Fly away of my Phantom 3 Pro
Message: My phantom 3 flew away Sunday while returning to me at an altitude of 400 feet and a range of 2500 feet. After a perfect flight as it was returning I started getting signal loss messages and then everything just went blank. I lost the video and telemetry instantly. I activated the home point but there was no response. I have a phantom 2plus as well and am very experienced with the phantom series. All batteries including the controller were charged and i was showing 70 % remaining on the flight battery with all cells nominal. I had updated all firmware and made two successful flights before this occurred. My line of sight was perfect with no obstructions. I calibrate at every launch point and make sure all systems are nominal. I should also say that this was an open desert area with no signal interference possibilities.The phantom 3 had already been in the air for 7 minutes with no issue. I have bought both my phantoms directly from DJI. I did attempt to find it at its last map location out in the desert but found nothing after hours of searching. After dozens of long flights with this P3 I find this very disturbing with no understanding of what went wrong. I am also out $1250.00. Contacted DJI Monday but no response.

This company is beyond crazy.  They don't care and don't expect anything done.  I'd buy a new one from them and then file a chargeback on the credit card.    Fight it till the death.  Worked for me.  

dmx11523 Posted at 2016-1-15 19:42
This company is beyond crazy.  They don't care and don't expect anything done.  I'd buy a new one fr ...

I think the software update could be responsible. I never had an issue with previous versions since last spring, This was only the second flight on 1.6

What do you mean you activated the home point.  You set the home point before you take off not mid flight.

tpetersen97 Posted at 2016-1-15 20:15
What do you mean you activated the home point.  You set the home point before you take off not mid f ...

Of course the home point is set before takeoff. But as you know you can engage RTH also on the controller

So far all we know is that you flew your Phantom and didn't get it back.
There are lots of things that could have happened.
Upload your flight log to HealtyDrones.com (instructions there) anad post a link here.
Then someone might be able to work out what happened and/or give you an idea where to look to find it.

If you really want to know what happened, post your log file.

Also, with 3,280 feet in 1 mile . . . you were very close to the maximum distance even if conditions were perfect.  Please note: It is possible to lose video and even telemet

Until it can be proven otherwise, I suspect more "human error" on this one.  

Well after looking at the log I found one thing of interest which was an uncommanded decent from 400ft to 232ft at the very end. This would have taken it behind a 300ft hill that would have blocked the signal and started RTH. The result would have been flying into the hillside as it did so.  Saturday I returned to the area for the third time and searched this very steep,cactus and brush covered area again with out any luck. You could walk by it a few feet away and not see it because of the vegetation. Plan on using another drone to do a survey from above before it rains.

gbrenema@ix.net Posted at 2016-1-17 09:50
Well after looking at the log I found one thing of interest which was an uncommanded decent from 400 ...

Sorry for you crash, DJI can still view the logs. Make that last flight a favorite and sync your records. Call Monday and give them your DJI account info and your flight logs can be pulled form the server.
You said you lost video signal and hit RTH. If you were at 400ft then the aircraft should have come to your home point at 400ft. But the logs will show exactly what happened.
Also, when you lose video signal you should still have RC control. In the future when you lose video, just make the map your view and follow the green line and it will bring you towards home and you'll get video signal back.

stephengreenwal Posted at 2016-1-17 06:10
Also, with 3,280 feet in 1 mile . . . you were very close to the maximum distance even if conditions ...

A statute mile is 5280 feet.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-1-17 13:03
Sorry for you crash, DJI can still view the logs. Make that last flight a favorite and sync your r ...

Ken i ask you this exact question the other day in another
thread , and you ignored me... :-(

so if you loose video signal of the camera , your saying you can still
use the map to find your way home? is this correct?

ChrisC Posted at 2016-1-19 11:53
Ken i ask you this exact question the other day in another
thread , and you ignored me... :-(

Sorry, I didn't see the question. You should be able to use the map view and follow the green line back and you'll have video signal back when you get a little closer to home.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-1-18 23:12
Sorry, I didn't see the question. You should be able to use the map view and follow the green line ...

ok , Thanks.... :-)

ChrisC Posted at 2016-1-19 14:35
ok , Thanks.... :-)

No problem, I try to keep up with all the threads and posts but it's hard catch everything.

Could it be posible he lost RC signal, the drone started auto RTH and he cancelled it (when trying to enable it himself in the remote)??

And with the newest firmware you couldn't have deleted your flight logs. If the finding person of your P3 looks at them, he knows where you fly and live and probably comes to get the remote, aswell.

LordNeo Posted at 2016-1-19 08:55
Could it be posible he lost RC signal, the drone started auto RTH and he cancelled it (when trying t ...

Good question

gbrenema@ix.net Posted at 2016-1-20 11:56
Good question

Without the flight record, no-one has  a clue what happened and you will only get wild guesses that are certain to be completely wrong.

You said you had another Phamton, could you use it to look for your lost one?

bust post

I have a new one and will use it to look for the old one.

gbrenema@ix.net Posted at 2016-2-2 19:27
I have a new one and will use it to look for the old one.

How are you going on the HealthyDrones analysis?
Post a link and I'll help you narrow down the search area.