First off lets start out going backwards to 2 weeks ago. I bought a Phantom 3 Standard and fell in love with it. I have had many R/C related hobbies and this one was just as fun if not more so than any of them. I got the cheaper model thinking I would be satisfied with it but before my 15 day return period ran up I decided to trade up to the Pro. I'm not trying to gloat here but I felt really comfortable with flying the Phantom and felt as if I was getting really good. I could fly around pretty much anything I wanted to even trying really aggressive manuevers and having no issue. Anyhow, I traded my P3S for the pro and fell even more in love just by opening the box. I rushed home, charged my batteries, controller, calibrated everything, went through the settings and made sure everything seemed ok and that nothing carried over from my P3S as I wanted to start from a clean slate. Everything paired up great and flawlessly. Drove out to my wifes farm which is fairly open with nothing to run into. I set up the Pro as per the manual (making sure to calbrate compass, checking signals/satelittes, ect. ect.) then i set the drone on a flat surface and checked my surroundings. I was finally ready to take off with my new Pro and I couldnt have been more anxious! My wife, her brother and sister were watching and wondering what this thing was actually going to do. I slide to take off to ensure a stable take off and hover for about 10 seconds then I ascend to 15ft roughly and move over into the open part of the field. As soon as I slow the drone down and hover I see my propeller go flying and the drone hits the ground smashing the shell and breaking the gimbal and possibly the camera. The reason Im posting is to gather insight from other drone enthusiasts. What could have went wrong? I tightened the props per the manual even using the wrench to get them a little more snug as i never trust self tightening anything, everything was perfectly calibrated. I have went over the scenario time and time again and have found nothing I could have done to cause this to happen. I sent the Phantom to DJI via fedex today keeping my fingers crossed they warranty it because I am tapped out on cash right now. Anyone have similar experience with this? How do you think DJI will handly my issue? Any response is welcomed.
Thanks,
            Eric

like to see the prop that flew off, you possibly may have over tighten and cracked it , I always hand tighten have a funny feeling your not the first probably why they changed props on phantom 4  , I'll definitely keep a eye on mine , wondering if people replace props after so many flights.doubt the outcome will be good

Eric,
I am sorry for your accident, if you indeed saw a propeller fly off then the only way that could have happened is if it was not on tight enough but you said you used the wrench which is not needed anyways. Just a light firm hand tightening is good enough.
Hopefully the repair center will come up with something for you, again I am sorry for your accident.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-14 23:27
Eric,
I am sorry for your accident, if you indeed saw a propeller fly off then the only way that co ...

I know for sure I didn't over-tighten. I have worked on many, many. many hobby grade r/c that require tightening of plastic components and have come accustomed to the feeling of plastic giving way to over tightening. I promise I didn't bear down and give it all I had. Just used the wrench to hold the motor while I tightened the prop until I felt a fair amount of resistance. After my incident I have read other peoples stories of the same thing happening to them. What seems to be the issue is either a sudden stop of the motor or the active braking slowing down so rapidly causing the prop to spin itself off under its own inertia. I believe this could happen however Im more inclined to thing possibly the propeller was milled out a little more than it was supposed to be. Just don't trust the self tightening claim because its false. Its only going to tighten if the motor makes a sudden fast change upward in rpm and it CAN self-loosen of the esc to that motor brakes hard enough. Double check your props and motor hubs to make sure they aren't worn in anyway what so ever.

jyurkyandsons Posted at 2016-4-14 23:24
like to see the prop that flew off, you possibly may have over tighten and cracked it , I always han ...

I have been looking for the prop for 2 days now lol. I seen it fly away but I was more interested in my drone gaining speed towards the field! haha.

gibsonguitars18 Posted at 2016-4-15 11:41
I know for sure I didn't over-tighten. I have worked on many, many. many hobby grade r/c that requ ...

we'll have to wait and see what the repair shop says.

gibsonguitars18 Posted at 2016-4-15 11:43
I have been looking for the prop for 2 days now lol. I seen it fly away but I was more interested  ...

Let me know how you make out , good luck.

Hoping DJI will help me out. If not I'm not going to pay to fix it. Not putting my faith in something that didn't last but 20 seconds and we all know repairs never run like new. From everything I've read about DJI's repair centers I'll be surprised to have a great outcome. Going to search again for the lost prop tomorrow hoping I find it.