended up very windy across the valley. I had battery warning hit RTH and never made it back. Watching it auto land when then it just dropped. Took an hour to find it, and is headed to California VIA ground.

Didn't know until I viewed the flight on
HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters.

Then on Monday I read this post from Dirk.

I let it rip today. (Stock) 4031ft

From now on I am going to hover at the beginning and 5 mins out. Switch to ATTI and watch my speed for 5 secs.

This should be part of flight check list.

 

[RodPad]

This pilot can obviously afford boo boos.

That's not very nice, but he also has a boat?

FlRobbo, Hope you find it, and let us know.
Either way post a picture of one of your nicest boats!

 

[msinger]

I really appreciate your input. As I lost contact with the Phantom, wouldn't we expect the log to just end?

Ah, well, that explains why the log ends abruptly. There are two flight logs. The one you pulled from the DJI GO app and another more comprehensive log stored on the internal memory card in your Phantom. The DJI GO app is only able to record data while it's connected to your Phantom.

Without seeing the log on your Phantom, my best guess is that it auto landed because it lost connection with the remote controller and was unable to find the home point.

 

[FLRobbo]

Unfortunately I couldn't find it. 4 feet of water in that spot and is is dark brown, low visibility so I couldn't see it. Tried netting for it but it is the proverbial needle in a haystack. It was a long shot but I tried.

 

[FLRobbo]

Ah, well, that explains why the log ends abruptly. There are two flight logs. The one you pulled from the DJI GO app and another more comprehensive log stored on the internal memory card in your Phantom. The DJI GO app is only able to record data while it's connected to your Phantom.

Without seeing the log on your Phantom, my best guess is that it auto landed because it lost connection with the remote controller and was unable to find the home point.

Again, thank you for your input. That makes sense. If it was unable to find the home point, that would indicate a loss of GPS wouldn't it? From your experience, is that likely? Does it happen often?