Dang, after countless flights with my P3S I went with a friend to do some high altitude mountain sunset flights with my new P3 SE. After a short time I got to 38% battery and it went to critically low battery auto landing.  So I head back towards homepoint and before I do so I no longer have critical low battery. I wanted to cancel the Auto Landing but my app greyed out and crashed and would not reconnect.

My drone landed somehwhere in my mountains. My friend and I got the Latitude and Longitude and searched the area. Funny thing about mountains is that they can get really steep and have thick forests and foliage. Where the drone came down from the last co ordinates it would have tumbled down a steep 60 degree incline if it made it through the tree tops.
Alas I now have to wait for my drone buddy to post some wonderful footage here. We did use his drone on two days to search above the tree tops and surrounding area.

One thing for DJI Engineers though, it would be nice if auto landing from critical battery was cancelled when the battery was back in normal flight mode. Also this flight was in still wind conditions so do not understand why battery went into critical mode.  

This was the second flight on a different fully charged battery where drone went into critically low battery. My friend flew my battery in his drone and no such issue.
hmmmm was there an issue with the P3 SE?

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/3QVNZJ38Y2PCY9NZJYCR/

11m 20.7s

Auto Landing

17satellites

1,591.9ft

2.1mph

3,894.4ft

38%

14.41V

3.582V

3.618V

3.619V

3.591V

0.037V

Critically Low Power. Aircraft Landing

Shared flight data....  If anyone wants to come to some high mountains for some clean fresh air we can do another search hahahaha

http://app.airdata.com/main?shar ... ge_id=GENERALPhotos

Wish I could be more help but I agree that it makes no sense that you got a critical low power warning leading to an auto land at 38% power remaining.  I guess I'm thinking wrong but I thought the critical low battery action was based on the default of 10% remaining or higher if you set it to something higher.  Did you or do you typically reset the critical low warning level from the default?  If so, did you check it to see if you were using a level you wanted before the flight?
Wish you the best...Endotherm tends to be the best I've seen at providing a detailed analysis of the data so hopefully he'll come this way and take a shot at it...I for one would like to hear what he says about it or anyone that has the knowledge and experience on this topic.

I'm sorry to read about your lost drone.

Hopefully with those flight LOG, you can locate the wayward drone.


RedHotPoker

Genghis9 Posted at 2017-12-22 22:11
Wish I could be more help but I agree that it makes no sense that you got a critical low power warning leading to an auto land at 38% power remaining.  I guess I'm thinking wrong but I thought the critical low battery action was based on the default of 10% remaining or higher if you set it something higher.  Did you or do you typically reset the critical low warning level from the default?  If so, did you check it to see if you were using a level you wanted before the flight?
Wish you the best...Endotherm tends to be the best I've seen at providing a detailed analysis of the data so hopefully he'll come this way and take a shot at it...I for one would like to hear what he says about it or anyone that has the knowledge and experience on this topic.

I set critical low to 15% and low at 25%.

So it was not from settings.  

RedHotPoker Posted at 2017-12-22 22:12
I'm sorry to read about your lost drone.

Hopefully with those flight LOG, you can locate the wayward drone.

Yes we did search for several hours. Unfortunately the forest canopy and the very steep slippery moss covered logs rocks and loose stuff made it too dangerous to continue beyond the places we searched. A screenshot from my phone at least

The real issue should be that if DJI can have the drone go to auto landing when it goes to critical low battery they can auto cancel the auto landing when the power levels go back to normal levels as it did in this flight.

If i lived close by i would gladly help you search for it unfortunately you live on the other side of the planet.
i wish you the best of luck and hope you find it still in one piece

Hellsgate Posted at 2017-12-22 22:40
If i lived close by i would gladly help you search for it unfortunately you live on the other side of the planet.
i wish you the best of luck and hope you find it still in one piece

Yes, blackcrusader is good people, and I would be right there with you, searching, looking, eventually finding that drone for him. I hope that it can still be located... Good luck and best wishes.



RedHotPoker

Hellsgate Posted at 2017-12-22 22:40
If i lived close by i would gladly help you search for it unfortunately you live on the other side of the planet.
i wish you the best of luck and hope you find it still in one piece

You really wouldn't have been able to help. We went looking on 2 separate days and used the coordinates of the drone's last known location to pinpoint where we looked. The terrain is very steep and difficult. It's located in Taiwan's tallest mountain range, after all. We got to almost the drone's exact last known location. But from there, the terrain became super steep, to the point where ropes and harnesses would have been needed to traverse it. There was a lot of bamboo and assorted undergrowth that made seeing even what was at our feet tough. We gave it a good try. It's gone.

I viewed BC's logs and they point to a false critical battery warning that occurred with 50% battery life remaining, which initiated auto landing. Soon thereafter, his app crashed, making it impossible for him to cancel the auto landing, control the landing, see where it was landing through live view or initiate RTH. Weird sequence of events.

My flights were uneventful.


  https://flic.kr/p/D77UNi

Got a nice snap of some naughty monkeys. Maybe they have your drone?

Yup those clever monkeys were tracking us as we walked the forest. We did get some good pictures in though.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-12-23 01:26
Yup those clever monkeys were tracking us as we walked the forest. We did get some good pictures in though.

Very weird...reported this case to dji care ??

Siambuddhas Gro Posted at 2017-12-23 02:05
Very weird...reported this case to dji care ??

Maybe one of the DJI admins can take a look.  I will bring it to their attention.

I feel your loss, I hope you find it soon

I see you were in RTH earlier in the flight but you apparently cancelled it.

I noticed you had a cell deviation warning at 41%.  

Then, the battery percentage dropped from 40% to 38%.  It skipped 39%.  That tells me something is wrong with the battery.  I've had that happen on one my P2 batteries and when that happens, the percentage just drops down very quickly towards the single digits.  You might take a look at the mAh reading there if you have it.  

Another oddity is at one point you have horizontal speed over 50 mph during the auto land.  

Another oddity is the distance from home point increased from 785 feet to 1740 feet while it was landing.  How did that happen?  Looks like you were trying to steer it to home point, and might have been successful, but got confused and steered it the wrong way?  

My guess is it is probably quite a bit south from where the log ended as you probably retained the control signal when you lost FPV and flew it south at high speed as it was landing, driving the AC further and further away from you.  It might be something like a quarter mile further south depending on the elevation there and when it hit the trees.

Did you know you can delay critical autoland by pushing up on the left stick?

Hope you find it!

Good case for replacement,  since it was new.

Sorry about your loss. It does sound like battery shorting in cells, or in drone between battery and drone connections. Maybe not inserted solidly? Or just battery going bad. Sounds like a tough search. I complained about a flatland search last week over woods and swamp, but never with 60 degree slope. Enjoyed your videos. Keep on flying.

stuka75 Posted at 2017-12-23 07:36
Sorry about your loss. It does sound like battery shorting in cells, or in drone between battery and drone connections. Maybe not inserted solidly? Or just battery going bad. Sounds like a tough search. I complained about a flatland search last week over woods and swamp, but never with 60 degree slope. Enjoyed your videos. Keep on flying.

I am thinking maybe the drone had faulty wiring. Certainly not a case of battery not being properly clicked into it's mounting point.

I checked the battery info on Airdata and the battery seems to be normal with no issues.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2017-12-23 08:07
Very sorry to read of this.  I feel your pain.  Lost my Mavic Pro last Spring.  Totally my fault too.  Flying FPV over the marina I missed spotting an antenna until the last second.  Battery ejected & landed on the deck of a boat & was retrieved. The Mavic was catapulted into the drink alongside 30' down in Baltimore Harbor's finest industrial waste.  There she sits...  Finally replaced it just last week.  Fortunately the P3SE is a tad less expensive.  You'll be back!

Thanks DB.   The real bummer is losing the SD card and also I was planning filming our fireworks at new years.  I will get another P3 SE me thinks.

I bought the drone when I was on a business trip to China. Prices there are cheap and you get your taxes back at the airport as well.  So was pretty cheap to buy at the DJI store.   Funny thing at the DJI store I asked if warranty was covered in ALL of China. They said sure. I said great cause I live in Taiwan so that's covered too then. No they said.  

Oh so you mean Taiwan is not part of China then after all? DJI staff caught in that Catch 22 situation going this does not compute inside their heads.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-12-23 17:48
I am thinking maybe the drone had faulty wiring. Certainly not a case of battery not being properly clicked into it's mounting point.

I checked the battery info on Airdata and the battery seems to be normal with no issues.

After watching all of your high flying vids, I sure hope you can retrieve that aircraft...


I'm already missing those cloudy flights. ;-)


RedHotPoker

sorry to hear of losing your p3.looks like rugged terrain for a search.what drone will you get to replace it?

I just had 3 monkeys call me and offer to sell me a drone, maybe it was yours?

LOL @ Geebax.   He ain't right!

stuka75 Posted at 2017-12-23 07:36
Sorry about your loss. It does sound like battery shorting in cells, or in drone between battery and drone connections. Maybe not inserted solidly? Or just battery going bad. Sounds like a tough search. I complained about a flatland search last week over woods and swamp, but never with 60 degree slope. Enjoyed your videos. Keep on flying.

Speculation on my part, but I think it's most likely a defect in the drone itself that led to false critical battery warnings. The flight log from the flight immediately preceding the fateful one also contained a brief critical battery warning for a battery I later used in my own drone without issue in our subsequent search missions. I don't think Jim failed to insert the battery properly. The problem occurred midway through the flight with no issue appearing until that point. Then there is the issue of the timely app crash.

RedHotPoker Posted at 2017-12-23 17:56
After watching all of your high flying vids, I sure hope you can retrieve that aircraft...

Yes we had really nice views.  Dronesmeg has video's so I hope he posts some.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-12-23 21:14
Yes we had really nice views.  Dronesmeg has video's so I hope he posts some.

You both have brought this forum, plenty...

I look forward to seeing much more from you. ;-)


RedHotPoker

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-12-23 17:53
Thanks DB.   The real bummer is losing the SD card and also I was planning filming our fireworks at new years.  I will get another P3 SE me thinks.

I bought the drone when I was on a business trip to China. Prices there are cheap and you get your taxes back at the airport as well.  So was pretty cheap to buy at the DJI store.   Funny thing at the DJI store I asked if warranty was covered in ALL of China. They said sure. I said great cause I live in Taiwan so that's covered too then. No they said.  

Sir, I'm sorry to read the flyaway. Please kindly start a case and report the accident via support@dji.com.  We'd suggest to do data analysis to check the exact status if the drone is still in warranty period. Please kindly offer your case number once you got it, we'll keep follow up and update.

As for the warranty, sorry for the confusion, I believe they referred is the China Mainland area. For customers from Taiwan, the support team will be there for help all the time.

DroneSmeg Posted at 2017-12-23 18:31
Speculation on my part, but I think it's most likely a defect in the drone itself that led to false critical battery warnings. The flight log from the flight immediately preceding the fateful one also contained a brief critical battery warning for a battery I later used in my own drone without issue in our subsequent search missions. I don't think Jim failed to insert the battery properly. The problem occurred midway through the flight with no issue appearing until that point. Then there is the issue of the timely app crash.

Yes I did get to red power levels and hit RTH.  

Then on the return the message came up critical low battery and the RTH was stopped and auto landing commenced.  However when the power was back to normal levels my app greyed out and crashed and despite restarting the app I could not get signal restored.  The issue for DJI is that when power is returned to normal the Autolanding should also be cancelled.  That way my drone would have not decsended into the forest.

哇... SE今塞康了.... 林伯嘛FLY戴及缀缀.......
SE flew like craps today after the test out the latest APP and FW......... really 干.....鸡拜....烂趴stuck in throat got no where to venger............

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-23 23:28
Sir, I'm sorry to read the flyaway. Please kindly start a case and report the accident via .  We'd suggest to do data analysis to check the exact status if the drone is still in warranty period. Please kindly offer your case number once you got it, we'll keep follow up and update.

As for the warranty, sorry for the confusion, I believe they referred is the China Mainland area. For customers from Taiwan, the support team will be there for help all the time.

Thanks Susan. I purchased the SE at the DJI Store in Shenzen.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-23 23:28
Sir, I'm sorry to read the flyaway. Please kindly start a case and report the accident via .  We'd suggest to do data analysis to check the exact status if the drone is still in warranty period. Please kindly offer your case number once you got it, we'll keep follow up and update.

As for the warranty, sorry for the confusion, I believe they referred is the China Mainland area. For customers from Taiwan, the support team will be there for help all the time.

I have emailed so will wait their reply.  I have sent the flight logs and other data.

hmmmmm

Nothing in my flight logs at 9:23 suggests any power issue yet app is showing low power. Definitely something to discuss.

9m 23s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0.5mph        2,933.2ft        49%        14.561V        3.61V        3.652V        3.663V        3.636V        0.053V       
9m 23.2s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        1.1mph        2,933.2ft        49%        14.561V        3.61V        3.652V        3.663V        3.636V        0.053V       
9m 23.5s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0mph        2,933.1ft        49%        14.561V        3.61V        3.652V        3.663V        3.636V        0.053V       
9m 23.6s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0mph        2,933.1ft        49%        14.561V        3.61V        3.652V        3.663V        3.636V        0.053V       
9m 23.7s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0mph        2,933.1ft        49%        14.561V        3.61V        3.652V        3.663V        3.636V        0.053V       
9m 23.8s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0mph        2,933.1ft        49%        14.548V        3.62V        3.656V        3.656V        3.616V        0.04V       
9m 23.9s        P-GPS        16satellites        1,638.1ft        0mph        2,933.0ft        49%        14.548V        3.62V        3.656V        3.656V        3.616V        0.04V

Wish you the best of luck on this one BC! I'm curious about the info on the SE. We'll have to see what comes out on this.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2017-12-24 05:54
I have seen some night footage recorded above Shenzhen.  That city is intense & sprawling.  Always seems hazy which leads me to wonder if it is fog of smog hanging in the air?  I'd have a field day with Litchi there but they might shoot you on sight if caught!

Shenzen is horribly polluted.  It's basically surrounded by factories in. It's one concrete jungle. I did run an office there with around 65 staff for awhile.  At least you could get to Hong Kong easily if you wanted to but I don't enjoy HK that much either.

Michgolden Posted at 2017-12-24 10:32
Wish you the best of luck on this one BC! I'm curious about the info on the SE. We'll have to see what comes out on this.

What comes out of this is that one way or the other I need to get another one lol.  

I keep returning to this post, in hopes of reading, some good news.

At least you have kept your well mannered and courteous self, even through this trial and tribulation.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas, and another wonderful New Year. Be well, friend.


RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 2017-12-24 16:19
I keep returning to this post, in hopes of reading, some good news.

At least you have kept your well mannered and corteous self, even through this trial and tribulation.

I hope everyone has a good xmas and new years.  I have several friends coming to stay at my place for the weekend so lots of wine beer BBQ and good times will be happening.  Looking forward to our local fireworks display and a midnight dance with my misses in the cold mountain air.

I be lucky I got captured by a head hunting jungle bunny who kept me as her man Friday. I didn't get my head removed from my body as has happened to so many previous tresspassers on tribal lands up here.

all in 四獸山 ?

DroneSmeg Posted at 2017-12-23 01:59
[view_image]

uses ND filter for this shot?