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Issue: RTH did not work! Spark flew away and never come back...
2111 17 2018-3-3
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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Hi,

I flew my Spark for more than 80 times ever since I bought it on 31st December last year. Spark did not give me any problems at all and RTH worked perfectly with acceptable precision. I always make sure that I check the sensors before flying ie gyroscope, GPS, compass, controller etc and I do perform calibration whenever prompted. I did read the manuals and also followed through user guides to ensure safety and reliability of each flight.

One fine morning, I flew my Spark to exactly the same spot, following exactly the same path and it never came back. It flew for about 1km and then video feed was disconnected. In normal cases, RTH will be triggered and it would return home automatically. However, RTH did not kick in. Spark was hovering in the last location (which I believe, looking into the flight records). Controller was unable to connect back to Spark and obviously, the RTH button on the controller did not successfully prompt it to RTH.

The following is the flight record when I attempted to fly it to a designated location:
https://app.airdata.com/main?fli ... amp;page_id=GENERAL

Realizing that it did not RTH, I went to the last known location (using Find My Drone feature) to look for the drone. However, it was futile. Had not given up, I continued using my controller to search for the AC. It managed to connect (it was in close proximity), and I tried to locate AC by observing the sound of its propeller movement. Again, to no avail.

However, I got the flight record while RC and AC got connected for a very brief time:
https://app.airdata.com/main?fli ... amp;page_id=GENERAL

After explaning everything, I am in high hopes of getting an answer on why RTH did not work and caused a flyaway. Appreciate kind response, especially from admin. Also, my Spark is merely over 2 months old and had never crashed!

Additional notes:
DJI Go App: 4.1.15 on Samsung Note 3
AC firmware: 01.00.0900

Thanks and regards,
Sparkling Red


2018-3-3
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Hddeuce
Second Officer
Flight distance : 128261 ft
United States
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Wow, sorry for the bad luck.  You said "It flew for about 1km and then video feed was disconnected".  Did you mean the controller was disconnected from Spark?  I say this because if it was only the video feed, you'd still be able to control it and initiate RTH (I've done this before).  If it truly was just the video feed, the Spark would indeed be just hovering in place waiting for you to give it controller input.  

In the logs you posted it shows you had a warning of "weak gps signal" when it was only 4.6 feet high and 5 feet away from you, but it looks like you ignored those (or didn't see them) and continue on and enabled sport mode.  

Also, in the 2nd log you posted, it shows that your Spark landed on the roof of a building...the lower roof...not sure if it's retrievable but I'd sure try!  

I've attached a close-up picture of where it thinks your drone is.  Good luck!

2018-3-3
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S.J
Captain
Flight distance : 322454 ft
Kuwait
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typical pilot error if he didn't use the RTH from the RC
2018-3-3
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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Hddeuce Posted at 2018-3-3 22:35
Wow, sorry for the bad luck.  You said "It flew for about 1km and then video feed was disconnected".  Did you mean the controller was disconnected from Spark?  I say this because if it was only the video feed, you'd still be able to control it and initiate RTH (I've done this before).  If it truly was just the video feed, the Spark would indeed be just hovering in place waiting for you to give it controller input.  

In the logs you posted it shows you had a warning of "weak gps signal" when it was only 4.6 feet high and 5 feet away from you, but it looks like you ignored those (or didn't see them) and continue on and enabled sport mode.  

Yes, it was totally disconnected. I tried tapping on RTH  to give it a try but it didn't help. No choice, I had to wait for the re-connection or at least let auto RTH to kick in. Previously, the RTH worked flawlessly and the same flight were repeated without major hiccups.  Again, same checks were done everytime.

As for GPS, I often wait for about 10 connecting satellites before flying it out further. I may have missed those warnings (guess it appeared for 3 seconds or so?) as I was probably looking at the drone itself to ensure it didn't hit any objects.

And I will always ensure home point location is set before flying any further.  I just checked the log and it seems that the GPS readings are "good", though not the best ie "excellent". Suppose it shouldn't cause major issue ie not returning home.

Good that you have pointed out those. Appreciate so much for your great help! Thanks
2018-3-3
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Ram-UK
Captain
Flight distance : 1132648 ft
United Kingdom
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Sorry to hear your loss. Did you look out at the last known location?

Looking at the flight data your AC didn’t have a home point recorded and there were warnings about weak GPS signal.
Also you were flying over a congested area. All these adds up and when your RC loose it’s connection Spark wouldn’t know where to go.

I may be wrong but that’s what I think.  
I leave it to the experts to analyse and comeback with an answer.

Hope you get your drone back soon.
2018-3-4
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MJLSTUDIOS
First Officer
Flight distance : 1540131 ft
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United States
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A Posted at 2018-3-3 23:14
Yes, it was totally disconnected. I tried tapping on RTH  to give it a try but it didn't help. No choice, I had to wait for the re-connection or at least let auto RTH to kick in. Previously, the RTH worked flawlessly and the same flight were repeated without major hiccups.  Again, same checks were done everytime.

As for GPS, I often wait for about 10 connecting satellites before flying it out further. I may have missed those warnings (guess it appeared for 3 seconds or so?) as I was probably looking at the drone itself to ensure it didn't hit any objects.

"Tapping" the RTH won't cut it! You have to press and hold the RTH button unit the RTH initiates. (about 3-5 seconds)
2018-3-4
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BeastMaster_101
First Officer
Flight distance : 1082992 ft
Canada
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MJLSTUDIOS Posted at 2018-3-4 06:12
"Tapping" the RTH won't cut it! You have to press and hold the RTH button unit the RTH initiates. (about 3-5 seconds)

Exactly what I was gonna say. Besides that, when it shows "disconnected" it means that the video feed only is disconnected, the RC has communications with the drone still. Again you gotta hold the RTH button when this happens. This on top of the weak GPS signals at take off makes it not record the homepoint. Sorry for your loss man. I still wouldnt give up on finding it.
2018-3-4
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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MJLSTUDIOS Posted at 2018-3-4 06:12
"Tapping" the RTH won't cut it! You have to press and hold the RTH button unit the RTH initiates. (about 3-5 seconds)

That's exactly what I did. I tested it (holding) many times before and it worked beautifully.
2018-3-4
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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Ram-UK Posted at 2018-3-4 00:24
Sorry to hear your loss. Did you look out at the last known location?

Looking at the flight data your AC didn’t have a home point recorded and there were warnings about weak GPS signal.

Perhaps you're right. I think it's by matter of chance I got this.  Had not had this problem before.

But I checked my app again, the home point did set before it flew far though...and it was in GPS mode (not alti mode) with more than 10 satellites before flying far...

Anyway, I will continue searching for it...
2018-3-4
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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BeastMaster_101 Posted at 2018-3-4 07:52
Exactly what I was gonna say. Besides that, when it shows "disconnected" it means that the video feed only is disconnected, the RC has communications with the drone still. Again you gotta hold the RTH button when this happens. This on top of the weak GPS signals at take off makes it not record the homepoint. Sorry for your loss man. I still wouldnt give up on finding it.

Yeah, actually I tapped and held the button (sorry for the misleading statement above). I guess you've got a point too...weak GPS could be the culprit which I may have missed it (too busy focusing on where the drone was flying)...
2018-3-4
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A Posted at 2018-3-4 08:12
Perhaps you're right. I think it's by matter of chance I got this.  Had not had this problem before.

But I checked my app again, the home point did set before it flew far though...and it was in GPS mode (not alti mode) with more than 10 satellites before flying far...

And yeah, I got the last known location. Unfortunately,  it is the location of a tall building under construction. That makes my life harder...Quite a slim chance of finding it

It may have landed on the roof or on could have fallen onto restricted area.  I searched around some parts of it, but couldn't find it.
2018-3-4
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BeastMaster_101
First Officer
Flight distance : 1082992 ft
Canada
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A Posted at 2018-3-4 08:22
And yeah, I got the last known location. Unfortunately,  it is the location of a tall building under construction. That makes my life harder...Quite a slim chance of finding it

It may have landed on the roof or on could have fallen onto restricted area.  I searched around some parts of it, but couldn't find it.

i would ask them to search a little bit for you
2018-3-4
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DJI Mindy
Administrator
Flight distance : 7 ft
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We are so sorry for your loss, if the drone is still in warranty period, please contact our support team to start a ticket for data analysis at the same time when you search for the drone, we will help to review the flight records and make it clear for you, thank you.
2018-3-4
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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BeastMaster_101 Posted at 2018-3-4 09:18
i would ask them to search a little bit for you

Thanks! That's very much appreciated.
2018-3-5
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-3-4 22:19
We are so sorry for your loss, if the drone is still in warranty period, please contact our support team to start a ticket for data analysis at the same time when you search for the drone, we will help to review the flight records and make it clear for you, thank you.

Thanks for your response on this matter. I have sent an email to the support team. Hope to get quick response from them.
2018-3-5
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Flighty
Captain
Flight distance : 1977175 ft
Croatia
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Sorry about losing your Spark,, something I dread.... Reading your Flight Record it seems to me that you had, insufficient GPS, no Home Point recorded and flying off in Atti Mode, for sure if you hit the RTH button it would not have worked.. Hope DJi can help you here..
2018-3-5
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A
lvl.1
Flight distance : 117073 ft
Malaysia
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Flighty Posted at 2018-3-5 08:27
Sorry about losing your Spark,, something I dread.... Reading your Flight Record it seems to me that you had, insufficient GPS, no Home Point recorded and flying off in Atti Mode, for sure if you hit the RTH button it would not have worked.. Hope DJi can help you here..

Thanks. Let's see how DJI can help here.

I remember seeing the AC running in GPS mode and home point was set from DJI Go app., very sure of it

Which is why I was confident flying it far...unfortunately I have no proof on my observation.
2018-3-6
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DJI Mindy
Administrator
Flight distance : 7 ft
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djiuser_Jn11F1aAeT9A Posted at 2018-3-5 07:29
Thanks for your response on this matter. I have sent an email to the support team. Hope to get quick response from them.

No problem, hope everything will turn out to be great, if you need any further assistance, please feel free to let us know.
2018-3-7
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