I encountered the horrible flyaway problem that many people report here. Was flying Phantom 1 in ATTI mode and it just up and flew off, and the controls had no response.

I looked for it the old fashioned way on foot. But it was snowy then and finding a white DJI in the snow seemed impossible.

Now the snow has melted. Many people have told me to look closer not farther, that they actually are programmed to land themselves. Is this true?

How far would a flyaway drone go before landing itself?

What is the best method to prevent this in the future?

Any and all suggestions appreciated!

how much battery life was left?

if it has gps and has a homepoint lock it may go there(should)

if no home point or gps and in atti like your were it will go till it hits something or battery dies

follow the winds that day.

good luck.

ps at least a new p1 can be bought now for 315 or so if still in stock

It's very rare to have one go out of control in ATTI mode.....most problems of this sort are caused by bad GPS data or lack of home point.
If you had some labels on it and the battery (highly recommended) someone may find it and return it. It can go pretty far quickly....especially if the battery is fresh. But, again, we almost never hear of this on a Phantom one and almost never in ATTI mode so that it strange to hear.

Well I searched and searched but no luck finding it. The winds that day were strong - I was trying to learn to fly in wind! - and I walked 2 miles in the direction the wind was blowing but nada.  
It is mostly fields and woods and not too many people, and the homes there are mostly retired people who likely would return it. The whole neighborhood knows I lost it and am looking. I assumed it would hit a tree and crash. But, strangely, no evidence of a crash land. Not a battery, propeller, landing gear. Nothing.
The battery was new but it was super cold that day so I thought it would crash land soon because the battery would die. And no I did not have my name on it. Stupid, but I really only thought I was going to fly in the yard for a few minutes. Didn't know this could happen.
Lesson learned. I have a DJI 3 on the way and now I'm a wiser flyer.

melanie.larosa@ Posted at 2015-4-27 00:02
Well I searched and searched but no luck finding it. The winds that day were strong - I was trying t ...

I retrieved my first lost quad after three weeks by posting fliers in a 2 mile circle around my office offering a reward. It's good to have other people helping you look.

As for what to learn from it:

Write your name and phone number on any RC vehicle you have. Now, before you forget. This is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do.

Buy a couple of $5 low-voltage buzzers that plug into the balance port on your flight battery. It will let you know when your flight pack voltage is low and will give you an audible alarm long after your quad has crashed. This will also help you from launching on a battery that you mistakenly think is charged. Look on Amazon and order at least one now. When you get it, velcro it to the quad so you don't misplace it - that's how I lost my second quad...

Next, PRACTICE RECOVERY TECHNIQUES. Most flyaways do tend to happen in GPS mode instead of ATTI, but the common consensus is when a flyaway starts, flip from GPS to ATTI, or from ATTI to Manual, and see if you can recover. There's a Google poll someone did recently about Naza flyaways and roughly 90% happened in GPS mode. Manual mode was only 2%. If you fly Naza, take the time to learn to fly in Manual. If Manual mode makes you nervous, invest in a good flight simulator like RealFlight 7.5 to practice with the included multirotors.

Other, more advanced tracking and recovery ideas you'll hear is to only fly while recording an OSD video feed, or investing in a GPS-based tracker like the EZUHF EZ-Tracker, or using an RF-based pet tracker that broadcasts a chirp in single-sideband UHF, VHF, or FRS. All of these are valid but costly, and require specialized learning to set up and the right amount of practice in order to retrieve an RC aircraft with them. I would only recommend one of these AFTER you've checked off the other recommendations.

The elders say they go back to China

The controller range is up to 1000m but that is with a fresh set of batteries.

As the transmiter batteries drop in voltage, the range decreases exponentially.    By the time you're at 1.40 volts, range is probably down to 200-300 meters...maybe less.

ALWAYS make sure your transmitter batteries have at least 1.50 volts.   1.55 or more is even better.   FRESH 1.5v batteries are relatively cheap insurance.

Even so, once the transmitter stops reaching the Phantom, it should kick into failsafe and return.

Are you sure you had the failsafes set up properly?  Was there any ambiguity on your part?
Also, there is a large market of 2.4ghz Jammers.    Google 2.4 jammer and you'll see.
Someone could have used one.  Still, that wouldn't jame the GPS signal so there's a missing cog in this wheel somewhere.