[Edit] : After I posted this, I have seen threads on this forum where at least 3 other pilots have made a similar mistake and ended up damaging their P3's - Hence I have added "Please Read" to the topic and please also see Tim's post #14 below pic of manual where this behaviour is referenced, and what to do to resolve it.

I want to recount what happend yesterday, so that others can be aware and avoid what I did.

After flying my P3P last evening, nearby, I landed with 30% battery and since I needed to Cycle the battery anyway, and it was getting dark, I decided to take the P3 and hover it indoors (as I have done many times) to drain the battery down further.

I walked the P3 indoors without switching it physically off from the battery button, placed it on the floor and proceeded to CSC start it and hover about 1ft off the floor, when I did a CSC start indoors it, could not immediately find satalites, it went to Atti Mode so did not re-register a new home position.

While hovering indoors, the P3 managed to get a Sat Lock again, and it all went well until the battery got down to the level where the P3 decided to RTH.  *This is where I made the mistake. - I Did NOT Cancell RTH.* I thought the RTH was set less then 20M away and the craft would then just land!....

As some of you may have gussed, what happned next, was since the Home position was still where I had previously taken off outside, there was a slight distance error, since i was indoors, the P3 thought it was more then 20m away and naturally decided to return to home, outside!

So it very slowly rose-up, to go to 30M hight (RTH hight is set to 30M) and promptly got stuck with props spinning away, quite happly, to the Ceiling in the room!

What Surprised me is that there was no option available to then Cancell RTH on the screen. I tryed to bring the throttle stick down, but no response.
I did not try CSC shutdown (Because i did not want the P3 to fall on the floor) and I did not press the RTH button, on the controller, in attempt to cancell RTH.

I calmly proceeded to hold the P3 by the legs and pull it down from the ceiling, with props at full speed, and shut it off from the Battery Button.

Very Very Luckly, there was no damage at all to the P3 (it all happned quite slowly, without any impacts). However the Prop Centers got worn out whilst still rotating aganist the ceiling. (See pic.)

I was lucky that there was nothing, but a flat ceiling, in the way of the P3 as it decided to RTH. Had there been a lamp, Chandler or other item, the story could have been different.

This behaviour can also result when flying from a partially charged pack, if the cell voltages fall dangerously low, the quad will invoke RTH.

So Everybody.. Please be Extra Careful flying if you know your batteries are getting low (less then 30%), dont fly under any thing like trees etc. and Like the Lovely Lady Says "Please Check Your Homepoint on the map" at EVERY Takeoff otherwise your quad may try to land at its prevously set Homepoint and Not its last Takeoff point.

Please Note: In order to Cancell RTH once the P3 has started to Asend to RTH hight, you HAVE TO Press the RTH Button Physically on the Controller to regain Control.

It all happens Very Very Quickly, so practising this is a good idea. - Also once the battery level is low and close to Critical do Not be tempted to keep flying the bird unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Interesting situation you had... Thanks for sharing.  We can learn what not to do

BW.  Forest VA

bjwinspect Posted at 2016-1-22 15:33
Interesting situation you had... Thanks for sharing.  We can learn what not to do

BW.  Forest VA

And... also Just to let you all know..., If you thought the FAA were Bad...! They are Fluffy Puppies.!


I also got into Serious Trouble with The Authority that Regulates the Airspace in and around my Property!!!..

Aka.., The Wife!.... She did not see the funny side, and with Prop Marks on the otherwise Pristine White Living Room Ceiling....,

My House and the immediate space around it has been DECLARED A STRICT NO FLY ZONE!!  

And ive been Repremanded and Issued with a Community Service Order to Fill-in the Prop marks and repaint the entire Ceiling.

There's nothing worse than the W.I.F.E authority! :@

Women!.....can't live with 'em.....cant shoot 'em.

{sigh}

thumb Posted at 2016-1-22 17:08
There's nothing worse than the W.I.F.E authority!

Davidlwoodall & Thumb: Couldn't agree with you more.!!

The Urban Dictionary defines Wife as:

Wife, Definition:

1. The Good Part - The woman you marry and live with for the rest of your life.

2. The Bad Part - The woman you marry and live with for the rest of your life.

Real Life Examples:
My wife's an angel!
You're lucky. Mine's still alive.

That is pretty funny, glad you only scrapped the top of the props. It could have been a lot worse.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-1-22 14:49
That is pretty funny, glad you only scrapped the top of the props. It could have been a lot worse.

Correct DJI-Ken.

It's funny - no harm done. I've already ordered a new set of props. (these ones will be thrown in the bin)

The P3 did exactly what it was designed to do. It was Pilot Error on my part, Not cancelling RTH, under the circumstances that caused the problem.

It's an easy mistake to make, and I wanted others to be aware of that behaviour, in case they come across it as well.  

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-1-22 18:10
Correct DJI-Ken.

It's funny - no harm done. I've already ordered a new set of props. (these ones ...

That's funny, I always used to joke that DJI had a perfect safety record, they had never had an aircraft stuck up in the air, they always got them down. Now you have ruined that record by having one stuck to the ceiling.

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-1-22 07:10
Correct DJI-Ken.

It's funny - no harm done. I've already ordered a new set of props. (these ones ...

"It's an easy mistake to make, and I wanted others to be aware of that behaviour, in case they come across it as well."

It is an easy mistake to make because there are so many variables to learn, but one that could have serious consequences (those props will do a lot of damage to someone's face if it goes out of control).  Good for you for owning up.  Thanks.

It really is worth learning everything you can about the Phantom & how it works & then practicing for real in safe situations (sim -> big open space).  Without the practice you won't have an automatic reaction (most people know how to drive, but it's not so easy the first time you get in a car).

nigelw Posted at 2016-1-22 21:43
"It's an easy mistake to make, and I wanted others to be aware of that behaviour, in case they com ...

Those props can do damage and tons more if someone used carbon fiber props and there's a pilot error.
I used to fly with carbon fiber props on my older aircraft. But with the P3 and Inspire I don't think there's any reason to.
Maybe one day the law will be a prop has to have an enclosure so if the aircraft were to run into someone there would would not be any injury caused by the props.

The best part was the W.I.F.E. regulatory grounding your PS3.
I always make a note to always insure the new home point is set as my first day almost did the same thing.

Maybe stupid question but can you cancel RTH on remote button?

Great write up!  You should start a blog.
Now, in the interests of other users not receiving a permanent N.F.Z. from the W.I.F.E, here's what the Phantom manual tells you about cancelling RTH and regaining control of the little blighter (I had to look it up):

imagines.and.wo Posted at 2016-1-22 14:57
Maybe stupid question but can you cancel RTH on remote button?

Yes...try it in the simulator

I know it is a bit anal, but that is exactly why I use a checklist every time I fly.  It is an expensive device and I treat it as if it was an aircraft (because it is!).  It takes an extra couple minutes to go through, but it can keep you from a costly mistake.  

adfischer Posted at 2016-1-23 06:06
I know it is a bit anal, but that is exactly why I use a checklist every time I fly.  It is an expen ...

A thorough checklist should always be used. Sometimes we're in a rush an forget important steps.

adfischer Posted at 2016-1-22 22:06
I know it is a bit anal, but that is exactly why I use a checklist every time I fly.  It is an expen ...

But what would be on your checklist that would stop this accident?

I had a situation with the Standard that others may get.  I did a flight and when finished shut down the Phantom.  I then moved it to a different location and restarted it and took off.  Everything was fine,  except the gimbal no longer worked.  I had an fpv view,  but the camera hung straight down and would not respond to gimbal commands.  It did still record video,  and I can tell you that video is a vivid proof of how useful the gimbal is.  Turned out,  even though I had power cycled the P3 and r/c,  I had not restarted the app.  I thought it was ok because I had the FPV view,  but discovered otherwise right away.  After landing and restarting everything it was all fine.
  

Question. What would have happened if it was switched to ATTI mode while it was against the ceiling? Could it have been landed manually?

davidlwoodall@g Posted at 2016-1-22 01:12
Women!.....can't live with 'em.....cant shoot 'em.

{sigh}

That is just not appropriate.  Under any circumstances.

nrgwise Posted at 2016-1-22 18:32
That is just not appropriate.  Under any circumstances.

Well known Turgenev quote, often used in movies and comedy (True Lies, St. Elmo's Fire, etc....)

Don't shoot the messenger  

davidlwoodall@g Posted at 2016-1-22 20:09
Well known Turgenev quote, often used in movies and comedy (True Lies, St. Elmo's Fire, etc....)

...

Does not make it appropriate.  I know the quote.  But just because it is known, doesn't make it appropriate.  

Your opinion is noted.

rasit Posted at 2016-1-23 00:23
Question. What would have happened if it was switched to ATTI mode while it was against the ceiling? ...

It shouldn't make any difference.  It'll RTH in ATTI mode as well, or attempt to.  For the first 20m of ascent, you need to cancel RTH to regain control.

davidlwoodall@g Posted at 2016-1-23 12:12
Your opinion is noted.

Nice response.

would that be "discretion is the better part of valour".

Anybody know of a checklist app that's customizable

rasit Posted at 2016-1-23 01:23
Question. What would have happened if it was switched to ATTI mode while it was against the ceiling? ...

I'm 98% sure the answer is Yes as it worked on the previous models.
But please test it and reply!

nigelw Posted at 2016-1-23 07:00
But what would be on your checklist that would stop this accident?

On my checklist I verify the status of RTH (on / off), the RTH location, and the RTH altitude.    I believe had those been verified the accident would have been avoided.  I use the checklists because I have done stupid stuff too!

adfischer Posted at 2016-1-23 19:59
On my checklist I verify the status of RTH (on / off), the RTH location, and the RTH altitude.     ...

Good plan...I'm going to have to do the same myself, having accidentally flown too far last week, not realising the max distance had defaulted to off following an app update.  I normally have it set to 500m to stay within CAA regs, which is as far as I ever want/need to go anyway.

Kneepuck Posted at 2016-1-22 19:35
I had a situation with the Standard that others may get.  I did a flight and when finished shut down ...

Very useful information - Thanks!

Update:

So.. As I said earlier. I got Slapped with an Order from The W.I.F.E  Authority to fill in the prop marks and paint the entire ceiling.

Filling the Marks was not a problem, and quite easily done with some filler.
But Boy... Has anybody tried to paint High Ceilings? It is Really Hard! - I also have a lot to paint! and struggled for the best part of a couple of hours and got just Half the job done!.

So in my attempt to find a Better Way to paint the Ceiling and  make the Job easier, as well as having fun at the same time, I Got a Brainwave!!!!

Having made some Serious Modifications to the P3, I presented my idea,  and offered to demonstrate it to the Wife! .....Well I can say one thing! - She Just DIDN'T see the Fun side, and now I'm in Knee deep in it again..!!!

I thought it was a "Perfectly Sensible" Idea to Efficiently Paint the Ceiling.... Can somebody PLEASE tell me where I went wrong???.....,  Please See Picture Below with the P3 Ceiling Paint Mod!

Ceiling Painting Machine

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-1-24 03:36
Update:

So.. As I said earlier. I got Slapped with an Order from The W.I.F.E  Authority to fill in  ...

Outstanding! You may have to modify the IMU to solve the inverse pendulum problem, though.

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-1-24 07:36
Update:

So.. As I said earlier. I got Slapped with an Order from The W.I.F.E  Authority to fill in  ...

Your wife needs to stop being so grown up about things IMO.  She obviously doesn't recognize genius when it presents itself.

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-1-24 01:36
Update:

So.. As I said earlier. I got Slapped with an Order from The W.I.F.E  Authority to fill in  ...

Can you also include a paint roller attachment?  Also, an attachment to change high light bulbs and smoke detector batteries would be nice.  I think you have stumbled on an entire new industry!

PaulKerry Posted at 2016-1-31 22:58
That's brilliant... The punchline was there at the word "brainwave" but the photo still prompted a ...

Glad you enjoyed it Paul. I'll keep you all updated with any developments.