Phantom decided it didn't want to live any more....

[Xanadu]

Anyone want to guess what may have caused this??

http://youtu.be/JpsouXitIJc

Just some background, I had flown it earlier in the day at the very same location with zero problems. The battery was at about 40% when this happened.

It was in ATT mode when it happened so I tried switching it to GPS mode but that did nothing so I switched back to ATT which did nothing. I then switched it to Failsafe and that's when it stopped and began descending. I tried to switch it back to ATT to gain altitude because at this point I had no idea what was underneath it as I couldn't see it and it took off again.

I saw the general location it went down and quickly started heading that direction watching the monitor while I did. To my horror I watched (through the monitor) as someone picked up the phantom, I then breathed a sigh of relief as I noticed it was a police officer. He was really cool and said he just wanted to see what was making all the bee noises.

The damage to the lower gimbal bracket is substantial as you can see in the pics. I haven't tried to fly the Phantom yet but it did break 1 prop.

I'm just really scared now thinking about flying it anywhere. Anyone have an ideas??

 

[thedjiguy]

Make sure you had GoPro wifi off!

 

[Xanadu]

It definitely was, I don't use wifi on the GoPro for anything.

-Landon

 

[ianwood]

Bleagh! I just threw up on my keyboard watching that! This is very odd. GoPro WiFi wouldn't be able to do that. At first it looks mechanical but then it resumes stable flight when you flipped on F/S. And it didn't do a normal F/S routine. It just descended.

Was initial loss of control right when it started spinning? Or before? Were you giving it any yaw input at the time?
Did it stop spinning right when you went into F/S?
When you switched to ATTI and it stopped descending, did you give it forward stick or was that also uncommanded?

Possibly erroneous IMU data. Dunno!

 

[Submariner]

Good pic of 'Robocop' there ...

 

[hook3m]

Good pic of 'Robocop' there ...

LOL... That's a great pic..

 

[thongbong]

Did you by chance at one time use prop guards?

 

[Xanadu]

I've never used prop guards.

I have emailed DJI but I'm not really sure what they'll say.

-Landon

 

[thongbong]

I've never used prop guards.

I have emailed DJI but I'm not really sure what they'll say.

-Landon

Sorry man, that really sucks. There are a few things I can think of that can make the Phantom act that way.

1. Loose Naza, if the naza came loose and started vibrating, this can cause erratic flight.
2. Intermittent failing ESC.
3. Bad motor caused by overtightening prop guard screws, which we can rule out.

Ballpark in Arlington, my old home town!!! If I still lived there I'd meet you up to talk shop.

 

[poostik]

That's a funny *** picture of the cop. :lol:
Complete with the cop shades and pursed cop lips.

Sorry about that flight, but I don't have anything much to offer as far as explanation.

Hope it gets figured out and you can replace the gimbal. I know how it feels. I busted mine too, in a crash (that was completely my fault). Look into the suggestions here. Maybe DJI will get back to you. Seems that they have been responsive to some.

 

[jimhuntphoto]

Sorry for the crash but that cop picture is unbelievably awesome. Pretty sharp too. Did you modify your gopro lens?

 

[Xanadu]

I haven't done anything to the GoPro lens. It's the Her03+ Black.

I did crop it a little and I also touched up the photo with Photoshop CC.

 

[freelanceshots]

That is everybody's worst nightmare. I've got to look into getting insurance on mine. Lost one already into White Rock Lake and didn't recover it. Took me a year to get another. Very interested to find out what the cause was. Looks like interference of some sort.

 

[CoppellDarryl]

Was that on opening day? I considered flying there and then but decided against it because of the high winds that day.

On one other note, I hope Johnny law did not issue a citation. That land you were flying over is City of Arlington park land and there is a city ordinance prohibiting any RC aircraft flying of Arlington park land.

I live inCoppell. Maybe we can go fly sometime and compare notes.

 

[Xanadu]

No citation issued, shoot me your info and we can go fly!