Good morning Sir or Ma'am,

I got my DJI Spark as a Christmas present from my wife. I updated it and everything and I installed a polar pro polarizer filter on it. It flew fine I was flying it around 3 or 4 miles per hour the whole time until when I was about to land it at 62% battery while still recording video the gps suddently got disconnected and it started flying backwards then it circled around a post and it crashed to a boat and fell into the water. The unfortunate event took place within about 5 seconds and I could only stare at the water for 5 minutes before the devastation kicked in... The whole thing happened within 6-7 minutes of playing with the drone.

I feel very sad and depressed about what happened. It's been my long time wish to have a drone and I finally got it as a present but now I feel like I went to the casino to bet my wife's money only to lose it all in an instant. I told my wife about everythng that happened and she is currently mad at me. Lol.

But I am still trying to keep my hopes up.. This is probably a very stupod question but anybody here know if the aircraft would still be covered in warranty for a replacement even after all these happened?

Please help?

Here is a video I took moments before the drone was lost.. in the last second of the video that was when the drone got disconnected from my phone and started flying away and crashed..

Sorry to hear that, I'm sure many in here will chime in to guide you through the process.  Was this your first drone?

Hi Lucas and thank you for your response. Yes this was my very first drone. I have been wanting one for the last three years and I lost in within 7 minutes of action. My excitement turned into a nightmare. Lol. I keep thinking I probably would have saved it if only I have grabbed it with my hands when I had the chance. It was already about 10 foot away from me and at 7 foot high when it suddenly started flying so fast and crashed.

While flying were there any other warnings in addition to the GPS lost  e.g interference warnings to fly with caution, RC disconnect ?
In the DJI Go4 app there is a warnings log you can refer to, it's on the second of the settings pages

Did you recover the drone from the water ?
I would still raise a warranty ticket with DJI and send in the logs and the AC (if it was recovered) for appraisal

Luckily my flight record saved before it crashed into the water. So the whole flight actually only took just under 6 minutes. I was flying horizontally and vertically around 3.5 miles per hour and about then I lost gps signal then it started flying backwards and around at 20+ mph until it crashed to boat’s pole and fell into the water

If you wish, you may upload your flightrecord here and share the link with us: http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
You'll find the flightrecord on your mobile device in the DJI folder and subfolder \flightrecords.
And I wish to echo others here by saying that I feel with you (and your wife) for what has happened!

Iannes and Wachtberger thank you for your response. I will try to do that but the support is down at the moment so maybe after the holidays the technical support will go back online and I will contact them. And I will try to upload the flightrecord in that link you shared.

I have both the flight record and the video of my drone.

Looking at the last moment of the video the drone was still perfectly fine and under my control before it suddenly disconnected and malfunctioned. I kept rewinding the event in my mind I really should have just grabbed it at that time.. The feeling of losing it sucks. Lol

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-23 16:33
If you wish, you may upload your flightrecord here and share the link with us: http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
You'll find the flightrecord on your mobile device in the DJI folder and subfolder \flightrecords.
And I wish to echo others here by saying that I feel with you (and your wife) for what has happened!

Here is my Flight Record..

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/M5O1IYWNHGIRHOHE2D56/

Hmmmm... Sad for your loss also... Send it to DJI repair... Get a small indoor mini drone, and have fun...

sSkyPilot thank you for your response. I think I said the drone is in the water. So I cannot send it to to DJI facility for repair. My reason for buying a DJI drone is to take aerial photos and not to randomly fly a drone, so thank you for your advice but I am not interested in mini drones.. I am hoping there’s any way I can get the drone replaced with just an evidence of a drone malfunction.

Hi, sorry for your loss.

I looked at your flight record and at 4 min 42 sec you got your first message that your craft had a magnetic-field interference, meaning some magnetic-field nearby is causing your compass to go error.
At that time you should land your craft and find a different place to fly your drone. Than you got several more messages but seems your were ignoring them.
I've been flying for only 2 months. I read a lot on this forum and am learning all tips how to avoid disasters. Also how to react when your craft goes in to ATTI mode.

Hopefully something good will come out of DJI.

Hi Lompoc thank you for your reply. Yes I have started to carefully fly it back towards me as I got that warning but it was flying around 3 miles per hour so it took some time and before I knew it it was already too late.. But yeah I hope DJI will replace it.

Hi Jalolz, I'm sorry to hear the accident. If the drone is still in warranty period, I'd suggest you contact the support and start a case: https://www.dji.com/support. In this kind of situation, data analysis is recommended to find out the flyaway reason. Pease kindly offer the case number if you need further assistance, we'll be here for help.

So the metal parts of these boats couldn't be a reason for Compas Malfunction?

Just a thought but lots of boats have Epirbs which are Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon which work on radio frequencies and also communicate via satellite, Some also have internal GPS all which may have had a bearing on your signal.

I'm sorry to say that, but to me it looks like a human error. You said yourself that it was your first flight, so you had no experience and yet you flow in quite a risky environment: water (so no chance to recover a drone after a crash) plus obstacles (boats, probably metal structure supporting the gangway) and you did not land a drone immediate after the first error message. The actual, final reason for the crash was a yaw error followed by the drone switching to the atti mode, which you were not able to handle. As said, I'm sorry to say that, but personally I'm quite skeptical about this incident being covered by a warranty.

EPIRB’s only activate when the vessel is in distress so if one was active the mariner would probably have been crawling with emergency responders.

The nightmare the OP was unfortunately forced to endure is one we all fear. However there are a few testimonials on YouTube by others who experienced the same/similar failures with the Spark who received replacements from DJI, under the standard warranty,  after analysis of the flight data showed equipment failure and not operator error.

Here’s hoping the original poster is able to start 2018 on a very positive note.

Regards

Nidge.

I appreciate everyone’s response. If operating the drone near a boat is a pilot error then I’ll admit it. I saw quite a few aerial photos at the dock so I thought it was okay to fly around the boats and I know nothing about radio beacons being active 24/7 on boats. I wish it said that on the instructions booklet lol. All I knew was how to run the drone when it wasn’t malfunctioning. Even when it had the yaw error it was completely uncontrollable. Anyway I did start a case and here is the case number: CAS-1334614-J4T4Z7

Thank you again for everyone’s response.

Update:
I received an email from DJI today and was told that they will give me a 100% off coupon that will give me a replacement for my lost drone.. My advice to everybody who lost their drone is to email the dji support about what happened and then they will respond with some form that you will fill up with personal information and some information about the drone as well as every flight record and data of the time of incident. Let them know you can send them videos and photos as proofs as well if you have any. And after that, just be patient. Oh don’t sound rude in the email I think that helps too.

jalolz Posted at 2018-1-2 09:26
Update:
I received an email from DJI today and was told that they will give me a 100% off coupon that will give me a replacement for my lost drone.. My advice to everybody who lost their drone is to email the dji support about what happened and then they will respond with some form that you will fill up with personal information and some information about the drone as well as every flight record and data of the time of incident. Let them know you can send them videos and photos as proofs as well if you have any. And after that, just be patient. Oh don’t sound rude in the email I think that helps too.

Great ending!

Tviscomi yes it was.. Missed out on a lot of the events during the holidays but still a great way to start new year.. Good luck to everyone else whose drone suffered the same fate as mine did!

Fantastic result and fair play to DJI for standing over it. I always say, in business you can do more good for your brand with how you handle customer complaints than anything else you can do. Many successful companies and small business's see customer complaints, not as a negative, but as an opportunity to stand out from their competitors by how they handle it. DJI gets a big thumbs up in this instance and makes me more likely to recommend them to friends etc.
On your next "Virgin" flight, it might be better to take it somewhere where if something goes wrong, user error or not, the drone will not end up in the drink :-) A few test runs, for you and the drone, over softer ground might give a chance for some of the kinks to be worked out. I only ever want to fly over feather filled cushions :-)

jalolz Posted at 2017-12-23 19:28
sSkyPilot thank you for your response. I think I said the drone is in the water. So I cannot send it to to DJI facility for repair. My reason for buying a DJI drone is to take aerial photos and not to randomly fly a drone, so thank you for your advice but I am not interested in mini drones.. I am hoping there’s any way I can get the drone replaced with just an evidence of a drone malfunction.

sSkyPilot actually has a good suggestion. If you are not familiar with flying drones, a mini drone is a good idea to "hone" your skills. Especially if you go in to ATTI mode while flying your Spark, you would have somewhat of a handle on controlling it manually. If you crash your mini no harm no foul unlike your experience that you just went through. Fortunately for you DJI stepped up (saved your marriage ) and replaced your AC, others have not been so lucky with similar circumstances.

_pk Posted at 2017-12-24 02:49
I'm sorry to say that, but to me it looks like a human error. You said yourself that it was your first flight, so you had no experience and yet you flow in quite a risky environment: water (so no chance to recover a drone after a crash) plus obstacles (boats, probably metal structure supporting the gangway) and you did not land a drone immediate after the first error message. The actual, final reason for the crash was a yaw error followed by the drone switching to the atti mode, which you were not able to handle. As said, I'm sorry to say that, but personally I'm quite skeptical about this incident being covered by a warranty.

you are wrong. DJI replaced it.

great result.  Happy to hear.

I think it is a great idea to get a cheap mini drone to practice on.  If you can fly them competently, then the spark will be no issue.    I would also do practice in a park or open field where there is limited interference.  Get confident before you do anything over water.

I also bought DJI Refresh.  As long as you recover it, you get a replacement for a minor cost (even if it's 100%  your fault)

Which support option did you choose? I've had exactly the same issue and have been told to get in touch with customer support - I just don't know which option.

Can I ask which support option you used to process the ticket? I've had exactly the same problem occur, in a different lake!

jalolz Posted at 2017-12-23 16:24
Luckily my flight record saved before it crashed into the water. So the whole flight actually only took just under 6 minutes. I was flying horizontally and vertically around 3.5 miles per hour and about then I lost gps signal then it started flying backwards and around at 20+ mph until it crashed to boat’s pole and fell into the water

i think you missed GPS becos of low flight altitude .

I  dont understand why pilots  fly at low altitudes when even experienced pilots  do such type of maneuver  very less frequently.

Gino just email the dji support bud. support.us@dji.com. Let them know what your problem was and you have to give them all the details from the time you flew it until the very second you lost your drone. Then just wait patiently until they send you a form to fill out about your drone.

Glad to hear you saved your drone...and your marriage I guess.....!....Happy new year!

Well, amazing story and happy ending, glad that we share kind of incidents so we all learn from each others mistakes or unlucky time. I had captured a dance to some of my friends wedding all on ATTI mode with zero issues the whole thing was indoors in a big hall, and it was so weird to not get a satellite signals as the hall is not in a huge building and having a huge windows everywhere, the minuet you step outside the hall i get a very strong signal but inside it was dead zero, and i had to capture the dance, i got the warning of no signal and that am on ATTI mode, but it was pretty well clip i got,  and one of the best i shot indoors so far, i wish i can share the clip.
Anyways thanks to DJI support and am so happy that your issue been sorted very well. Fly safe and share the good work

ArnoSpark Posted at 12-5 00:22
Well, amazing story and happy ending, glad that we share kind of incidents so we all learn from each others mistakes or unlucky time. I had captured a dance to some of my friends wedding all on ATTI mode with zero issues the whole thing was indoors in a big hall, and it was so weird to not get a satellite signals as the hall is not in a huge building and having a huge windows everywhere, the minuet you step outside the hall i get a very strong signal but inside it was dead zero, and i had to capture the dance, i got the warning of no signal and that am on ATTI mode, but it was pretty well clip i got,  and one of the best i shot indoors so far, i wish i can share the clip.
Anyways thanks to DJI support and am so happy that your issue been sorted very well. Fly safe and share the good work

Hi, we do appreciate your feedback. We're glad to know that everything went well on your end, however, please fly your aircraft in a recommended environment and stay away of any kind of interferences to avoid the incident. Thank you for your continued support. Have a safe flight always!

jalolz Posted at 2017-12-24 10:41
I appreciate everyone’s response. If operating the drone near a boat is a pilot error then I’ll admit it. I saw quite a few aerial photos at the dock so I thought it was okay to fly around the boats and I know nothing about radio beacons being active 24/7 on boats. I wish it said that on the instructions booklet lol. All I knew was how to run the drone when it wasn’t malfunctioning. Even when it had the yaw error it was completely uncontrollable. Anyway I did start a case and here is the case number: CAS-1334614-J4T4Z7

Thank you again for everyone’s response.

I'm not going to fly my first drone, the spark for a few months, so I'll only say, I'll learn from this experience, but I would have/will make my first flight in a big field somewhere far from water, or a large group of people.   If this was a device fail that should be covered, you don't have the device. The coverage you can buy to protect your drone only counts if you can get your hands on it.  Was getting it out of the water any option at all?

I got my DJI Spark as a Christmas present from my wife. I updated it and everything and I installed a polar pro polarizer filter on it. It flew fine I was flying it around 3 or 4 miles per hour the whole time until when I was about to land it at 62% battery while still recording video the gps suddently got disconnected and it started flying backwards then it circled around a post and it crashed to a boat and fell into the water. The unfortunate event took place within about 5 seconds and I could only stare at the water for 5 minutes before the devastation kicked in... The whole thing happened within 6-7 minutes of playing with the drone.

Totally feel you, had similar story with one of my drones: I ensured there is no wind outside, decided to make video footage like a drone rising up from trees and then a single super powerful wind rush made it crash to a tree.. Again, there was NO WIND AT ALL before. Though, still better situations than yours, I at least could repair it. But guess you've already have recovered from it

It is rather pity for you and your wife. But it is no necessity to spend your real money in real casino to satisfy your gambling feelings with

Yeah, Bitcoin is indeed a great thing, I use this resource for my needs https://btcplaymania.com/

jalolz Posted at 2017-12-24 10:41
I appreciate everyone’s response. If operating the drone near a boat is a pilot error then I’ll admit it. I saw quite a few aerial photos at the dock so I thought it was okay to fly around the boats and I know nothing about radio beacons being active 24/7 on boats. I wish it said that on the instructions booklet lol. All I knew was how to run the drone when it wasn’t malfunctioning. Even when it had the yaw error it was completely uncontrollable. Anyway I did start a case and here is the case number: CAS-1334614-J4T4Z7

Thank you again for everyone’s response.

make a report anyway . you never know what they will do . the spark should never loose contact ( wi fi ) that close to you