Pretty much a write-off. Propeller came off, as I was showing it to a friend, who owns an Autel EVO II 6K, but is not brave enough to fly it. Not sure I helped.
Luckily the GPS in Find My Drone was moderately accurate, and I found it after 10 minutes, stomping around randomly in thick rubbish.
The drone RC contact shut down as the drone rolled, and wouldnt restore. Video kept recording to SD for another 4 minutes, until probably the drone overheated and shut off.
It would be great if drones just beeped without being told to, and shut down into a minimum power mode after doing an impact.
Propeller screw was probably out of spec and didn't screw up hard. It was all down to the loctite.
RC now mysteriously works, but GPS doesn't.

Post a picture of the motor top. The heads of some screws have come off.
Do you check the security of the props on their pivots as part of your preflight?

Sorry to read about this! Do you have Care Refresh? Maybe able to replace/repair.

That's a tough break. Of all the places to come down,  At least you got it back.

Sounds like you used after market props, i.e. not DJI official props?

Was the screw missing?

It didn't look like a blown prop as there was an initial nudge before it started to play up, just think perhaps a bird strike?

Sad to read. (see)

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 1-7 07:27
Post a picture of the motor top. The heads of some screws have come off.
Do you check the security of the props on their pivots as part of your preflight?

Your right that should be part of a normal checklist before taking off.

Pastime Posted at 1-7 10:19
Your right that should be part of a normal checklist before taking off.

Yep.

Any chance of the photo of the motor top?

The props came from the original pair from the drone box.
I think it's down to the amount of loctite on the screw and whether the screw is smaller than usual, or the hole is larger for some reason.
You've got to watch for unusual spin on the screw when you install it.
As for testing pre-flight, you may be budging the loctite each time and causing it to happen.
Bird strike was my initial thought, but the way the gimbal behaves is deceptive. Phantom viewer shows a vertical pitch on the drone.

Well, I for one would have said a few nasty words as the drone tumbled down.  Not a fun day for you, but does not look like you could have done anything different.  Sometimes things just fail.  I would think DJI will take care of you on this so hope you get some relief from them.  

Hi, Zoooom.Thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry for the incident that happened. In this kind of situation, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis.  You may submit an online repair request through this link: {https://repair.dji.com/repair/index}. If you need assistance with creating a ticket, you may contact DJI support at https://www.dji.com/support. We understand that this is not the answer that you look forward to, but this would be the best thing to do in this situation. In addition, warranty service can be claimed depending on the result of the Damage Assessment. Your kind understanding is appreciated and thank you for your continued support.

Zoooom Posted at 1-7 15:57
The props came from the original pair from the drone box.
I think it's down to the amount of loctite on the screw and whether the screw is smaller than usual, or the hole is larger for some reason.
You've got to watch for unusual spin on the screw when you install it.

Ya right, that's deffo no strike, the initial bump was probably the prop moving up the thread, and then it finally let go. In my opinion, this should be taken up with support@dji.com as you may well have a warranty claim. Its also quite worrying that this could happen, thankfully i have not had to change a prop yet, what with the head rounding off and now your issue, its not something i am looking forward to.

This is an excellent drone but it seems to have a lot of issues. Lens fogging, Battery clips, now prop screws. You gotta think this was made and released too soon without proper testing. Glad I bought my Air 2s

Sorry to hear about you crash

Bashy Posted at 1-7 22:36
Ya right, that's deffo no strike, the initial bump was probably the prop moving up the thread, and then it finally let go. In my opinion, this should be taken up with support@dji.com as you may well have a warranty claim. Its also quite worrying that this could happen, thankfully i have not had to change a prop yet, what with the head rounding off and now your issue, its not something i am looking forward to.

>>with the head rounding off and now your issue, its not something i am looking forward to.

They are very teeny screws. I appreciate the new pole design, compared to the mini 2, which is a bit dodgy and could be inserted cross-threaded. BUT, these new screws are very short, compared to the pole length, and with a little drip of loctite on them. DJI could make them twice as long.

The only hint I can give is to be very paranoid about how well the screw grips. If it spins further than you think it should, then reach for a new one. If that also spins too far, I don't know what you do. Tube of loctite might be good.

Thanks for your attention, all.

Zoooom Posted at 1-7 15:57
The props came from the original pair from the drone box.
I think it's down to the amount of loctite on the screw and whether the screw is smaller than usual, or the hole is larger for some reason.
You've got to watch for unusual spin on the screw when you install it.

Were these the props fitted at the factory or some you replaced with the spares that come with the drone?   I flew 4000km on the original factory props and never had to tighten a screw once.

Ouch.  Sorry to see that.  Does appear a screw backed out in flight and prop fell right off.  I always check the screws on each prop prior to flight.  However, I'm careful to not put to much pressure on them as I've seen several reports of overtightening making the loctite turn loose.  The screws are fairly short and only have a teeny dab of loctite on the very tip of the ones provided by DJI so we have to always be wary of this.

I think you have a good case for warranty repair.  Best of luck in that endeavor.

Zoooom Posted at 1-8 01:08
DJI could make them twice as long........The only hint I can give is to be very paranoid about how well the screw grips. If it spins further than you think it should, then reach for a new one. If that also spins too far, I don't know what you do. Tube of loctite might be good.

Unless it is a multi start thread (more than one helix), which I very much doubt it will be, counting the number of thread crests along the length of the screw should more or less tell, ± 1, you how many turns are required to seat the screw.

Ouch.  This is my worse nightmare.  

DAFlys Posted at 1-8 02:36
Were these the props fitted at the factory or some you replaced with the spares that come with the drone?   I flew 4000km on the original factory props and never had to tighten a screw once.

Spares with the drone. I have a suspicion that the screw was a bit narrow, or the socket is slightly threaded. I don't want to muck around with it to find out.

Zoooom Posted at 1-8 17:18
Spares with the drone. I have a suspicion that the screw was a bit narrow, or the socket is slightly threaded. I don't want to muck around with it to find out.

try and raise a warrenty case you might get lucky.

Zoooom Posted at 1-8 17:18
Spares with the drone. I have a suspicion that the screw was a bit narrow, or the socket is slightly threaded. I don't want to muck around with it to find out.

In terms of mass produced screw threads I would think the chances of a single, undersized male or an oversized female are remote. If there was an unnoticed problem then it is more likely to affect hundreds or thousands of threads. The female thread in your photo look fully formed and quite normal to me, though obviously I can't judge its 'bore'.

Whilst i know we've said to claim under the warranty, i have a feeling DJI may just say that it was not in tight enough, it will be a tough fight, but try to stick at it.
If the worst of the damage is to the gimbal arm and the camera is ok then a paid repair may not be as bad as you'd expect.

I am wondering if the thread loc stuff failed, perhaps? I also notice that the thread loc stuff is around the whole of the screw, other pre-loc screws/bolts only have it half way round, i wonder if there is a reason for doing it like that?

I have a 2 year Care Refresh, but it's likely to be strike 1, which is a bit early for my liking.

Until they supply a screwdriver with a torque meter, it's all a bit subjective where you stop screwing, before the head comes off. The pole design should have helped. I managed 5 months and 6 prop changes with a mini 2, and none of them fell off. But I did notice at least one mini 2 screw that was out of spec; it was short and clamped the blade, so it wouldn't fold.

Zoooom Posted at 1-9 15:30
I have a 2 year Care Refresh, but it's likely to be strike 1, which is a bit early for my liking.

Until they supply a screwdriver with a torque meter, it's all a bit subjective where you stop screwing, before the head comes off. The pole design should have helped. I managed 5 months and 6 prop changes with a mini 2, and none of them fell off. But I did notice at least one mini 2 screw that was out of spec; it was short and clamped the blade, so it wouldn't fold.

I think i changed the Mini 2 blades at least 3 times, kept clipping my guy lines on my weather mast whilst trying to free up the anemometer, damn spiders lol anyhoo, i never noticed any issues there, not had ot change them on the Mini 3 Pro as yet but there is the issue of the supplied screwdriver that doesn't fit very well and causes stripped heads, or it used to on the early releases

Oh, no. I had the Drone about to be put in a box to DJI, and I was staring at the propellers I took off, in the box, and then realized, cor blimey, that there WAS a way to verify whether they were the ones replaced by me, because the ones I threw back into the box had a bar on them, and the one that fell off in the crash had no bar. So, the prop that fell off was a DJI original. Then I looked at the screws that I had replaced, and one screw was starting to edge upwards by 0.75mm. It was going to come out in 50k. It took a whole turn to put it back in.

Send it back for diagnosis. Never had an issue sending back to DJI, generally fast and stand by the product. If it’s faulty they’ll sort you out.

DJI are replacing the drone. YAY!!

Some info on Loctite Blue. It has a setting time, and fully cures after 24 hours. That means when you replace blades, you should leave the drone sitting around for a while.

https://www.loctiteproducts.com/ ... dlockerblue242.html

Zoooom Posted at 1-20 16:40
DJI are replacing the drone. YAY!!

Some info on Loctite Blue. It has a setting time, and fully cures after 24 hours. That means when you replace blades, you should leave the drone sitting around for a while.

Nice result, well done

Zoooom Posted at 1-20 16:40
DJI are replacing the drone. YAY!!

Some info on Loctite Blue. It has a setting time, and fully cures after 24 hours. That means when you replace blades, you should leave the drone sitting around for a while.

Great news on the replacement and glad they have you flying again!  

Regarding the loctite though, I can 1000% promise you that very few people changing their props are going to let it "set".  : )

They replaced the drone with a refurb, though.  My one month old drone, now has uncertain history. I cleaned out the rear facing cameras of sticky quartz sand and fibres.

Zoooom Posted at 1-29 22:40
They replaced the drone with a refurb, though.  My one month old drone, now has uncertain history. I cleaned out the rear facing cameras of sticky quartz sand and fibres.

[view_image]

Hi there, may I ask did you test the replaced drone? Is there any issue with it?

I don't know yet. I put it up once, but it's been raining since. Only thing I have noticed so far, is that one of my PD chargers is only doing 9V.