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spark disconnected and flew away, no record, no sraps
3379 34 2017-12-30
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Aga
lvl.1
Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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Hi all,
just as many before us we have lost our Spark. We had DJI care refresh, but apparently it doesn't cover our case.

What has happened is that we were shooting our friends during a surf class. Then played a little in sport mode and when the battery was in 25% (and the drone was in the line sight - 100m from us) we hit the RTH button. At this point I noticed on the phone that drone is disconnected. It started the rth routine - hovered up and we thought everything will be fine, but then it just flew away and we couldn't find it anywhere. The DJI claims it's not covered by the care refresh programe since we have no scraps nor full flight record. Well we don't because it disconnected. We though have a bunch of witnesses of this incident. I'm attaching flight record and the video.

Do you guys have any other idea what else could we do?

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/DM1M9G988YUC85TZTVIQ/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/ ... G6/view?usp=sharing

Cheers,
Aga!
2017-12-30
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S.J
Captain
Flight distance : 322454 ft
Kuwait
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i suppose you have a IOS phone
2017-12-30
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S.J
Captain
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Kuwait
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This is the second time i am seeing the fly away happening in less than a  week at very low height.    You are not supposed to fly at 3.3 ft  for a long distance flight !

Secondly there is no SPARK initiation of a RTH in the flight log which makes your case the more harder for a warranty claim.
2017-12-30
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S-e-ven
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Thailand
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Can't watch your video, why don't you put in on youtube?
But from the log, I'd say you tried to 'race-drone' that spark in Sport Mode very close to the ground/water
If you did not write that it flew away, I would assume it tilted, turned off and got washed (if high tide, what I assume, looking for your starting position)

But other question: Why is everyone, ok, are so many thinking, RTH is a 'normal to use return flight'?
It is a failsafe.

And: With 25% battery it had juice for about 1-2 minutes flight before it would land automaticly.
Which is max. 1-1.5 km in that direction it flew away.
Are there any high trees in that line? Buildings?

Oh: And have you flown in that flyaway direction before, somewhere?
2017-12-30
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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S-e-ven Posted at 2017-12-30 20:59
Can't watch your video, why don't you put in on youtube?
But from the log, I'd say you tried to 'race-drone' that spark in Sport Mode very close to the ground/water
If you did not write that it flew away, I would assume it tilted, turned off and got washed (if high tide, what I assume, looking for your starting position)

Just posted the movie on yt, here is the link:


As you can see it wasn't that low, I'd say it was at least 10-15m meters high.
In the sport mode I pretty much flew in every direction before using the RTH. There was trees, nothing higher than 1m above the sea level.
I actually have considered RTH as a normal back to me mechanism and have been using it pretty much in every flight.
I know that there is no RTH initiation :/ Is there any way to recover the data from the remote? I chased the drone when it disconnected, but it didn't reconnect even for a second.
2017-12-30
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S-e-ven
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S.J Posted at 2017-12-30 20:51
This is the second time i am seeing the fly away happening in less than a  week at very low height.    You are not supposed to fly at 3.3 ft  for a long distance flight !

Secondly there is no SPARK initiation of a RTH in the flight log which makes your case the more harder for a warranty claim.

Since I downloaded the video and watched it, I think it is pretty clear that the 3 feet aren't the altitude above the see.
Probably the starting point on the shore was a lot higher as sea level. Airdata says 3.2m
If I see that right, there is nothing after the change to sport mode in the log.
Which I would not expect, with all this "data losses" and "high wind" warnings, eh, tips before

I still would open a case with DJI, if it would be my drone.
Send in the video with the log, it is relatively obvious, it is the last part of the flightlog.
And not only care refresh is available, I think it can be a total warranty thing!
2017-12-30
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Aga
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Australia
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S-e-ven Posted at 2017-12-30 21:27
Since I downloaded the video and watched it, I think it is pretty clear that the 3 feet aren't the altitude above the see.
Probably the starting point on the shore was a lot higher as sea level. Airdata says 3.2m
If I see that right, there is nothing after the change to sport mode in the log.

We have made a care refresh claim and have sent both flight data and the movie, but they said all they can offer us is 30% off coupon for the next spark since we don't have the spark body. Which is pretty dissapointing since there is -30% sale right now.

We have made a claim as a care refresh request - should we make another as a guarantee claim?
2017-12-30
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S-e-ven
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-"We have made a claim as a care refresh request - should we make another as a guarantee claim?"-

So far, a fly away is not a care refresh case. To me.
It is more a fail of the used hardware.
Yes, I would ask for looking into this on warranty reasons: Failure of aircraft!
Aside:  You wrote you have lots of witnesses.
Maybe the one or the other mod comes around this topic, later, and offers assistance?

What you can do also:
Watch the flight record on your device, with the controlls showing.
And check with the video.
Maybe do a screenrecording about that!
2017-12-30
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hallmark007
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It’s strange, you said you hit RTH at 25% battery and it shows this in the log, but looks like log ended just before you pushed RTH .
I’m amazed why you didn’t fly back manually when you were so close, you had 460 ft to travel it looked windy so Aircraft might struggle as RTH speed would have been pretty slow.
I think the biggest problem for you regarding dji was in your flight log it only shows your aircraft doing as it should do, nothing in it to show any flyaway or any other problem, in fact to me it looks like complete power Cut.
2017-12-30
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-30 23:16
It’s strange, you said you hit RTH at 25% battery and it shows this in the log, but looks like log ended just before you pushed RTH .
I’m amazed why you didn’t fly back manually when you were so close, you had 460 ft to travel it looked windy so Aircraft might struggle as RTH speed would have been pretty slow.
I think the biggest problem for you regarding dji was in your flight log it only shows your aircraft doing as it should do, nothing in it to show any flyaway or any other problem, in fact to me it looks like complete power Cut.

Ok, so I'll look into how to make a guarantee claim. Do I have to visit a store where I bought it? This would be diffucult since we are in the middle of our honeymoon rtw trip and the drone was bought in Indonesia, but now we are in Australia. Though the guys from the store have my box and I have a way to contact them so maybe it would be possible.

As for the power cut - it would be better, because at least I'd know where it dropped and where to look for it. But it just disconnected from the remote and app. I know it will be a tough one, but lets hope for the best.
2017-12-30
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DJI Susan
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Hi Aga, could you leave your case number here? I'd like to check the exact status and see whether we can help.
2017-12-30
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Aga
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Australia
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DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-30 23:45
Hi Aga, could you leave your case number here? I'd like to check the exact status and see whether we can help.

The care renew claim number is: CAS-1323007-P0K4Z1
Thanks Susan
2017-12-30
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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Here is a photo of the place and how did the rescue mission has looked like from the shore.

2017-12-31
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DJI Susan
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Aga Posted at 2017-12-30 23:59
The care renew claim number is: CAS-1323007-P0K4Z1
Thanks Susan

Thanks for getting back to us. I've checked the case, please find the data analysis result as below:

1. GPS signal was fine, the drone worked at Sport mode.
2. T=09-04 h=0m d=121.5m the App record ended suddenly. At this moment, the drone was hovering over the sea. End -8.7405770 115.2426927Conclusion: Unknown reason

Regarding the h=0, it is the relative altitude compare with the take-off altitude, instead of the sea level, please kindly note and understand. I'll attach the screenshot for your reference. From the flight records, we do not find any abnormity, so the conclusion is unknown reason and offered the proper solution according to DJI's policy. Hope for your understanding.


CAS-1323007-P0K4Z1.png
2018-1-1
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Aga
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DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-1 03:13
Thanks for getting back to us. I've checked the case, please find the data analysis result as below:

1. GPS signal was fine, the drone worked at Sport mode.

Well.. we've got nothing except people who actually have seen it happen. They are still looking for it, but by now we have lost hope that we'll find it.

So - any case without a drone scraps is a lost one? People fly over water / cliffs / forests all the time, thats kind of point of having a drone - taking photos/movies of amazing sights. Even in regular places such take off can result in someone stealing the drone or it could fall on someones property.
I understand that this is a tough scenario as not handing back the drone body might lead to abuse. But maybe if DJI had some sort of marking the drone and all the parts as stolen/lost and then acting when someone tries to use it. I don't have a solution, but there is tons of cases like mine on the DJI forum and it finally might affect the sales or company reputation.
2018-1-1
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S-e-ven
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Is in this case, as the video supports that the "unknown reason" is solid some meter over the sea, the 'proper solution according to DJI's policy' to give 30% discount not a bit questionable?
I mean, it is obvious that the last recorded position is inflight. How comes?
Did your  engineers say anything to the flight controller movements during the last swivels in sport mode?
Intenionally or ....?
2018-1-1
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CabinPete
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Shouldn’t unknown reason tilt toward the consumer?
Innocent until proven guilty.
Reason unknown, to me, means you can’t prove it was his fault.
Do the right thing and send him a new or refurbished drone.
2018-1-1
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GF007
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From my experience, triggering RTH while in sports mode sometimes makes the bird go crazy (disconnects, "uncontrolled" manoeuvres). Unable to reproduce every single time, right now it looks totally random to me. But I'm sure it's not. There must be a special chain of events that leads to this issue.
2018-1-1
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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The fact is that without the drone you are screwed

@ GF007
Did You get a RTH button press saved on a flight log?
I'm 100% possitive that I've pressed it but it's not on a flight log. The RC started making the landing sound and spark started the RTH routine - it hovered up and at that point I thought it's gona come back to me. It proved me wrong after it went in opposite direction.

As for the -30% from DJI - there was a winter sale with -30% for everyone and now you can easily buy a spark at this price and I even saw it little cheaper in one store (like -33% in a drone store) though as I read somewhere on this forum the warranty is not international so you might run into some problems later...
2018-1-1
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DJI Susan
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Aga Posted at 2018-1-1 17:48
The fact is that without the drone you are screwed

@ GF007

I understand your frustration and will forward this to the designated team for follow-up. They will take care of this and hopefully this can be figured out soon.
2018-1-1
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Aga
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DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-1 23:48
I understand your frustration and will forward this to the designated team for follow-up. They will take care of this and hopefully this can be figured out soon.

Thank you Susan.
We've asked our friends from the surf camp to look for the spark and ask around if anyone has found it  but so far no luck.
2018-1-2
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DJI Susan
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Aga Posted at 2018-1-2 04:21
Thank you Susan.
We've asked our friends from the surf camp to look for the spark and ask around if anyone has found it  but so far no luck.

It's a pity to hear the news. The Customer Care Team is reviewing your case and will contact you soon.
2018-1-4
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Aga
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DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-4 02:23
It's a pity to hear the news. The Customer Care Team is reviewing your case and will contact you soon.

Thank you, I'm waiting for the reply now.

On the other hand - I'd really like to know (and I bet other users as well) what we should do in a situation like that. I mean - the drone gets disconnected and starts flying away - what then?
2018-1-4
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DJI Susan
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Aga Posted at 2018-1-4 15:47
Thank you, I'm waiting for the reply now.

On the other hand - I'd really like to know (and I bet other users as well) what we should do in a situation like that. I mean - the drone gets disconnected and starts flying away - what then?

As you mentioned, it is hard to tell the exact status after the drone disconnected, and we are trying to offer a better solution. Quarles is following up your case and will help you out. Hope this can be figured out soon.
2018-1-5
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Aga
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DJI Susan Posted at 2018-1-5 03:20
As you mentioned, it is hard to tell the exact status after the drone disconnected, and we are trying to offer a better solution. Quarles is following up your case and will help you out. Hope this can be figured out soon.

Thanks for your help Susan. Do you know how can I move the dji care refresh to a replaced drone?
2018-1-12
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Jos A
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also the video shows yaw errors at the end
2018-1-13
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Strobing_NYC_Sp
First Officer
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We all know what happens after Yaw errors. The wonderful GPS lost going into ATTI mode lol... I wish DJI would look into this issue
2018-1-13
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ADDvanced
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United States
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You need to hook your phone up to your computer and export the .txt file of your last flight, upload to www.phantomhelp.com

Cheers!
2018-1-13
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Gunship9
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Strobing_NYC_Sp Posted at 2018-1-13 10:13
We all know what happens after Yaw errors. The wonderful GPS lost going into ATTI mode lol... I wish DJI would look into this issue

Yep, we know the pilot's flying skills and how well he can see his drone come to the forefront when the drone goes into ATTI.  After all, ATTI is one of the easier modes to fly in.  RATE mode is harder and an unstabilized drone is even harder.

Though I doubt there is indication of ATTI mode in the video since it didn't send any warnings or errors to the controller.  Not sure if a Yaw error is indicated since the video looks like the Spark tumbled at one point during the yawing around.  Bird strike?  

Can the object in the upper right corner at 2:58 be a motor?  I didn't know the Spark could deflect the camera enough to see its own motors.  You can also see the object at 2:53.  It looks like something has caught onto the Spark.
2018-1-13
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Gunship9
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This is flapping around on the OP's drone.  Drone dropped into the water by a wayward body skin or wrap?



2018-1-14
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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Wow, I've never noticed this. I've been reading lately that sparks could disconnect after the yaw errors. Ours additionaly found a new spot for landing which unfortunately was probably in the ocean.

As for the warranty claim we have settled with the DJI for a discount. Next time we will try harder to get the spark body for the warranty claim. This is hard for both parties and tough to prove so I understand the DJI. They helped us and allowed us to get the drone in other region than we originally had, so it's pretty cool.
2018-1-14
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jalolz
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Did you not try to start a case for a warranty claim yet (not care refresh)? I did that and within 2 weeks they replaced my drone free of charge..
2018-1-14
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Aga
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Flight distance : 161535 ft
Australia
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Yeah, we had a warranty claim but we were unable to get a replacement free of charge.
Did you have the drone body?
2018-1-15
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DJI Susan
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Aga Posted at 2018-1-12 20:22
Thanks for your help Susan. Do you know how can I move the dji care refresh to a replaced drone?

Aga, please kindly send an email to djicare@dji.com, and offer the previous and new aircraft SN, the designated team will take care of this.
2018-1-15
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Chirpz
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United States
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Sorry for you loss!

I question the decision to press RTH when you only have 25% battery left.  On 25%, the drone is supposed to ascend to the return height, fight whatever wind there is, and make it all the way home.  It seems chancy to me.  I think the best thing is to never use RTH unless it is absolutely necessary....fly home using the sticks.  
2018-1-15
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