david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2016-4-25 23:24
Justin,

First - I'm very sorry that you had such a bad first flight experience. I feel for you. I c ...

Wow! Thanks so much for your investigation and thoughtful response Dave. Lots of lessons to be gleamed from this humbling first experience and you've gone a long way to helping me understand some of the more advanced issues at hand here.

I'll retrieve the .DAT data and other corresponding documentation. I'll then reach out to DJI support tomorrow and see what the think the next steps might be.

Greatly appreciate the support of this community!

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 13:15
I was in Position with Beginner Mode enabled.

What position sorry?

madaerial Posted at 2016-4-26 09:46
That really sucks and I am sorry. I wish they included a manual with the Phantom (instead of expecti ...

The manuals for al the current aircraft are in the app. From the home page, the Academy section is where manuals and tutorial videos are. Top right graduation hat.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 11:43
Wow! Thanks so much for your investigation and thoughtful response Dave. Lots of lessons to be gle ...

Justin,
I'm very sorry for your crash, it does appear to be cause by calibrating the compass on the roof where I'm sure there is tons of metal.
It is free to send it in for repair and shipping is included in the US.
If you give me your email, I can look at your flight that was recorded in the app. You need to sync your flight records first.
Also, if you hit RTH with 20m from where you powered up the aircraft and got GPS signal, it will not RTH but it will land right where it is. All of this is explained in the manual that is in the app.
Please call 818-235-0789 in the morning (opens at 7am PST) and they will issue you an RMA.

Again, I al sorry for your crash.

Stealthy Posted at 2016-4-26 00:24
What position sorry?

Positioning Mode (P-Mode)

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 00:34
Justin,
I'm very sorry for your crash, it does appear to be cause by calibrating the compass on th ...

Hi Ken, thanks for your support. I've sync'd my flight records to the database.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 00:28
The manuals for al the current aircraft are in the app. From the home page, the Academy section is ...

Yes, I'm afraid I only went through the included Quickstart guide and setup videos before my first flight. This looks like a case of a novice pilot taking on more than he could handle.

I believe Geebax is right on this one. Its crucial you do a compass calibration away from all buildings/structures, especially steel and the like. However, saying that...I have no idea what happened. It looks like those two 360° turns mixed up your bird after doing the calibration on a steel structure, and just copied it and spun out of control. That is a new one though...first one like that I've ever seen. You can retrieve the flight log data off of the P4 using DJI Assistant and send it to DJI for analysis, or upload it somewhere like healthydrones.com to try and see what went wrong in the bird.

aaaand im late..lol

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 12:45
Yes, I'm afraid I only went through the included Quickstart guide and setup videos before my first ...

Yes, very possibly so and I am sorry about that.
When I get a new aircraft, I print the manual take it to Kinkos and have it put in a binder and when the aircraft arrives, I've already read the manual cover to cover a few times but that's just me.
I deleted your email address so it's not there for everyone.
When you send it in they will analyze the full data from the aircraft to determine the exact cause but I'm guessing it's the bad compass calibration.
I reviewed the flight and it does look like a compass issue from not calibrating away from metal. It looks like at the 1 minute mark you had full throttle and I do see a compass error then it starts it's counter clockwise toilet bowl effect.

You have been really great in owning up to maybe not being as prepared as you should have been and I really appreciate that. You did not come here and rant blaming DJI and demanding they fix your aircraft and putting zero blame on yourself.
I will show your posts and flight to the shop tomorrow for evaluation.
I will have someone from tech support contact you an start the RMA process if you want. Either that, or you can call first thing in the morning and there should be no waiting on the phone to get to a rep.

Sorry for your crash.I'd suggest you to contact our North American office as below for the RMA as well as data analysis:
Email: support.us@dji.com
Phone: +1 (818) 235 0789  
Mon-Fri 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (PST)

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 05:34
Justin,
I'm very sorry for your crash, it does appear to be cause by calibrating the compass on th ...

Ken not one compass error ? No change to P-ATTI, the the FW is designed to discount bad sensor data and switch down to P-ATTI in these situations,  the drive would have been visible to the craft via GPS

Likely was calibrating with lots of metal threw the compass and when he accented to a higher altitude he went outside that magnetic field and it started TBE but the FW should have at the very least indicated show errors

justin.schwingh Posted at 2016-4-25 18:25
Rats. I didn't see anything in the documentation or the DJI videos about where to calibrate compas ...

If there was a compass error you should have received a warning and you didn't.  There are a couple of possibilities here. Something confusing is the height. The direction of the Phantom itself is as well, look at the arrow and its direction. Did you get the audible "Home Point Set" and "Takeoff" no "RTH" warning either. There are a lot of possibilities. Anywhere in NYC there is the possibility of RF interference of every conceivable type.

On another note Aerial Activities of any type are prohibited within City Limits. I am not being cruel just a fact that NYPD will confiscate the Drone.

To bad that your first experience ended that way and I hope that it doesn't discourage you from flying and in my experience the P4 is the finest Drone on the market.

J.N Posted at 2016-4-26 08:56
1. Compass should be done at ground level.2. RTH minimal distance to press 20 mts.
Sorry for your l ...

RTH minimal distance to fly up to your failsafe mode.

WHEN he hit RTH at less than 20 meters, it should have landed REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE COMPASS was reading.

Did you hold RTH long enough?

I am sort of surprised how far I got down this thread without anyone saying this.

If you RTH less than 20 meters from the homepoint, it is supposed to just go down and land which it should know how to do, bad calib or not.  

I would like to see those buttons presses myself.  You can export it, can you do it?

Should have landed when you panicked and RTHd and you should have been lucky.

I've never like the "land within 20 meters" instead of actually RTHing but this is a case where it would have saved your arse if it did what it's supposed to on an RTH near the HP.

Might be worth checking your credit card policy. Its likely your crash isnt covered but a few cards have generous new purchase protection.

Insurance is another 20-20 hind sight suggestion. Still trying to get USAA to cover mine.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 00:59
Yes, very possibly so and I am sorry about that.
When I get a new aircraft, I print the manual take ...

Thanks so much DJI-Ken. I really appreciate you taking the time to help analyze what went wrong and what missteps I may have taken.

My goal in coming to the forum was to help understand what I did wrong so that I can ultimately become a better drone pilot. The community has been welcoming and provided me with a wealthy of information and insight.

I'll call tech support this morning to start an RMA process and point them to this forum post as well for the additional information you all have provided. If it's of any value for you to follow up with a tech support, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Justin

DJI-Paladin Posted at 2016-4-26 02:26
Sorry for your crash.I'd suggest you to contact our North American office as below for the RMA as we ...

Thanks DJI-Paladin. I'll be calling tech support this morning to start the process.

rodger Posted at 2016-4-26 06:51
If there was a compass error you should have received a warning and you didn't.  There are a coupl ...

Thanks Rodger. That's correct that I did not receive a compass error.

Looks like it was a pretty knuckled-headed move to try a first flight from my roof in NYC. In hindsight it's patently obvious that the conditions were not right for flight. While it was certainly a disappointing set back I'm still anxious to fly and get the amazing shots I know this device is capable of.

ArtistFirst Posted at 2016-4-26 07:02
RTH minimal distance to fly up to your failsafe mode.

WHEN he hit RTH at less than 20 meters, it  ...

Hi ArtistFrist, it appears from the flight data that I didn't not hold the RTH button long enough to initiate the landing.

bletzinger Posted at 2016-4-26 07:09
Might be worth checking your credit card policy. Its likely your crash isnt covered but a few cards  ...

I'll look into that, thanks!

Here are the photos after recovering my Phantom 4. Not sure there's much for DJI to salvage here. The gimbal broke completely off and the plastic case seems to have suffered terrible stress.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 08:04
Thanks Rodger. That's correct that I did not receive a compass error.

Looks like it was a pretty  ...

Happy that you are not discouraged.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 08:18
Here are the photos after recovering my Phantom 4. Not sure there's much for DJI to salvage here. Th ...

Not to good buddy. Probably best to replace it. It will be like building a car through the parts dept.

Sorry for your loss Justin.

I've just had a look at the Phantom Help website where you loaded your flight data.  It shows a google maps type image of the flight path of the drone.   My attention was drawn near to where it actually landed.....it looks like there is a huge transmitter there which would back up David's theory.  Do you know if this is a transmitter/aerial or is it something else?

Yellow arrow points it out.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 00:59
Yes, very possibly so and I am sorry about that.
When I get a new aircraft, I print the manual take ...

Ken, where do you see the compass error? I am missing something. Is it the red line right in the beginning? I am not disagreeing with you. I want to know where I should be looking?
Thanks

rodger Posted at 2016-4-26 08:40
Not to good buddy. Probably best to replace it. It will be like building a car through the parts d ...

Right, that's pretty much what I was thinking. I'll get a hold of DJI today and see what recourse we have.

Homestead72 Posted at 2016-4-26 08:43
Sorry for your loss Justin.

I've just had a look at the Phantom Help website where you loaded your  ...

Thanks Homestead, that seems to line up with an advertising billboard on the next roof over. There could still be a transmitter up there that caused the interference; certainly not ruling that out.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 13:49
Thanks Homestead, that seems to line up with an advertising billboard on the next roof over. There ...

Ah yes.  Advertising to the cars on the freeway perhaps?

Homestead72 Posted at 2016-4-26 08:51
Ah yes.  Advertising to the cars on the freeway perhaps?

Precisely.

Sorry for your bad luck pal.

malvern Posted at 2016-4-26 09:13
Sorry for your bad luck pal.

Thanks malvern.

rodger Posted at 2016-4-26 20:44
Ken, where do you see the compass error? I am missing something. Is it the red line right in the b ...

We have our own software for analyzing flight logs from the app and from the aircraft.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 20:47
Right, that's pretty much what I was thinking. I'll get a hold of DJI today and see what recourse  ...

Did you want me to have someone contact you or were you going to call in?

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 10:05
Did you want me to have someone contact you or were you going to call in?

Hi DJI-Ken I just called in and you guys are sending me an email with all the RMA documentation and shipping information. Is there anyway you could pass this forum thread to support for additional documentation? Thanks so much!

ArtistFirst Posted at 2016-4-26 19:02
RTH minimal distance to fly up to your failsafe mode.

WHEN he hit RTH at less than 20 meters, it  ...

Looks like he pressed RTH but in a panic pressed it again and cancelled RTH.

Mad_Angler1 Posted at 2016-4-26 14:54
Ken not one compass error ? No change to P-ATTI, the the FW is designed to discount bad sensor data ...

It does show a compass error when the ascent was made, I do think calibrating from the roof is the whole reason for the crash. When it ascended it went out of the magnetic field as you said and started the TBE.

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-25 19:29
Very relevant, thanks for flagging. So I goofed big time doing my initial compass calibration on th ...

I would send it in,  DJI should replace the drone.  I did not see any type compass error.  And usually when you are calibrating it, the compass will tell you to high interference.  If it calibrated then the fault should be on DJI

dacofty Posted at 2016-4-26 10:41
I would send it in,  DJI should replace the drone.  I did not see any type compass error.  And usu ...

Working with DJI now to get an RMA going.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-26 10:05
Did you want me to have someone contact you or were you going to call in?

Hi Ken, should I have received an email by now regarding my RMA?

walrus123 Posted at 2016-4-26 22:14
Hi DJI-Ken I just called in and you guys are sending me an email with all the RMA documentation an ...

I looked for your ticket by your email and cannot find one. Either you used a different email or the rep has not completed the ticket yet. What is the ticket number?
Also, when you get the email you can cut and paste your posts into the email link.