Yesterday my P2 flew away and crashed in a small town neighborhood. After 6 hours searching, the P2 was not found.

I consider myself a seasoned P2 pilot with very obsessive protocols. My fly away story feels like it was a DJI or interference malfunction but there is also probablilty of a user error. In light of science and discovery, can anybody help me hone in what may have gone wrong?

Below is my flight log. Any folks have advice?

June 21, 2015
Mission Objective: Photograph a home residence at 60ft.

1:58pm
        Advance calibrate P2 on laptop. Advance Calibrate successful.

2:05pm
        Turned on fully charged remote. Turned on fully charged P2. Calibrated compass. Calibration of compass Failed. Turned Off P2 and remote. moved to a more open area unobstructed by metal or other objects.

2:08pm
        Turned on Remote. Turned on P2. Waited for green lights. Green lights a go. Aquired 9 satellites. Calibrated compass. Calibration of compass successful. Green lights a go.

2:12pm
        Perform all pre-flight checklists. Checklists complete.
        Fly P2 straight up to 60 feet in GPS mode. Hover for 20 seconds to ensure all systems a go.
        Initiate a 30 degree yaw manuver to the left. Hoever for 20 seconds.  
        Satelites signal goes down to 8 satelites
        Initiate a slow forward pitch maneuver.
        P2 does not respond to command. P2 instead rolls left very hard at what seemed to be full speed.
        FPV monitor begins to go static. Maintain visual sight.  P2 does not respond to any other command.  
        Initiate ATTI mode to stop the P2's left roll. ATTI does nothing to take control of P2. P2 is out of control.
        P2 still rolling hard left out of control in a direct straight line. FPV signal completely lost. Still have visual sight of P2 but barely.  
        Initiate fail safe mode as last resort.
        P2 does not respond to fail safe.
        P2 flys away in direct straight line until it is completely lost from sight and lost from fpv.

2:15pm
       Get in vehicle and drive in straight line from trajectory P2 flew in
       Could not find a re-connection of FPV signal on monitor
       Search Continues

7:45pm
        P2 completely missing.

End LOG

Let me also add in that I have self tightening props, there was no damage to those props, my GoPro's wifi was disabled and my P2 has flown three successful missions in this location.  

Did you initiate  the find my Phantom. Found it useful and found mine on two occasions with the GPS and maps.

"Find my Phantom" only works with the vision's not the standard P2.

My only comment would be that a residential area is full of Wi-Fi signals and could explain the lack of control.
What firmware were you running ?

I was running the latest firmware.

sorry to hear!

was fly away direction due east?

creationsbysahe Posted at 2015-6-23 04:16
I was running the latest firmware.

Creation,

With Roy, John and Yorlik in here there's nothing I can add. If you listen to these three and answer their questions, I'll bet you'll have as good a shot as any to get your Phantom back.

Jerry
(BTW, it sounds like you know what you're doing to me.)

My phantom flew southeast full speed ahead.

So fast I had just enough time to switch to ATTI and last resort, barely enough time to switch to fail safe before she took off. No responses from me.

She either flew for miles and miles in that direction or she crashed into our extremely dense and overgrown neighborhoods with gated backyards.

Finding my bird is hopeful  but near impossible without trespassing into peoples backyards.

Sorry to hear of you loss, hopefully you had a phone number on your Phantom and some good sole will contact you. I know your pain , due to a battery malfunction my went down two different times ( battery rotation)  I was lucky though. Came upon a crowd looking at something on the ground like they we're scared off it. Low and behold it was a Phantom. Besides the monetary loss it frustrating not having control. The reason for fly a ways has not been found but I highly suspect a momentary loss of all power causing a system reboot and all memory being cleared including home lock. From the reboot no telling where it will go. I can't confirm this yet but am working on trying too. Sorry again!

roy@mcscomputer Posted at 2015-6-24 17:18
I highly suspect a momentary loss of all power causing a system reboot and all memory being cleared including home lock. From the reboot no telling where it will go. ...

I agree!

But not with after the reboot "no telling where it will go."

This is why I asked direction of take off!

google where GPS coordinate 0,0 is located.  You will find it is SE of anybody in the USA!  Why I asked direction of your flyaway.....  I asked east to make sure you came back with SE  

longtitude/latitude 0,0 is intersection of the equator and a line from greenwhich thru UK...  spot is in Atlantic ocean just south of ghana on west coast of africa....

so the reboot - OR BATTERY DISCONNECT then reconnect - was enough to reset home position to 0,0 and the rest as they say is history...

I will guess your switch to ATTI was too late (phantom out of RC range) to stop the RTH to Noth Atlantic Ocean!  Wonder if you had LEFT it in ATTI LONGER if the sig may have gotten thru and stopped it....  Bet when it did not work you flipped down to RTH position within seconds and that of course - if roy is correct - just made it continue on its way  We know that if home position is further than MAX DISTANCE we set in assitance, it will head there automatically until it gets back in range of it...

[If you use an app like UF you can watch the log and home position is indeed 0,0 until it gets the lock - then it changes, and hopefully stays at that same coordinate until you are done and power down again.]

just to be sure, you did not use UF or another app that logged dji parameters during flight to your phone?  That would have been cool if so:  you would have the proof Roy is searching for to show home reset to 0,0!

Short of that, were you running your phone screen recorder app?  THAT too could maybe show the home position change when it took off.

any chance if you think about it more, you recall seeing any indication home position reset to 0,0?  

I had no phone app or any app running at the time.

The whole home position reset to 0,0 makes me skeptical but then again anything is possible. If that is the case then DJI has something very serious on their hands.

My phantom is literally gone. It took off full speed ahead in the south east direction. Bye bye bird.

I FOUND THE CRAFT!!!!! STRANGE OCCURANCES.

Mid flight, the camera cut out. But neighbors said they heard the propellers still running.

Watch the video below.

1. Why did you advanced calibrate the IMU first? You shouldn't have to do this unless the IMU isn't calibrated or is over/under modding. What was the IMU MOD level before you calibrated? What was it after?

2. Compass calibration failure was your first hint. Calibration shouldn't fail unless a) you do it wrong or b) you're standing on a magnet or c) you're REALLY close to something REALLY ferrous. I've got hundreds and hundreds of flights on DJI gear and I've actually never seen a compass calibration fail in the wild.

3. Why hover check at 60 feet? You'd usually do this at like 6-10 feet right in front of you (i.e. grabbing distance).

4. How is your FPV configured? Straight analog 5.8 from the Phantom 2 main board? The fact that you lose signal suggests power failure. Do you have telemetry (iOSD) at all or just straight Gimbal->TX?

5. When you initiated failsafe did the P2 actually stop moving at all or did it just continue moving? If it never stopped, the "0,0 GPS Coordinate" theory probably isn't correct. Initiating failsafe is a pretty obvious looking operating: Aircraft pauses, does an altitude check, yaws to course, then pitches forward to gain speed. If it just flew off it wasn't doing an RTH.

6. How did you initiate failsafe? You have it configured on the mode switch or did you just turn of the TX?

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-6-25 21:12
1. Why did you advanced calibrate the IMU first? You shouldn't have to do this unless the IMU isn't  ...

Simple Panda. In response to your questions:

1. I was instructed by my dealer to advance calibrate often.

2. Compass calibration failed, YES. Probably because of metal nearby, YES. Which is why I shut everything down, moved almost 500 feet over away from anything dangerous to calibrate. The 2nd calibration was successful.

3. My hover could have been lower but in my pre-flight checklist I noticed trees around. I was concerned by the trees so I got above them.

4. My FPV is iOSD

5. The craft flew away so quickly I wasn't able to see exactly what was going on. My first ATTI switch didn't do anything at all and neither did my failsafe.

6. I initiated fail safe using the configuration switch on my controller.

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-6-25 21:12
When you initiated failsafe did the P2 actually stop moving at all or did it just continue moving? If it never stopped, the "0,0 GPS Coordinate" theory probably isn't correct. Initiating failsafe is a pretty obvious looking operating: Aircraft pauses, does an altitude check, yaws to course, then pitches forward to gain speed. If it just flew off it wasn't doing an RTH.
...

This could all be total nonsense!  So read with grain of salt.  

What is your RTH height set to in assitant?  Bet it is 200ft or lower.  So, if a RTH is initiated, it will not stop and go up - it will just yaw and go.  I do not see anything in this video showing a discrepency to RTH reset to 0,0.....  you were sitting still @ 200ft - at or above RTH height setting, so it simply yawed to the RTH direction and went.  YOU yawed SOME, then it continued yawing or perhaps you yawed to S-SE yourself, so it simply hunkered down and took off.  

Remember, it is NOT required for YOU to do anyting to initiate RTH - if RTH GPS position is outside your assistant max distant setting.  since you are not capable of setting your max distance setting less than the 10,000+? miles to GPS coordinates 0,0, as soon as it reboot - or battery momentary disconnect - caused GPS to become 0,0, it takes off itself with NO INPUT FROM YOU.  There is no delay for you to put it in RTH switch position, it is automatic.  

I believe I have learned from YOUR experience that I should give MORE time in ATTI before trying RTH!  I have to believe that if you actually got into ATTI mode, this RTH flyaway would have been aborted.

So there is no proof in your video that a reboot - or momentary battery hickup - did not cause gps RTH position to change to 0,0 and automatic flyaway.

All that said, consider another potential clue:  WHY DID AT THE INSTANT OF FLY OFF DID YOUR VIDEO END???  Consoder the possibility it was because:  your quad rebooted - or had momentary batt disconnect - which reset video record to OFF.  It just FITS!

Lastly perhaps you would like to post the actual video file?  For it to shut down in the middle like this, it is most likely you had reboot - or momentary batt disconnet - OR you lost back end of video recording due to power being shut off before stopping video recording.  If the later, some of us have software to recover MORE of the video that is cut off...

You took off from ON TOP OF SOMETHING?

Metal thing?  What did you take off from?

You say you hit a tree at 480ft away - AT 200FT HEIGHT?  Where the heck are you?

I live in the middle of 100 acres of forest in Ohio, and I have  NO trees 200ft tall!  Being a certified tree farmer, I believe I have read many times that the max height a tree can reach is like 180ft - and those are the giant redwoods in CA.  Something about the weight of water rising by capilarry action against earth gravity can't feed above this height.....  I might be remembering wrong, but unless you are in the redwood forests in CA I doubt you have 200ft high trees?

So how did you hit the tree?  Maybe another clue?  It was descending maybe?

creationsbysahe Posted at 2015-6-26 03:44
Simple Panda. In response to your questions:

1. I was instructed by my dealer to advance calibrat ...

1. Goodness gracious! You should ONLY calibrate the IMU:

a) When you are inside.
b) When nothing is moving your aircraft (wind, people walking around, etc)
c) When you're happy with the environment.
d) When the MOD (available in Phantom assistant) is above 1.01 or below 0.99 consistently.

That's it. "Often" is really bad advice. I've got many hundreds of flights on DJI gear and I think I've calibrated IMU's about a couple dozen or so times across all my aircraft in total.

Basically, an IMU need calibrating:

a) When you crash hard.
b) When you change your aircraft configuration (not super relevant on a Phantom)
c) If your aircraft has been in storage for a while, and even then, only if you need to.

Again, check the mod levels in Phantom assistant. If it doesn't need calibrating, don't. Especially if you're outside / in the field you just risk mis-calibrating it because of problems with the environment.
Your compass, on the other hand, you can and should calibrate often. I usually calibrate before every flying day, depending on what's going on.

That said, I don't think your IMU was relevent to this issue but the above is for future reference.

2) I've never seen a failed compass calibration unless the nearby objects in question were actually magnetic (ie not just ferrous metal) or were within a few feet of the compass. I've seen dodgy calibrations because someone was near a large metal object (industrial propane tanks, etc) but that doesn't cause flyaways... just toilet bowling in hover and left-leaning when you pitch forward. Based on your video if your compass calibration failed I'd be a touch concerned.

4) It's still odd that your FPV failed completely (complete snow vs. breaking up signal) while your apparently aircraft stayed aloft. How is your FPV gear installed? Any self-soldered parts or just all connected externally?

Honestly it sounds like you had some physical failure rather than a software problem.

yorlik Posted at 2015-6-26 06:55
This could all be total nonsense!  So read with grain of salt.  

What is your RTH height set to ...

Doesn't really "just fit" though in my mind.

Any "reboot" of the Phantom mid-air wouldn't have CSC'd the motors. It would have just fell out of the sky like a rock.

Any power loss that also had the Phantom starting back up fast enough to not fall straight out of the sky would have also rebooted the vTX. An iOSD mini will telemetry overlay even if it's not getting input video signal from a source device and depending on the VTX they "just work" when they get power. The OP would have at least seen a black screen with the iOSD data on it.

With all due respect this "0,0 theory" is novel but unfounded in technical reality. If something happened that reset the RTH position it wouldn't reset it to "0,0" it would reset it to "unset", which means the aircraft would simply land in place (or maintain hover depending your FC setup). The only technically sound reason that an RTH position would "change" is if the aircraft had an inaccurate position for itself and could therefore did accurately triangulate it's return path. Given the height and lack of obstruction this seems unlikely.


As a digression this gets even less likely on modern DJI gear (P3 and I1) where GLONASS is used as well as GPS. My I1 routinely sees 20 satellites and is usually position accurate to less than a foot at altitude.

Lastly, the GoPro isn't related to the Phantom from a control perspective. The Phantom could have shut down completely and GoPro would have kept recording until the moment it cratered into the ground. Did the GoPro stop recording when the problem happened or did the FPV just stop transmitting? If it also stopped recording, that's very interesting indeed.

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-6-26 08:44
Doesn't really "just fit" though in my mind.

Any "reboot" of the Phantom mid-air wouldn't have CSC ...

SimplePanda:

I understand the IMU calibration advice. That makes perfect sense. Thank you.

As far as failed compass calibration... It gave me red lights upon the first try. So I turned everything off and restarted in a better place. That is where I had a successful calibration because I got all green lights. Why it failed the first time? I don't know. But my second try was successful.

As far as the GoPro... If you see the video, the GoPro cuts out right after the P2 goes bazzerk. So you know, I don't keep fresh batteries in the GoPro. Its a pain in the ass to use a screw driver to remove the GoPro from the craft just to replace the batteries every time I fly. There is no need to replace batteries anyway because as you know the GoPro receives power from the P2 when its on. So if my craft's power did fail, maybe this is also why the GoPro cut out too. Because my GoPro never has enough battery full enough to power itself without the P2. This sounds plausible.

If it was a power failure, wouldn't the craft just fall straight out of the sky? The craft as you have seen banked left and fell 484 feet away from a 200 foot elevation. Not a straight fall from the sky but definitely a lot faster than gliding itself down. So I'm still perplexed as to what caused this.

Pulling back the reins... I called DSLR Pros the company that I bought the Drone from and they analyzed my video. They said it was interference that caused it to go down. Not sure if this is a cop out or a legitimate claim based on the evidence.

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-6-26 08:44
Doesn't really "just fit" though in my mind.

Any "reboot" of the Phantom mid-air wouldn't have CSC ...

Actually, the RTH reset is still potentially very valid based on the data given....

"Any "reboot" of the Phantom mid-air wouldn't have CSC ... would have fallen"

Not so fast;  I have seen cpu's glitch and reboot in useconds;  if that happened here, the props wouldn't even have had time to slow down.  Depends too on exactly which portion of the firmware glitched - doesn't necessarily have to be a full cpu 'reboot;'  it could very well be some glitch just resetting asome parameters by overwriting the wrong area of memory.  It could be a simple stack overflow fault they have not found yet.  Heck, it could be due to some two's compliment roll over of data!  I have shown dji in a bug report that their SDK has this fault on battery current:  stick up full throttle acceleration takes about 30 amps: it is 16bit word and reported as 30.000. roll over on this variable is 32,768:  It is not uncommon for the battery current during full throttle to roll over and become .1 to 3 amps - NEGATIVE!  There are many many ways for a program to go haywire and cause a RTH set of variables to reset to 0,0.  People just use the generic term "reboot" to get the idea across - like calling facial tissue 'kleenex.'

"Any power loss that also had the Phantom starting back up fast enough to not fall straight out of the sky would have also rebooted the vTX"

I do not know what a vTX is, so cannot comment on that.  But I can tell you when my p2 looses power, the video recording STOPS.  Not sure how yours works.  I am confident that a 'reboot' (generic term still) very well could turn off my camera.  Not sure how yours works but mine has a wifi receiver INSIDE the quad, powered by the quad.  Cycle power and it will turn off an active recording.  My camera is also powered by the smart battery on my quad, so if power cycles, it too turns off.   I watched the video posted and guess what?  It shut off the video recording right when OP said it stopped recording.  Another clue that possibly SOMETHING happened to power supply to that camera and its controller.

" An iOSD mini will telemetry overlay even if it's not getting input video signal from a source device and depending on the VTX they "just work" when they get power. The OP would have at least seen a black screen with the iOSD data on it."

I am confused by this and OP comments.  He said his video instantly stopped working, later said he had no phone or app running?  But the recorded video does seem to show that if he indeed lost video at time of alleged fly away.

"With all due respect this "0,0 theory" is novel but unfounded in technical reality. If something happened that reset the RTH position it wouldn't reset it to "0,0" it would reset it to "unset", which means the aircraft would simply land in place (or maintain hover depending your FC setup)."
Just for reference, there is no such variable as "unset."  There is RTH position, quad position, and phone position.  All GPS coordinates.  Then there is a a MODE variable of GPS, ATTI, or manual.  If mode stays set to GPS and either quad or RTH GPS goes to 0,0 - we can definitely say "Houston, we have a problem."

I have UF with flight log.  I can see exactly when my RTH position changes from 0,0 to a real value in my log.  If OP had a flight log running, I propose that he may have seen his RTH value go to 0,0 also.  It is as you say, a theory until someone gets enough telemetry/logs to prove or disprove it.  As a sometimes software programmer, often time software debugger for 30 years, I can easily envision MANY MANY ways this 'reboot' or quick power cycle can happen.  Do you know that ALL power from our smart batteries goes thru a series FET (electronic switch)?  This FET turns on and off in sub microseconds.  All the glitch ("reboot") needs is to turn off then back on this one single device in a microsecond to potentially cause an issue to some, or all, systems.  It is very complex and we do not know enough to say "it can't happen" - yet.

"Lastly, the GoPro isn't related to the Phantom from a control perspective. The Phantom could have shut down completely and GoPro would have kept recording until the moment it cratered into the ground. Did the GoPro stop recording when the problem happened or did the FPV just stop transmitting? If it also stopped recording, that's very interesting indeed."

See my comment above.  summary of it:  cycle power - supplied from the quad - and the video can and probably does stop.

I am not guaranteeing this or any fly away is 100% due to the theory that a GPS coordinate got reset due to some glitch or quick power cycle/loss.  I am still fully convinced though that this is the best answer yet for fly aways.    I say "a GPS coordinate got reset because it does NOT have to be RTH; it could also be present location.  Either one reset could potentially cause fly away.

Until it can be proven or disproved, it is certainly a possibility.

NOTE:  tweaked post @ 10:02am EST

2:08pm
         Turned on Remote. Turned on P2. Waited for green lights. Green lights a go. Aquired 9 satellites. Calibrated compass. Calibration of compass successful. Green lights a go.


would not the gps  need to reset home point after the compass calibration.
I am thinking that as the OP says he got gps lock then calibrated compass.
During time the quad was turning etc the gps signal would have dropped.

then when set down and flown the home lock may have occurred during flight shortly after takeoff somewhere.

Don't know myself but asking if possible!

While I read this account one thing stix in my head . The bird giving the constant line fly away to the left .
That can be attributed to the IMU not being level during advanced calibration . When I hear that the laptop was used I also hear that the IMU calibration was performed outside.

Most people do not carry a level and a flat surface for advanced calibration . Usually an IMU issue will not effect FPV though.
It is possible that you have two issues here . Advanced calibration issue and product failure at the same time . I have always performed the mechanic work on my own vehicles . Diagnosis and repair .
I have seen this type of thing before(Two Totally Unrelated Issues At The Same Time).

Hard to say with certainty that this is what is happening here . Something to consider.

I posted above before reading all posts. I say that to lead up to this question . Was the antenna on the birds transmitter when you found it? I only ask in an attempt to shed light .
If loose, it may have fallen off at the moment the bird took a straight line to the left .

Was the transmitter still attached to the bird? Could it have fallen off? I have an avl 58 lite on my bird . Installed with double sided sticky tape . During post flight inspection I noticed that the heat from the battery caused one of the contact points to let go. No damage . Caught it in time . 3M Velcro solved this issue .

Not trying to say that you are not diligent . Once again just trying to offer food for thought . I know how frustrating it can be when you are diligent and still have issues .
We fly similar setups . Interference, as the dealer says does not make sense to me as the phantom is designed to stop in it's tracks when experiencing signal interference .

I know for a fact that it works on mine . Took a chance with my phantom near a large cell tower . When the bird came within 200 yards of this tower it would stop , drift up slowly, and come back to me . when I realized the pattern , I began to replicate it . Only twice . Expensive risk .
Whatever you find, Congrats on finding the bird .

yorlik Posted at 2015-6-28 21:47
Actually, the RTH reset is still potentially very valid based on the data given....

"Any "reboot"  ...

- A vTX is a video transitter. Usually when we say "vTX" we mean "analog video transmitter". Often over 5.8ghz but 900mhz, 1.2ghz, and 2.4ghz are common with long range flyers looking for better signal penetration/range (often when people are using 433mhz UHF for control).

- Based on what you're describing it sounds like you have a P2V or P2V+. This is very actually a very different platform from a standard P2 with Zenmuse and GoPro (like what the OP has). With a P2/Zenmuse/GoPro system (as the OP has) the GoPro is an independent system and doesn't stop recording (or passing video out) if the aircraft loses power. The GoPro has it's own internal power source.

The GoPro will draw power from the Zenmuse USB connector to recharge itself as needed but it as long as the GoPro isn't completely dead on take-off the aircraft losing power doesn't affect the GoPro in any way. The OP might have suggested the GoPro was dead on power-up so it may have been living completely off USB power (Phantom battery). I can't remember and can't be bothered to scroll back right now.

- In the P2V/P2V+ paradigm that you use the telemetry and video data is sent differently from a standard P2 with a GoPro. Your telemetry comes back to an app running on a phone / tablet device connecting to the aircraft via a WiFi repeater. The app reads telemetry as out of band data and overlays it on the video on-device (in software). This is the same way Lightbridge based DJI copters work.

On the other hand, an iOSD mini (like what the OP is using) is an analog video interface device that draws on-screen data directly onto a 480i/SD analog  signal and then passes it to a vTX. The vTX transmits the 480i/SD analog video signal to the ground. The OP doesn't use an app/mobile device to fly and/or get mobile data back and instead just monitors on an analog video display that has the telemetry data baked into the signal as OSD data. I personally use goggles (FatShark) on my analog downlink copters but I think the OP is using a small LCD panel.

- With your setup (P2V/P2V+ I'm guessing) your ground to air is all done over 5.8ghz and your WiFi repeater does air to ground (video and telemetry) over 2.4ghz (WiFi). The OP's setup is 2.4ghz spectrum hopping from ground to air (aircraft control) and 5.8ghz analog video transmission from air to ground. No WiFi is involved, and no apps or tablet devices.

DJI has (rather smartly) given up on the silliness of using WiFi to connect to air systems. It was just never a very good idea and the Lightbridge, Inspire 1, and Phantom 3 series are all kinda examples that DJI agrees with this assessment. Pre-Lightbridge we all used dual band, independent systems for control and monitoring and post-Lightbridge it's all single band integrated - control and downlink are all running in the same protocol (over 2.4ghz).

The P2V/P2V+ is this strange half-effort that happened in the middle that DJI quickly abandoned. It's still dual band but uses 5.8 for control (horrible idea) and WiFI for video/telemetry (also a horrible idea).

- Flight logs showing 0,0 doesn't mean anything; it just means the logger records 0,0 which proves nothing. This can mean anything from "i'll RTH to off the coast of Africa" (not likely) to "no location set" (highly likely because there is basically no actual situation where you would ever RTH to 0,0 as it's in the middle of an ocean so 0,0 is probably bounds checked in code and treated as "no RTH location").

You can test this if you want - take off without a home location and then RTH the copter. Your logging data will probably show 0,0 yet the copter still won't try to RTH to the coast of Africa.

- Regardless of this 0,0 theory (which, again, only seems logical but really isn't) the OP's description of the problem suggests that the aircraft wasn't trying to RTH and that the cause of the problem is likely sensor calibration.

wow!  Thanks for the education simplepanda!  Seriously, I had no idea all p2's were not like my p2v+!  

The fact that his video feed quit at same time of alleged flyoff has different meaning that it would in a p2v+ case, I agree.  

None of this displaces the potential of  0,0 home position sending a p2v+ off S-SE from anywhere in USA though.  Your proposed test would not work though since <6 sat lock in p2v+ WORKING FW (non glitched) will simply drop it to ATTI mode with no RTH functional.  Or covering up gps rcvr from power on so no gps lock is ever made, will also just leave a working system in ATTI so no RTH will happen.   Can't say the same for a glitched system though.  None of which displaces the potential of 0,0 home position sending a p2v+ off S-SE from anywhere in USA though.  

yorlik Posted at 2015-6-30 01:13
wow!  Thanks for the education simplepanda!  Seriously, I had no idea all p2's were not like my p2v+ ...

These posts are fantastic and very helpful. They are helping me hone in in a big way. I think I may have solved the issue. Hear me out...

My P2 crashed 484 feet away from me. When the P2 began to fly away, my FPV lcd screen went instantly to static, not black telemetry. Pure snowstorm static. Like you have all said, an IOSD will still telemetry a black screen over. But that only happens when there is power.  Because when my Phantom is off, I get static. at 484 feet away, I should have still had crystal clear FPV signal.

So explaining how my GoPro stopped recording as soon as the fly away happened while also showing how my FPV went to static as soon as the fly away happened makes me believe that a power failure is indeed VERY plausible.  Because without power, the telemetry won't work and without power, a dead GoPro battery won't keep the video feed recording.

Pulling back the reins, what do I tell DJI or my original dealer?

I tried to file a warranty claim with DJI and after several phone calls and tons of paperwork, 10 days later today  I got an email from a DJI supervisor saying this:

"Ben
Congratulations on finding your craft!
Do you think that it has any water damage?
DJI Customer Service North America"

What a immature and non helpful email. After all that paperwork and calling and seriousness, all DJI has to say is a question about water damage? What a bunch of crap!

creationbysahe - This question is not meant to be an insult . I have looked through this thread and if the answer is here-MyBad . Wich model GoPro were you using during the flyaway?
I only ask because I fly the same setup . I have only had experience with the Hero 3 and 4 models . Those models use a rechargeable battery . I am stumped at the line about taking the screws out to change the batteries .

Yes the bird powers the GoPro but simply for augmentation .  Once again I am only asking in an attempt to help .

creationsbysahe - A very similar thing happened to me yesterday. I have a p2v+ and use the camera / gimbal that came with it. Before I launched I had done a compass calibration as the last time I flew it I was about 250 miles east of where I currently am. Compass calibration worked without a hitch. I flew up to about 40 - 50 feet and hovered for a few seconds and then I noticed the back 2 led bars go from green to red. I glance down at my phone and I noticed that it is showing "compass error". I glance back up and when I did it took off straight forward. I tried to initiate ATTI mode as well with no luck. I went and collected everything from the neighbors yard (camera had broken off, battery had fallen out, 2 funny sounding motors, 1 broken prop) throw it back in it's case and go to work. When I found your post It seemed familiar to me so when I got home I pulled the sd card and repaired the video. Oddly enough right before the quadcopter decided to shoot forward the video cut out. To reiterate, my video cut out just before the quad shot forward. Maybe the little amount of battery you had in your gopro allowed you to record for a few additional seconds before it cutout. Now keep in mind this is the built in camera, with no battery etc. I do not know what any of this means, but I have been flying quadcopters and helicopters for years, and this is pretty much the first major crash I have had. I have flown this phantom probably 60 times and managed to make it through the original phantom without a single incident with hundreds of flights.

I put in a ticket with DJI to see what they have to say about it. It may be worth noting that I had only updated to the most recent firmware about a week ago. I had maybe 15 flights in with the latest firmware.

itsmebcc@gmail. Posted at 2015-7-1 06:35
creationsbysahe - A very similar thing happened to me yesterday. I have a p2v+ and use the camera /  ...

Interesting discussion.  I have a P2 Vision, a couple months ago I had a similar flyaway.  I was hovering at about 10', not even on the sticks.  The bird took off south, but the trajectory was at a downward angle and it hit about 30' away.  The battery popped out, so I put the battery back in, powered up, then did a proper shutdown to save the video.  Unfortunately, the video ends just a few seconds before the flyaway occurred, similar to what you folks are describing.   No problems before or after this occurrence.

The one anomally I noticed was that before the flyaway I had flown near some trees and got a warning from the Vision app that I only had 5 GPS satellites.  The satellite count went up when I flew to a more open area a few sonds later.  I'm running 3.12.

I reported the flyaway to DJI recently just so they know it occurred, but haven't heard back yet.

Riff Raff Posted at 2015-7-1 23:51
Interesting discussion.  I have a P2 Vision, a couple months ago I had a similar flyaway.  I was h ...

Yea, mine headed in a downward direction too. Similar to if you went full forward but did not increase power. Mine went in a slightly north mostly west direction.  I found it 284 feet from where I was. I really feel like the fact that the video is cutting out right as this happens that it is some kind of firmware glitch. This never happened to me until the latest firmware.

great.  I too finaly updated to 3.12 from so far perfect (100 flights?) 3.08....  I have a big demo sunday too....

I must lean toward software reboot/glitch due to p2v+ video shutting down at same moment as take off in almost all cases...

I assume neither of you had UF or similar flight log running at the time?  

yorlik Posted at 2015-7-3 05:16
great.  I too finaly updated to 3.12 from so far perfect (100 flights?) 3.08....  I have a big demo  ...

I do not have a flight logger.  

I wish DJI would put a logger on these for us.  You know they have the capability for their R&D.

There is discussion on another board where the members were discussing the loose fitment of the GPS cable to the main board.  Some suspected that the slop in the GPS connector was allowing a loss or corruption of GPS signal and that might be leading to some of the flyaway conditions.  Has anyone else seen that or looked at the cable on their Phantom 2?  I'm not too interested in taking apart my quad on a whim at this moment...

Newbie here.

so in the event of a fly away the proper thing to do is go into atti mode?
no chance of the home lock or RTH helping?

Riff Raff Posted at 2015-7-3 07:00
I do not have a flight logger.  

I wish DJI would put a logger on these for us.  You know they hav ...

I can pull it apart this weekend and take a look. I talked to DJI and they want me to send it in. No idea what that means. I am looking for my receipt which I kept in the box. We have been preparing to move so half the house is in a storage unit and a third is in one of those "pods" in the driveway. Maybe I will get lucky and find it. Either way I am not too hopeful that they are going to fix this since there is no way to prove what in the world happened. Maybe I will start flying like the guys on youtube with a gopro strapped to my head for every flight so I have some kind of evidence of what happened. I just always told myself I would never be that guy!

itsmebcc@gmail. Posted at 2015-7-4 05:35
I can pull it apart this weekend and take a look. I talked to DJI and they want me to send it in.  ...

I'm interested to hear what you find when you open the cover.  Your story is the first I recall where a compass error was showing.  Do you think the compass error was the cause of your flyaway, or do you think that something else was involved?

It will be interesting to hear what DJI says about your Phantom.  I hope they can repair your quad and get it back to you quickly.  Is there a repair depot in the US or are you shipping it overseas?

Same thing happened with me