Well, I never thought it would happen to me.  20+ flights with no problems.  I've always been very careful and wouldn't fly unless I had slow blinking green leds.  I flew my phantom up about 60ft.  It went sideways to the west, I brought it back and tried to land, then it flew-away at max speed. I never knew I could travel so fast.  I also can't understand why it would make a high speed dive.   I tried to turn it around before it crashed into the water.   I'm still in shock.  I can't believe it's gone after only 4 months.  I gave DJI all the details.  Does anyone think they will help me in anyway or am I out $1200.00 in only 4 months and 20-25 flights?

Any way to fish it out? If it didn't land in salt water, it should be mostly usable if you dry it out properly.

I think it crashed into the intercostal waterway.  I didn't actually see it go down but I heard the crash.  I think it hit the bridge and then fell into the water. Yes it's saltwater.  It's in a boat traffic zone so I couldn't even scuba dive for it.

Ah, sorry about the bad news

sorry to hear that! if only they had a black box that constantly sent data back to the software and app.  Then at least we may know for sure what caused this event, even without retrieving the bird.  Best of luck with DJI but don't be holding your breath!
Rod

PhantomHelp Posted at 2015-1-30 13:58
Ah, sorry about the bad news

I was actually thinking about maybe buying the Inspire but loosing my Phantom so easily and quickly is just crazy.   I'm hoping DJI can either offer a replacement or offer a replacement for a small replacement cost.  Mine was the one with the older compass and I would think they upgraded the compass for a good reason.  Like maybe flyaway issues.

Flyaway, did you calibrate the compass before flying at that location? It kind of sounds like it was trying to RTH -- to an old location.

Were you video taking at that moment, and was it windy?  Don't know if a sudden loss of GPS would make something crazy like that.

How odd.  Mind did the same thing Saturday.  It is on the bottom of the Pacific about 200 yards off shore.  The story is nearly the same.  Because I was at the end of a narrow jetty I calibrated...I had 10 sats...fresh battery, all the basic issued were covered.  I started it up, lifted off 50-75 feet and let it hover for 5 or so secs. Again I was out on a narrow bunch of rocks so I was taking my time to insure everything was stable.  

The second I touched the throttle to go to about 125 feet it took off (hauled ass) west and down.  By the time it covered the 50 to 75 feet and the height of the jetty it was 70 to 100 feet from me but far off shore and splash.  

On surfer paddled over and tried to dive down to get it but it was too deep...

So I am now on my 2nd P2V+    I am a little afraid to take it out in near the water yet (tough because I live in Long Beach) but I am planning on getting it out this Saturday.

DJI..What would be really cool is if you created a "software black box" so to speak:
You put a command in the vision ap that snaps a screen shot of the mobile device "instantaneously" upon lost connection using something like a tape delay that is used in the broadcasting industry..
It may also behoove you to put a reminder in the ap that ie. "Hey bud, your last home point recording was X distance from here, are you sure you still want to fly?"
Maybe I have not explained it right but I think you get the idea...
For this novel idea (hell, maybe I just copyrighted or patented it)..you can send me an InSpire with Dual remotes, a case and a bunch of batteries!!
This will save you countless claims from fly always that may not have actually been due to the Phantom or Inspire actually "flying away" ie. you had not enough satellites, your range extender was at "0", your battery was below the threshold, you were 4,283' away from your phantom and beyond specified range distance and so on..
And it would certainly offer some protection for those whose Phantoms were within the right parameters when their Phantoms "fly away".
Get my drift!

Flyaway,
Sorry you lost your bird and pardon me for sounding cynical but I cannot help myself...
Your user name is, well, kind of ironic...
If ever I am fortunate to be able to afford a nice sports car, pick your poison, a Porche, Vet etc...and decide to join a Car forum, I will not be listing my username as "Crash"..maybe just superstitious but I would kind of feel like I was willing an unfortunate fate upon myself...
Again, sorry you lost your bird!

Northof49th, don't hold your breath about DJI reading this.  I'm always a little amused when folks post something that begins, "DJI - ...."  They rarely answer any posts on here, and I pretty much doubt they even visit this forum.

Flyaway, my condolences.  When I hear of situations like yours, I'm inclined to believe a motor or esc failed, causing the sudden fly off in a particular direction.  After all, these things fly by varying the speed of the individual props to yaw/pitch/roll.

kjkisatsky Posted at 2015-1-31 01:22
Northof49th, don't hold your breath about DJI reading this.  I'm always a little amused when folks p ...

Kjkisatsky..
Agreed they are not likely watching..
Also agree about the likelihood of the bad motor,
That said, if nothing else there would be some peace of mind that you weren't just "losing it" so to speak.

I totally agree, and your ideas are good.

Maybe install this if you plan on flying over/near the water again:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ... Id=PP2TAQHSMSX7DMDY

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-1-31 01:08
Flyaway,
Sorry you lost your bird and pardon me for sounding cynical but I cannot help myself...
You ...

I joined the forum after my flyaway.  It's very upsetting.   I've spend the past 24 hours thinking about what could I have done to prevent this but I'm drawing a blank.  This morning I thought,  if it gets replaced I'mm make it a point to shoot video of my pre-flight process so that I have a video of everything including the lift-off.   That may not prevent another issue but at least I'll have proof of my pre-flight check list up to the point of liftoff.

Called DJI today and they said they would review the situation and come up with a reasonable solution.   I'm all for being reasonable.

Flyaway Posted at 2015-1-31 03:49
Called DJI today and they said they would review the situation and come up with a reasonable solutio ...

Thanks and hope they can help you out.

Regards,

I think DJI have to use waterproof flight recorder (black box), to many RTCs of Phantoms

Flyaway. I have been researching if anyone does any kind of maintenance/inspections especially after 20 flights. I am concerned most problems could be avoided by spotting  electrical or mechanical defects which can develop over time. I regularly check all my birds thoroughly. Do you do this, and also a internal inspection ? Loose wires/connections, cracked prop, debris build up internally/motor bearings etc ?

tonyphantom147. Posted at 2015-1-31 04:43
Flyaway. I have been researching if anyone does any kind of maintenance/inspections especially after ...

OK if you are out of warranty period but opening the phantom negates the warranty. DJI have stated this.
Rod

rod Posted at 2015-1-31 04:53
OK if you are out of warranty period but opening the phantom negates the warranty. DJI have stated ...

Agreed and that is part of the problem!
Not like a car where you are encouraged to check tire pressure, lift the hood, check the oil, air filter etc. and such! as negating to do those and maintain records of oil changes etc. to factory spec would void your warranty...Hmm.Hmmm...but wait, their is no factory spec on these birds...
Maybe we should start calling them Salmon...when it is time for them to "spawn...aka...Flyaway"...you just let them go....

rod Posted at 2015-1-31 04:53
OK if you are out of warranty period but opening the phantom negates the warranty. DJI have stated ...

It would be very helpful if you could detail your own  maintenance schedule.

Flyaway Posted at 2015-1-31 03:49
Called DJI today and they said they would review the situation and come up with a reasonable solutio ...

I wish you luck, but the best I heard of DJI doing is offering a 30% discount on a replacement. To me that doesn't seem reasonable and is not much of a warranty.

I hope they offer you a replacement for free, which is the right thing for them to do. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you. I am so worried about a flyaway I installed a GPS tracker on mine. I realize that would not have helped your lost to the water. If I was to ever fly near water I would have one of those float things.

Please keep us posted as to what DJI does.

JATO Posted at 2015-1-31 06:06
I wish you luck, but the best I heard of DJI doing is offering a 30% discount on a replacement. To ...

Which GPS tracker, I use tk102, had for years with no problems.

I have a Trackimo. It works and I happy with it. I also I TK102 but I never did anything with it.  I would need a sim and a carrier.

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-1-31 05:20
Agreed and that is part of the problem!
Not like a car where you are encouraged to check tire pres ...

Salmon....LMAO!
I really think the motors have only so much life in them b4 we all will eventually see our Quads "spawn" no matter how much precaution....no matter how responsible....its the law of limited returns...if you have $1,000 bucks in and get 20 flights....you punched your ticket at $50 a pop...get 100 flights and it was $10 a pop....these things were never meant to last.....

I'm sorry when anyone loses their money.....however, my advice is as follows - from an article I have posted so many times that I will forgo it this time:

"IF YOU REGULARLY FLY OVER RIVERS, LAKES AND OTHER LARGE BODIES OF WATER – YOU WILL PROBABLY LOSE YOUR PHANTOM TO NEPTUNE. The odds are against you, so try to not fly over water for long periods of time. If you must fly over water, do so only with a proven quadcopter (have quite a few flights under your belt) and with a full battery…leave the water when the battery nears 50% charge.

If you read no further – and take this advice to heart – you will end up much happier with your DJI Phantom purchase…or perhaps even decide a Phantom is not for you!"

Not directing this toward anyone in particular - but fly your quadcopter (any type) over or very near large bodies of water and you will have a much higher chance of losing it to water. In fact, it's almost a certainty after enough flights. The only question becomes whether you are going to lose it the first flight or the 50th.

This goes with the inspire also and with any quadcopter - even a $10,000 rig.

I did not plan on flying over the river for a long time but I did have to cross the river which was only about 150 yards wide.  Once I lost control it went to the river.   I try to never fly over water but sometimes you must or you are not going to get the shot.  This thing just lost control and turned into a missile.   

I dont think DJI has any interest in functions/features that could be used as a proof for a technical fly away. The same counts for features like GPS coordinates in the iOSD screen or tracking functions. They are not stupid because when you can find your crashed phantom you wont buy a new one, simple as that. The same counts for a black box as a "proof", this would cost money for them.

drone, what is the rationale (ie what about water is more dangerous than land).  after all, a crash is a crash, if my drone falls on to ground from 200ft it will be just as useless (well maybe from a relative standpoint) as water except for the recovery part.  so im curious, are you saying that the water affects the performance in some way or are you just saying that one day WHEN you crash (not due to any effects by the water) you just wont get it back?  just curious, thanks.

TenCentsWorth Posted at 2015-2-2 06:25
Tell me, is it possible to change the Phantom 2 with H3 3D gimble to an A2?

They are superior righ ...

nope
A2 is a multi component  system designed for professional use, whereas the phantom is hobby grade.
you simply wont be ale to fit all the components into / onto the phantom inc external GPS

i fitted an a2 to a f450 as an experiment and while it worked fine, it was completely overkill.

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-2-2 02:34
drone, what is the rationale (ie what about water is more dangerous than land).  after all, a crash  ...

There is a very simple answer to this query.

So called "flyaways and crashes" are rarely a matter of the quadcopter shutting off and falling directly on a hard surface from 300 feet high. Rather, they are of many types.....

As an example, many of us have had the experience of a low battery forcing the Phantom to descend very quickly - sometimes compounded by VRS. Then there is VRS just by itself.
Many have experienced crashes and even flyaways on dry land where the Phantom was recovered and only needed relatively minor repairs (no so with gimbals, but with the quad itself). Crashes and flyaways in trees, bushes and corn/grain fields, etc. will often end without great damage.

However, almost 100% of crashes, forced landings, low batteries, etc. over water result in total loss of the craft, camera, gopro, etc.

In other words, there is no room for error....so you lose more often.

Water only covers a relatively small portion of the land where most of us fly. Yet a vast number of these "accidents" involve loss in that water.

I see it as statistics - math - actuarial information.

If the Phantom was waterproof, had a good GPS tracker and floated on the surface...and the pilot had a boat to retrieve it....then water crashes would be better than land ones.

I just ordered a V3 P2V+ and although I have a place on the bay in Rhode Island I will not be flying it over water except very close to shore for a couple seconds. "Getting the shot" is not worth $1K plus to me.

OK - I got a new Vision Plus 2!!!  Hopefully this one won't fly away.     

tonyphantom147. Posted at 2015-1-31 04:43
Flyaway. I have been researching if anyone does any kind of maintenance/inspections especially after ...

check my post it happens to me WARNING ESC / MOTOR WIRING FAULTY CAUSED CRASH.

PhantomHelp Posted at 2015-1-31 03:13
Maybe install this if you plan on flying over/near the water again:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product ...

What a great idea for flights over or near water.

Since my new Phantom 2 has arrived I have added an additional pre-flight procedure.  Before I lift off I have been checking Find My Phantom 2 menu to make sure the app knows where my Phantom 2 is at takeoff.