So I took my Spark to Taiwan on a short trip. We went to Hualien city famous for the Taroko gorge. When I tried to use Spark near Qingshui cliffs, the take-off was buggy as hell and the transmission was very laggy. However, I was able to land it back when I sensed things were not well. The video reception on DJI app was delayed by almost a minute or 2, so you could see video even after I have switched the drone off. I thought it could be a battery firmware issue and thought I will try it with my spare battery at another spot.

Now, at the Eternal Spring Shrine in Hualien (quite an open space with no obstructions or trees), I took the drone out and again the take-off was quite buggy and even though it flew off and stayed at one place, the image transmission was bad. All hell broke loose when I tried to steer it with my controller and the drone started flying itself. It soon crashed into the gorge and it was unretrievable.

I am not sure why it happened. Any plausible explanations? Also, as I could not retrieve the drone (it was a landslide-prone area and there was no way I could have risked climbing up the gorge). At that time, I was just hoping that it doesn't crash into any tourist, it was flying extremely fast.

Other flight logs from the day (16.06.2018):

(1) 11:21 AM: http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/83IO7M4SH89QSIR6PCZS/

(2) 11:27 AM: http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/URVFRK30P2P4QAORBZCJ/

Note: from here onwards, I am using the spare battery:
(3) 12:06 PM: http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/3YIT0RQFYACJYHA6K6ZX/
(4) Here is the flight log of the last flight (4:35 PM): flight_log

This certainly looks bad and you'll get lots of explanations here, but there is one thing with the Spark you shall not do is to take off with less than 11 satellites and a recorded home point. Your last flight didn't have a GPS lock or an HP when you took it to the air. That made it fly in ATTI which is not the stablest way to fly, you can easily loose it especially when your phone misbehaves like it did.
The previous was 30ft high and half a minute in the air when recorded a HP.
Can you state for the record what kind of phone you've used? Did you have bluetooth on/off, did put it in airplane mode, did you kill all other apps before flying? (This all effects performance).

munchausen Posted at 2018-6-20 22:18
This certainly looks bad and you'll get lots of explanations here, but there is one thing with the Spark you shall not do is to take off with less than 11 satellites and a recorded home point. Your last flight didn't have a GPS lock or an HP when you took it to the air. That made it fly in ATTI which is not the stablest way to fly, you can easily loose it especially when your phone misbehaves like it did.
The previous was 30ft high and half a minute in the air when recorded a HP.
Can you state for the record what kind of phone you've used? Did you have bluetooth on/off, did put it in airplane mode, did you kill all other apps before flying? (This all effects performance).

Thanks, here are the answers to your queries:

Phone: Nexus 6P
DJI GO App version: 4.2.20
Bluetooth: Off
Airplane mode: not enabled
Killed all other apps: No

"The video reception on DJI app was delayed by almost a minute or 2, so you could see video even after I have switched the drone off."

More likely a App/phone issue, don't you think?
If off, there is no sending of anything more from the Spark. The stream was already in your phone, but it couldn't be played.
4.2.20 is buggy, methinks! there are lots of complains out, right now!
Sorry to hear that it is gone.
Open a case with DJI, get them the flightrecords and hope they will get you back in the "business"

If that is happening, never, with the meaning of NEVER EVER, use the latest App before you check with forums about it.
Disable for dji go4 the auto update on playstore!
Many people are still on 4.1.15, others are "stucked" with 4.2.12 or .14 (I think). Because of this trouble with the latest apps.
Since 4.1.15 there are only minor changes for the Spark! Mainly it is for the Air and some "performance changes"
(Near Real-time HD Image Transmission, p.ex., which isn't new, it was always only "near real time", but just gets worse, with a spark right now.)

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-6-20 22:47
"The video reception on DJI app was delayed by almost a minute or 2, so you could see video even after I have switched the drone off."

More likely a App/phone issue, don't you think?

"Open a case with DJI, get them the flightrecords"  

How do I go about that? I have reported it "in-app" and given the flight records as well.

did you get a case number via the app?
If yes, try to contact a DJI Mod/Admin in the forum, pass the number and wait.
I assume, they will get in here sooner or later, anyway!
In case you did not get a case number:
https://www.dji.com/support
Mention that you did a in app report and follow the lead!

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-6-20 23:18
did you get a case number via the app?
If yes, try to contact a DJI Mod/Admin in the forum, pass the number and wait.
I assume, they will get in here sooner or later, anyway!

I did not get a case number via app. But I contacted the support via online chat and they issued a "fly-away" case number for me.

So give it a bit and if you not get a feedback, in a week or a bit more, ask a admin in this forum, if he/she can light up the case.

You log is showing that you flew VPS/attitude mode, no GPS.
So limited height and very reactiv on stick input.
But  in just a sec from 7 mph to 26 mph looks wrong to me.
Can you do a screenvideo of that log, played back in the app? With stick input diplayed?

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-6-20 22:47
"The video reception on DJI app was delayed by almost a minute or 2, so you could see video even after I have switched the drone off."

More likely a App/phone issue, don't you think?

Where can I get 4.1.15 and what firmware Rev should I use?.
New to DJI and the latency is driving me nuts and will lose my AC due to a result of this. Currently using 4.2.20

Vinrander,  sorry about your loss.

Vinrader, sorry about your loss.  I've had a quick look at your logs.  From my perspective, based on past history of similar cases, I think it is fairly unlikely that DJI will cover your aircraft under warranty.  I think it is very likely they will cite the fact that you chose to take off without GPS locked in as the main factor.

GPS is the main safety mechanism in all DJI drones that allows it to hold its location and respond in a reliable fashion.  When you take off without the GPS system being locked into a good signal, you exponentially increase the risk of crashing or losing your aircraft.  Even many experienced pilots can have some troubles with this scenario.  

As I look at your log, the aircraft behaved like I would expect it to behave in ATTI mode with no GPS guidance.  Looking at your stick input, it looks like the aircraft was responding to all of your guidance. When you told it to yaw, it yawed.  When you told it to roll left or right, it rolled.  When you told it to go forward or backward, it responded.   Unfortunately, if you are not experienced in handling a quad copter in ATTI mode, it can be difficult to control.  I've had this same experience in the past when I put my Spark into a bad situation that resulted in ATTI mode.

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-6-20 23:45
So give it a bit and if you not get a feedback, in a week or a bit more, ask a admin in this forum, if he/she can light up the case.

You log is showing that you flew VPS/attitude mode, no GPS.

In reference to the 7mph to 26mph comment, I think this is right at the time that it had a crash event.  At 0:46.8 is a "motor obstructed".

Hi. I am sorry to hear what happened to your DJI Spark. I understand that your Drone flew away. This is not the experience we want you to have with your DJI Drone. Since you have opened a case for your Drone and already sync the flight records. Rest assured our DJI Repair Team is now assessing those records to know what really happened to your DJI Spark.