Please select Into the mobile phone version | Continue to access the computer ver.
Dji Spark flew away and lost. Aircraft failure ?
12Next >
17494 67 2017-7-21
Uploading and Loding Picture ...(0/1)
o(^-^)o
fans55d3dc1e
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

Hello everyone, I am writing to you because I want to report my Dji Spark´s failure which happened yesterday and I have no idea what went wrong. Before my flight I´ve calibrated my compass as always before flying and set home point as well. I´ve started recording my footage where I´ve set Active track. Everything was okey because I also flew before and my aircraft was acting normal. After a minute of recording, my Spark stopped to tracking me and started to fly backward away from me in a really high speed. I have not done anything, I did not touch controller stick at all. It was just few seconds and Spark was gone, disconnected from the app. I was scared and frustrated what is going on because my Spark was lost in a huge field. Luckily, after few hours of searching my Spark, I fortunately found my drone. The Spark hit one of the small trees in that field so that stopped him. Otherwise Spark could be I have no idea where. My propellers are broken and also Spark lost one small part as well. I am disappointed and afraid to fly again with my drone.

What do you suggest guys? I´ve tried Spark once right in the evening after 3 hours of searching with new propellers and it was acting normal.


Should I send my Spark to Dji repair center that they can analyze what was the problem or should I leave it if my spark is okey. I do not know what to do know, because I am really scared of idea that this will happen again to me. I need to say that I was lucky now, but what would happen If I would fly somewhere above the sea and this would happen again. My money would be lost after a week of my purchase.

Any ideas and help ? Thank you so much

PS: I can attach my flight record and I have that footage what happened as well.

PS2: I do not have Dji refresh care


2017-7-21
Use props
hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
  • >>>
Ireland
Offline

First you need to sync your flight to dji cloud in your app, contact dji support and start a case.

If you want help finding out what might have happened then you could click on link below follow instructions and come back here and post the link. I will have a look at log for you.


http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
2017-7-21
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-21 07:34
First you need to sync your flight to dji cloud in your app, contact dji support and start a case.

If you want help finding out what might have happened then you could click on link below follow instructions and come back here and post the link. I will have a look at log for you.

Hi, here is the link : http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/4GCF09K0ZR54ZZ4RKOTJ/

Thank you for help
2017-7-21
Use props
hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
  • >>>
Ireland
Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-21 07:45
Hi, here is the link : http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/4GCF09K0ZR54ZZ4RKOTJ/

Thank you for help

First I think you as I said report it to dji, they will almost certainly tell you to ship it back.

Looking at your log it does look like a rare case of flyaway, no fault of pilot , speed increases significantly almost like it went into Atti mode, but you had perfect gps and no warnings , right to the end of your log, of which there is a chunk missing, it continues to say it's in active track.
You should have been receiving warnings but got absolutely none so this is a fault in software of your aircraft, it's very puzzling I haven't seen this before, dji will be able to abstract more from aircraft dat file, but for me this is not anything to do with pilot error and should be warranty claim.

Let us know what dji say when they see your log files.
Good luck.
2017-7-21
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-21 08:23
First I think you as I said report it to dji, they will almost certainly tell you to ship it back.

Looking at your log it does look like a rare case of flyaway, no fault of pilot , speed increases significantly almost like it went into Atti mode, but you had perfect gps and no warnings , right to the end of your log, of which there is a chunk missing, it continues to say it's in active track.

Hello again, thank you for your response, I really appreciate that.

I´ve wrote them an email yesterday at evening right after I came home and yes, they replied that I should send them my Aircraft back that they can fully diagnose the unit.
Should I ask them for analysis my log before I´ll send my AC to Dji ?
Do you know how long does it take ? whole process and what about shipping costs ?

I uploaded video on youtube for better point of view what was going on that moment. Check it out :

Thank you so much
2017-7-21
Use props
hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
  • >>>
Ireland
Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-21 08:44
Hello again, thank you for your response, I really appreciate that.

I´ve wrote them an email yesterday at evening right after I came home and yes, they replied that I should send them my Aircraft back that they can fully diagnose the unit.


I don't think you need to, they are normally very fair when it comes to this sort of thing, you should ask for some analysis when they have finished.

Once you have your case number, and dji have received it contact a moderator here they will help escalate your case.

That is some crazy video, lucky you where in a very open spot.


2017-7-21
Use props
LeChuck71
Second Officer
Flight distance : 68786 ft
Germany
Offline

Uh, now that is the first "fly away" that is really scary - hope they discover the problem.
I bet you get a completely new Spark - unfortunately it will take a while.

*Fingers crossed*
2017-7-21
Use props
RegDawg
lvl.4
Flight distance : 54091 ft
United States
Offline

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-21 08:23
First I think you as I said report it to dji, they will almost certainly tell you to ship it back.

Looking at your log it does look like a rare case of flyaway, no fault of pilot , speed increases significantly almost like it went into Atti mode, but you had perfect gps and no warnings , right to the end of your log, of which there is a chunk missing, it continues to say it's in active track.

Is it farfetch to think that many others are experiencing the same thing and they could all be faulty? Any way to fix this issue with a firmware update? Many people are reporting this in the DJI Spark Facebook page.
2017-7-21
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-7-21 08:52
I don't think you need to, they are normally very fair when it comes to this sort of thing, you should ask for some analysis when they have finished.

Once you have your case number, and dji have received it contact a moderator here they will help escalate your case.

Thanks man, I will definitely contact them asap... I was very lucky that it was that big field.. If the spark did not hit that small tree, one house was 20 m behind :O

My Spark looks quite good, with a bit scratches and propellers are destroyed.. and also this part is missing. Now I am really afraid to even take off, because I do not know what could happen so rather to send them back.

Thanks for all responses.

Adrian

missing part

missing part
2017-7-21
Use props
hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
  • >>>
Ireland
Offline

RegDawg Posted at 2017-7-21 09:00
Is it farfetch to think that many others are experiencing the same thing and they could all be faulty? Any way to fix this issue with a firmware update? Many people are reporting this in the DJI Spark Facebook page.

Almost always so called flyaways can be put down to some pilot error and from what I've seen around the forum most of these are not due to faulty aircraft,

There are some who have had power shutdown problems, no one seems to know why and lack of information from dji and those who have returned their spark, it's impossible to say what's causing this problem. Although some of the threads look long there are not that many with power failure compared to how many sparks out there working fine, but for those who have had this problem, one is to many.
2017-7-21
Use props
Mattymatt
Canada
Offline

I am on  the fence about buying the Spark but these videos are really turning me away. I will wait until DJI fixes it.
2017-7-21
Use props
DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

Offline

So sorry for the crash,  have you got a  case number from Support?  Should you have any questions about it , please provide us your case number, we'll check it for you.
2017-7-21
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-21 18:40
So sorry for the crash,  have you got a  case number from Support?  Should you have any questions about it , please provide us your case number, we'll check it for you.

Hello, I´ve created my case just few minutes ago.. Here it is CAS-821347-T4R5P9

Can you please check my log file and give me some more detailed feedback ?

Best regards, Adrian
2017-7-21
Use props
DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-21 23:28
Hello, I´ve created my case just few minutes ago.. Here it is CAS-821347-T4R5P9

Can you please check my log file and give me some more detailed feedback ?  

Not so fast, since you just created this case,  just checked your case, what you provided is not the flight log, it is flight record. Do you want to send the drone in for diagnosis and repair? If yes, please send it in first , then we'll export the flight log of the drone and submit a data analysis.
2017-7-22
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
France
Offline

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-22 00:06
Not so fast, since you just created this case,  just checked your case, what you provided is not the flight log, it is flight record. Do you want to send the drone in for diagnosis and repair? If yes, please send it in first , then we'll export the flight log of the drone and submit a data analysis.

Okey then If the file which I sent is only flight record, how can i send you my flight log ? Am I able to send it to you by myself? Or only guys from repair center are able to get flight logs?
Because I just wanna be sure that its some system failure in aircraft and needs to be repaired.
Should I export my black box from Dji Assistant 2 ?

Thanks
2017-7-22
Use props
DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-22 01:05
Okey then If the file which I sent is only flight record, how can i send you my flight log ? Am I able to send it to you by myself? Or only guys from repair center are able to get flight logs?
Because I just wanna be sure that its some system failure in aircraft and needs to be repaired.
Should I export my black box from Dji Assistant 2 ?  

If the drone is damaged and need to be repaired, I would recommend you send it in directly, we'll export the log for analysis.  You can also export the log via DJI Assistant 2 if you don't want to send the drone in. Here are the instructions:
1. Download the Assistant 2 from DJI official Spark website page, install it.
2. Connect the drone to your PC, run Assistant 2, then click "black box", you can get the file.
3. Then click "Upload Data--Confirm", choose the log which shows the situation, and save it to local.
Please upload both files to Dropbox and post the link here, thanks.

Spsrk data output.png
2017-7-22
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Sweden
Offline

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-22 01:55
If the drone is damaged and need to be repaired, I would recommend you send it in directly, we'll export the log for analysis.  You can also export the log via DJI Assistant 2 if you don't want to send the drone in. Here are the instructions:
1. Download the Assistant 2 from DJI official Spark website page, install it.
2. Connect the drone to your PC, run Assistant 2, then click "black box", you can get the file.

Thank you for your answer, I definitely want to send my drone for the repair, I am just waiting for
the label. When I'll come home, I'll upload those files for you here thank you again
2017-7-22
Use props
Tviscomi
Captain
Flight distance : 106886 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

Very interested to see what DJI does in this case. Surely doesn't look like pilot error.
2017-7-22
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Sweden
Offline

xtro Posted at 2017-7-22 06:12
hello , in dji go there is "find my drone" and beep the esc , you have not try for find the spark ?

Hi, please read my first post fortunately I found my spark after 3 hours of searching, thats why I have  full footage and 'find my drone' beeping and flash lights not working while aircraft is disconnected.
2017-7-22
Use props
fansd8e80c3c
lvl.1
Flight distance : 95502 ft
Chile
Offline

Wow that's scary it goes full throttle away, question for DJI in this condition, press the pause the button could have avoided the crash? I read in other topics about someone whose drone was RTH in the wrong place (over a lake?) and he pressed pause to stop everything being able to prevent the damage
2017-7-22
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-22 01:55
If the drone is damaged and need to be repaired, I would recommend you send it in directly, we'll export the log for analysis.  You can also export the log via DJI Assistant 2 if you don't want to send the drone in. Here are the instructions:
1. Download the Assistant 2 from DJI official Spark website page, install it.
2. Connect the drone to your PC, run Assistant 2, then click "black box", you can get the file.

Hello Diana,

I just came home and tried to export my files to local. Exporting my Black Box was succesfull but data file from that moment of crash was not. In the end of exporting it shows Download/Compression Failed but some file it downloads to my laptop which has 1,47 GB.




Here is the link for Dropbox : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/19rkn ... w6hMQw8mMkj3pa?dl=0
There is Black Box, Flight record and the file which was downloaded after the message ´Compression Failed´
Thank you so much

Compression Failed

Compression Failed
2017-7-22
Use props
Monochrome
lvl.4
Flight distance : 12710 ft
Netherlands
Offline

That looks scary. I'm afraid to fly a bit after watching this.
2017-7-22
Use props
DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-22 12:39
Hello Diana,

I just came home and tried to export my files to local. Exporting my Black Box was succesfull but data file from that moment of crash was not. In the end of exporting it shows Download/Compression Failed but some file it downloads to my laptop which has 1,47 GB.

Thanks, I'll add this dropbox link to your case, and it will be forwarded to our engineers. Please send the drone in ASAP.
2017-7-23
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-7-23 21:16
Thanks, I'll add this dropbox link to your case, and it will be forwarded to our engineers. Please send the drone in ASAP.

Okey thank you so much.

I have one more question about shipping. Do I need to wait for the shipping label and then send my drone through UPS ? What steps should I do ? Thank you
2017-7-24
Use props
DJI Diana
Administrator
Flight distance : 2408 ft

Offline

Adrian C Posted at 2017-7-24 00:55
Okey thank you so much.

I have one more question about shipping. Do I need to wait for the shipping label and then send my drone through UPS ? What steps should I do ? Thank you

Yes, we'll send you an email with the shipping label and also tell you how to send it back.
2017-7-24
Use props
Reinaldonormand
lvl.1

United States
Offline

I’ve had a problem with my Spark in gesture mode on June 18. Battery was low and she landed over water instead of returning home. Dji support was horrible and didn’t understand my problem. They asked me for logs 3x but I explained them that the aircraft wouldn’t have logs on my iPhone because it was in gesture mode! So I lost an aircraft probably due to a bug and nobody cared. I had bought dji care but without the aircraft they wouldn’t replace it. Also, my controller was defective and took ONE MONTH to be replaced. They took action only after I said I would sue them. That is a really bad way to treat a longtime customer. Disappointed and disgusted by dji post sales support.  
2017-7-25
Use props
fans8a4a1fce
New
Flight distance : 11706 ft
United States
Offline

Reinaldonormand Posted at 2017-7-25 07:03
I’ve had a problem with my Spark in gesture mode on June 18. Battery was low and she landed over water instead of returning home. Dji support was horrible and didn’t understand my problem. They asked me for logs 3x but I explained them that the aircraft wouldn’t have logs on my iPhone because it was in gesture mode! So I lost an aircraft probably due to a bug and nobody cared. I had bought dji care but without the aircraft they wouldn’t replace it. Also, my controller was defective and took ONE MONTH to be replaced. They took action only after I said I would sue them. That is a really bad way to treat a longtime customer. Disappointed and disgusted by dji post sales support.

Don't expect DJI to honor their warranty.  I had this same problem with my couple-day-old Mavic.  Here's what "support" sent me with a $696 bill:

Non warranty per data analysis; FLY013 1. Unit took off and flew in Atti mode due to low satellite count and electromagnetic interference from the environment 2. Observed high voltage power lines nearby. Unit would drift and avoidance was disabled in Atti mode 3. At t=175.9s, unit recorded external impact near a pool and crashed upon descending Conclusion: Took off and flew in Atti mode then crashed due to low satellite count and interference Impact location: 33.9399497 -84.609436 Non warranty

There were a lot of thing that didn't make sense to me.   I have another Mavic Pro that I've flown dozens of times in the same area with no problem from "interference".   The problematic Mavic's fans also never turned on, unlike the one which never had a problem.   So I told them that and got:

Not having an issue with outside interference with a different unit does not mean the is an issue with the first Mavic. It won't always be strong enough to affect the craft, and if the first Mavic was flown without doing a compass calibration, that would make it more susceptible to outside interference. The fans will also only turn on when the aircraft/gimbal gets too hot.

So I responded:
To respond to your statements.  Yes, the first Mavic had a calibration done.
So, just to get this understood – you are saying that the  even though the first Mavic did quite a few things differently than my second one and the second one never had the problem the first one did still suggests there was nothing wrong with the first one?   Because I don’t see how that makes sense.
1)        The second one has run successfully many times in the same location you are saying affected the first.    Can you give me an actual explanation why the interference “won’t always be strong enough to affect the craft”, yet the 1st one had problems more than once and the second one has NEVER shown a problem, despite flying many more times than the first.
2)        The fans “only turn on when the aircraft/gimbal gets too hot”?   The second one’s fans have come on nearly every single flight and also during the firmware update.   I don’t recall ever hearing the first one’s fans come on.   
3)        I’m not the only one having this problem!    https://qz.com/1037497/people-ar ... ing-out-of-the-sky/   This looks exactly like what happened with mine.  It suddenly starts flying away and crashes.   


Short answer is that DJI clearly has problems with their drones and doesn't want to take care of their customers.   I'd almost go so far to say all they care about is selling their "DJI Care" warranties for more cash.   

Bottom line, avoid DJI.  Get a different drone.
2017-7-28
Use props
Hathdert
Second Officer
Flight distance : 459094 ft
Brazil
Offline

If you calibrate your drone on a interference place, the wrong results to the the compass due to interference will be treated like positive results on flight. If you take off with that wrong results and midair are no interference, the right results of midair free of interference place will be treated like wrong, and cause a compass error (missmatch) when the discrepancy between reads are high, leading to problems like out of controll drone, your flight controll will not know what to do when wrong parameters are supose to be right parameters.

Everyones need to be VERY VERY carefull about where calibrate the drone. Old drone users always be very very carefull, Since phantom 1 ages and old flyaway problems

2017-7-29
Use props
Whiskey9
Flight distance : 296883 ft
Australia
Offline

Watch as new Phantom 4 pro falls out of the sky  
2017-7-31
Use props
Oh My
lvl.1
Flight distance : 18694 ft
New Zealand
Offline

fans8a4a1fce Posted at 2017-7-28 13:54
Don't expect DJI to honor their warranty.  I had this same problem with my couple-day-old Mavic.  Here's what "support" sent me with a $696 bill:

Non warranty per data analysis; FLY013 1. Unit took off and flew in Atti mode due to low satellite count and electromagnetic interference from the environment 2. Observed high voltage power lines nearby. Unit would drift and avoidance was disabled in Atti mode 3. At t=175.9s, unit recorded external impact near a pool and crashed upon descending Conclusion: Took off and flew in Atti mode then crashed due to low satellite count and interference Impact location: 33.9399497 -84.609436 Non warranty


Yes, You got it.

DJI does NOT care the customer until we give them hard proof of system failure.
And if you here their excuse, you will realise there are no place to make safe flight with DJI products.
DJI Lovers also will accuse you and say "You shouldn't fly in such place"
Sad.
2017-8-5
Use props
Adrian C
lvl.1
Flight distance : 32543 ft
Denmark
Offline

Hello Guys,, First of all I wanna thank all the people who tried to help me with my problem as @HALLMARK007 and then Diana from Dji

I am writing this coment because I wanna let you know that I just received completely new Spark from Dji. They analyzed my Spark and there was failure on main board of Spark, they took full responsibility and I did not pay nothing. Whole process took maybe 1 and half week.

Again, Thank you all for your help, I have my Spark at home and hope that this will never happen again. THANK YOU DJI!
2017-8-11
Use props
wricks
lvl.1
Flight distance : 39783 ft
United States
Offline

Good to hear a positive result from DJI after sales service.  Glad you will be up and flying again soon.
2017-8-11
Use props
schanda
New
Flight distance : 6240 ft
United States
Offline

Same issue- normal spark flight for about 6 minutes on fully charged battery. Dropped out the sky at about 80 feet into about 1 foot of sea water. Appears that this is now a 'known issue' and DJI is issuing a mandatory firmware update. I think this is fine, it happens with new tech. However, DJI customer service has been atrocious, and appears be purposefully designed to evade its warranty obligation.

Long story shorter: called DJI, and was told that drones dropping in water should not be repaired (company policy & safety issues), and if they find that it was equipment malfunction, they would replace it for free. Sent in the drone, and their repair facility  determined it was a equipment malfunction (the now 'known' issue), but attempted to repair the water immersed drone(!), and sent it back to me. After many hours on the phone, and speaking to multiple 'supervisors', all of which acknowledged that the drone should not have been repaired, I sent my drone back, with the promise of replacement (apparently, however, the repair facility is firewalled from their customer service facility- they can't talk directly to each other (!?!)). Of course, I received a bill for $496 from the repair facility. After many more hours of speaking to 'supervisors' (had to explain the situation each time to every new contact), nothing has happened, except reminders for me to pay my bill . One of the supervisors, Lance (support.na285@dji.com) assured me that he would personally take care of it- as evidenced by him providing me his direct email. But has not returned a single email (>5 sent) or phone call. It has now been over 6 weeks, and they still have my drone.
I am glad to hear that DJI has offered a mandatory patch for this issue, but has been willfully negligent in honoring it warranties. I would suggest that other users experiencing this report to the FTC and BBB, and am talking to my lawyer about legal action. Will post with any updates.
2017-8-28
Use props
ThirdEyeFlyin'
lvl.1
Flight distance : 162444 ft
Canada
Offline

This is why my bird is in a box.
2017-8-28
Use props
fansfddfa4ce
New
Flight distance : 75459 ft
United States
Offline

Add me to the list of fly aways and lost Sparks! Just an hour ago I was flying at Huntington Beach,I was finishing up a review I had been working on about the Sparks photo abilities. Everything was fine, drone not 20 feet of the ground and 20-30 away and it just went off on its own. For about 6 seconds it was doing it's own thing. I had zero control of the Spark. The Spark hit the pier and fell in the sea. Myself and three other people looked for it. The spark was not found. I will be posting about it tomorrow on my youtube channel. I'm not happy! For three weeks I worked on very extensive review the drone. I'm thankful nobody was hurt. I ask DJI to make good on this event.

Matt Brown
2017-8-30
Use props
DJI Elektra
DJI team
Hong Kong
Offline

fansfddfa4ce Posted at 2017-8-30 19:22
Add me to the list of fly aways and lost Sparks! Just an hour ago I was flying at Huntington Beach,I was finishing up a review I had been working on about the Sparks photo abilities. Everything was fine, drone not 20 feet of the ground and 20-30 away and it just went off on its own. For about 6 seconds it was doing it's own thing. I had zero control of the Spark. The Spark hit the pier and fell in the sea. Myself and three other people looked for it. The spark was not found. I will be posting about it tomorrow on my youtube channel. I'm not happy! For three weeks I worked on very extensive review the drone. I'm thankful nobody was hurt. I ask DJI to make good on this event.

Matt Brown

Sorry for your loss, please contact the support and export the flight data to dropbox. Here is the link :http://www.dji.com/support
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
2017-8-31
Use props
Timoune
lvl.3
Flight distance : 31089 ft
Finland
Offline

Hi,

I also got the exact same issue a week ago, I am glad to hear that this is a known issue.
I sent the drone back to DJI today. I can share the log with you if you want to have a look!

Best,

Florent
2017-11-3
Use props
DJI Elektra
DJI team
Hong Kong
Offline

Timoune Posted at 2017-11-3 01:07
Hi,

I also got the exact same issue a week ago, I am glad to hear that this is a known issue.

If you have any doubt in your case, please inform us and I would check the status for you.
2017-11-3
Use props
Timoune
lvl.3
Flight distance : 31089 ft
Finland
Offline

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-11-3 01:15
If you have any doubt in your case, please inform us and I would check the status for you.

Thanks a lot! The drone (and a damaged propeller) is now in transfer with UPS to be send to the NL. I will let you know ;).
Following the FB page about spark (in french), it seems that there was few people with the same issue...

Let´s see, thanks again ;)
2017-11-5
Use props
DJI Elektra
DJI team
Hong Kong
Offline

Timoune Posted at 2017-11-5 13:28
Thanks a lot! The drone (and a damaged propeller) is now in transfer with UPS to be send to the NL. I will let you know ;).
Following the FB page about spark (in french), it seems that there was few people with the same issue...

You are welcome. Hope it can be solved soon.
2017-11-6
Use props
12Next >
Advanced
You need to log in before you can reply Login | Register now

Credit Rules