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Miss Spark regrets she's unable to return home today
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2564 51 2018-11-12
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Droffarc
Captain
Flight distance : 11264892 ft
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South Africa
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It is with extreme sadness that I must tell that my Spark flew away today!

And we were having such a good time that I did not notice that the "Automatic Home Point registration" did not happen.

Then I had a compass error - Atti mode - but luckily recovered by retreating

but continued to fly and soon got another compass error and recovered quickly and soon enough, after climbing to 35 meters got a fourth compass error and lost control...
The Spark mad a beeline inland toward a hill where it did a roundabout circle and eventually disconnected - RC red light and all...

and sadly that was the last I saw of my spark. It rests up on a rather densely vegetated hill somewhere - I know not where.

I waited a while to see if it would return home, in vain.

In  the morning I will rustle up a posse and go searching....

No Auto RTH

No Auto RTH

1st compass error

1st compass error

2nd compass error

2nd compass error

3rd compass error

3rd compass error

disconnect - missing in action

disconnect - missing in action

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FlightPath
2018-11-12
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DeuceDriv3r
First Officer
Flight distance : 4698533 ft
United States
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aaannnddd..... there goes another one....

good luck on the hunt...

don't forget to use the find my drone feature and perhaps the video cache in go 4 to help you locate it....

one of these days DJI will start taking this issue seriously...

2018-11-12
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DJI Tony
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Hi, sorry to know about what happened on your aircraft. I highly advise syncing your flight records and contact our team for further help.  You could send an email to our team so that they can assist you properly. Please refer to the address below.

www.dji.com/support
2018-11-12
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hallmark007
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Ireland
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Can you post your flight log link below, just click on link below follow instructions.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
2018-11-12
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DeuceDriv3r
First Officer
Flight distance : 4698533 ft
United States
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some days you just feel like going a little 'office space' on something....
Unknown-1.jpeg
2018-11-12
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ssylca44
Captain
Flight distance : 434721 ft
Canada
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Best of luck with your search Droffarc.

P.S. the AC should be equipped with a beacon, sound or light that is triggered after a crash (should be easy to implement in the firmware?)
2018-11-12
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White Ox
lvl.4
Flight distance : 98281 ft

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Just wait till one of these "bee-line" maneuvers that supposedly ISN"T happening sends a spark directly into the windshield of a MOVING vehicle and kills someone.

There's a difference between wind drift and a guided movement with a purpose - who knows where they are going - a call to the mother ship or something.  When atti mode happens, it should DRIFT, not fly with a purpose.
The part you call the "round about" looks like maybe the obstacle avoidance kicked in and caused it to stop, then she sat there hovering and the wind drift took it.....

Sorry to hear you've lost Miss Spark... hopefully your search party turns it up in short order.

2018-11-12
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DeuceDriv3r
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White Ox Posted at 11-12 14:21
Just wait till one of these "bee-line" maneuvers that supposedly ISN"T happening sends a spark directly into the windshield of a MOVING vehicle and kills someone.

There's a difference between wind drift and a guided movement with a purpose - who knows where they are going - a call to the mother ship or something.  When atti mode happens, it should DRIFT, not fly with a purpose.

bingo...

concur...
2018-11-12
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Alex B.
Captain
Flight distance : 21105262 ft

Spain
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Please post your logs.

Flysafely all
Alex
2018-11-12
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White Ox
lvl.4
Flight distance : 98281 ft

United States
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It would be interesting to know if the wind was blowing cross-ways to that section of perfectly straight flight..... Do you know?
2018-11-12
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HedgeTrimmer
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White Ox Posted at 11-12 14:21
Just wait till one of these "bee-line" maneuvers that supposedly ISN"T happening sends a spark directly into the windshield of a MOVING vehicle and kills someone.

There's a difference between wind drift and a guided movement with a purpose - who knows where they are going - a call to the mother ship or something.  When atti mode happens, it should DRIFT, not fly with a purpose.

As you point to, DJI's drones should not go Beserker upon lost of Compass or GPS, when IMU is still providing data.

Using IMU data (acceleration along three axis and detects rotation around three axis), drone should level itself, thus quit propelling itself in some direction, then drift with wind.  Additionally, drone should not ascend or descend because barometric sensor will give drone altitude information.  Without human input, chances are drone is going to eventually crash into something (or have to attempt to land due to low battery).  But drone should not propel itself faster and faster, while continuing to alter it's course.


Going with DJI's flight and navigation system (as currently implemented) which requires a functioning and mostly accurate Compass; DJI switching to using only one compass in Mavic Air, and dropping second compass for Mavic 2 - seems the wrong way to have gone.


2018-11-12
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FulanitoFlyer
lvl.4
Peru
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Man... these stories scare me.

Sorry for your loss good luck on the hunt.
2018-11-12
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jacksonnai
Captain
Malaysia
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Sorry to read that, hope you find it goodluck!
2018-11-12
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A CW
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United Kingdom
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Good luck on finding it - not good to read.
2018-11-12
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Droffarc
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It is with extreme sadness that I must report that I was unable to locate the spark. The terrain is overgrown and strewn with rocks and not easily negotiable - fell more than once and collected a number of insidious insects.

At  the time  of the incident there was almost no wind.

Thanks to all for your concern.

2018-11-12
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Droffarc
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Oh, by the way, the Find My Drone function was not very helpful in this situation...It would have been helpful if it gave my current position relative to the drone's last known position


2018-11-13
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Droffarc
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Thanks Hallmark
It appears that I don't follow instructions very well.This picture looks somewhat different to the one from the phone.


2018-11-13
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62+
Captain
Flight distance : 1321991 ft
South Africa
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Sorry to read about your loss. Take your time and keep on looking for it. Share your fight log. Maybe pilots such as JJB could assist you with an estimate of the AC  location.
Be safe.
2018-11-13
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DeuceDriv3r
First Officer
Flight distance : 4698533 ft
United States
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HedgeTrimmer Posted at 11-12 16:30
As you point to, DJI's drones should not go Beserker upon lost of Compass or GPS, when IMU is still providing data.

Using IMU data (acceleration along three axis and detects rotation around three axis), drone should level itself, thus quit propelling itself in some direction, then drift with wind.  Additionally, drone should not ascend or descend because barometric sensor will give drone altitude information.  Without human input, chances are drone is going to eventually crash into something (or have to attempt to land due to low battery).  But drone should not propel itself faster and faster, while continuing to alter it's course.

never underestimate the driving force of profit motive in the undercutting of safety and performance

you would be shocked to learn just how many critical items on a commercial aircraft that PEOPLE fly in are fly to fail items...

when marketing and accounting make the rules that engineering has to live with generally does not bode well for the overall outcome
2018-11-13
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NRRTRAINS 85
Second Officer

United States
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i hope you find it  soon .
2018-11-13
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hallmark007
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Droffarc Posted at 11-13 00:40
Thanks Hallmark
It appears that I don't follow instructions very well.This picture looks somewhat different to the one from the phone.

No problem, I still think it’s worth reporting your fly away to dji let them come to a conclusion, I have seen worse being given a warranty claim.
Good Luck.
2018-11-13
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Droffarc
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hallmark007 Posted at 11-13 10:44
No problem, I still think it’s worth reporting your fly away to dji let them come to a conclusion, I have seen worse being given a warranty claim.
Good Luck.

Yes, actually they contacted me and I have sent (hopefully) all the relevant info - flight logs etc.

I have put together a short vid of the last moments - as a wmv - no to figure out how to post it...
2018-11-13
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Droffarc
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NRRTRAINS 85 Posted at 11-13 09:09
i hope you find it  soon .

There is no chance that I will find it, spent 3 hours crawling in among dense vegetation on a hillside this morning and a further 2 hours this evening - no hope
2018-11-13
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hallmark007
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White Ox Posted at 11-12 14:21
Just wait till one of these "bee-line" maneuvers that supposedly ISN"T happening sends a spark directly into the windshield of a MOVING vehicle and kills someone.

There's a difference between wind drift and a guided movement with a purpose - who knows where they are going - a call to the mother ship or something.  When atti mode happens, it should DRIFT, not fly with a purpose.

I think most of these problems are started on the ground, you can see early in the OP’s flight that IMU conflict with compass was occurring which causes compass and IMU conflict depending on how bad this is Aircraft will suddenly shoot out to one side with almost no control , usually only option is 100% down on left stick mode 2.

The best way I can explain this is. If you put your Aircraft on the ground in normal circumstances, start it up, then lift it up and turn it 90 degrees to the right both your compass heading and IMU will both move together 90 degrees and no problems.
If you put your Aircraft on the ground and there is magnetic interference only the heading of your compass will change, your aircraft will still take off. But when it clears magnetic interference compass will then move to correct heading which you would think was great. But No, what happens is IMU is then conflicted and confused because of this sudden movement by compass, so you receive IMU exceptional heading warning, your aircraft cannot deal with data conflict so decides to switch to Atti mode dropping gps in favour of compass simply because aircraft can fly without gps but not compass.

While I can’t be certain OP picked up interference from the ground or surrounding area it is the most common cause.
I have seen many cases where people start their aircraft in or on their car in their house and then bring it outside so damage is already done and we will see exact same warnings and and reaction from aircraft.
2018-11-13
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Droffarc
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Here, in technicolour the last moments


2018-11-13
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Laz22
lvl.4
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United States
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Sorry for the loss.  Good explanation Hallmark007.
2018-11-13
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hallmark007
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Droffarc Posted at 11-13 11:51
Here, in technicolour the last moments

What a pity.


“How come life is so full of crap at times?”
2018-11-13
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NRRTRAINS 85
Second Officer

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Droffarc Posted at 11-13 10:56
There is no chance that I will find it, spent 3 hours crawling in among dense vegetation on a hillside this morning and a further 2 hours this evening - no hope

look a little farther north , in a circle  , the map is just an overlay of  a satellite map not that persice .  
2018-11-13
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HedgeTrimmer
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Droffarc Posted at 11-13 11:51
Here, in technicolour the last moments

Going by video, the drone was 35 Meters up and 63 Meters away from takeoff point, and appears to have been in flight for 90 seconds going by velocity of 2.5 Km/h.  The video recording appears to start after takeoff (perhaps 80 seconds?).

If there was a source of magnetic interference at takeoff point, drone should have cleared magnetic interference after getting about 1-meter away from source.  Unless source was metal tower, tank, building , etc. that was very tall and large, drone should have encountered 'Compass Error' much lower and closer (perhaps within 10-seconds) of takeoff.
2018-11-13
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JJBspark
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62+ Posted at 11-13 07:24
Sorry to read about your loss. Take your time and keep on looking for it. Share your fight log. Maybe pilots such as JJB could assist you with an estimate of the AC  location.
Be safe.

Mayby yes, but Droffarc did not post his flight log on here.

I feel sorry for the loss of a great Spark for Droffarc.
If its allowed to make a statement (without kicking some guys to their legs):

Lesson to be learned from this mishap is to stop flying after a first compass error (or other main errors).
We all like to fly and finish our intended flight, but is so wise to stop (even land asap and not fly back home).

That`s why that on my pre-flight checklist a mental note is incorporated!

cheers
JJB

MyCanIFlyChecklist_2.2.pdf

304.79 KB, Down times: 4

2018-11-14
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hallmark007
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Droffarc Posted at 11-13 11:51
Here, in technicolour the last moments

This might help with understanding what can happen.

2018-11-14
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White Ox
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JJBspark Posted at 11-14 00:53
Mayby yes, but Droffarc did not post his flight log on here.

I feel sorry for the loss of a great Spark for Droffarc.

Food for thought.....

I, personally, at this point, still like to keep my eyes ON THE DRONE.... that being said, I know for a fact that I've had messages come across the screen that I never heard, but I just happened to glance down as they are clearing from the screen.  Am I one of few that believes the messages should all be acknowledged by the pilot before they are allowed to disappear?  I've had loud vehicles that drove by at very inopportune times that made it impossible to hear the audible message, and thus, I didn't even get the luxury of knowing what message just left the screen. I just know that something was there and it cleared before I could even read it.

Why can't the warning notification be stationary, just like any other phone/tablet notification.  If the error clears, don't replace the first error message, just place it below the first one, and keep stacking them below the previous... and let the operator clear them individually, then the software can be certain the pilot got the message?
2018-11-14
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JJBspark
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White Ox Posted at 11-14 02:58
Food for thought.....

I, personally, at this point, still like to keep my eyes ON THE DRONE.... that being said, I know for a fact that I've had messages come across the screen that I never heard, but I just happened to glance down as they are clearing from the screen.  Am I one of few that believes the messages should all be acknowledged by the pilot before they are allowed to disappear?  I've had loud vehicles that drove by at very inopportune times that made it impossible to hear the audible message, and thus, I didn't even get the luxury of knowing what message just left the screen. I just know that something was there and it cleared before I could even read it.

yep, some app messages  are only visible, no audio. Next flights i will focus more on this.
But if you know there is a main problem ; my advice is to stop flying and bring the craft home.

Mayby fly with headphone (ear plugs) connect to my mobile device to filter out outside noise.
cheers
JJB
2018-11-14
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White Ox
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JJBspark Posted at 11-14 03:09
yep, some app messages  are only visible, no audio. Next flights i will focus more on this.
But if you know there is a main problem ; my advice is to stop flying and bring the craft home.

If those messages have no audio, then earphones won't help me to know that they came up on the screen, and I'm still stuck with being lucky enough to see them before they automatically clear. lol  However, good idea for making sure I can hear the ones that ARE audible.
2018-11-14
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Droffarc
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DJI Tony Posted at 11-12 12:49
Hi, sorry to know about what happened on your aircraft. I highly advise syncing your flight records and contact our team for further help.  You could send an email to our team so that they can assist you properly. Please refer to the address below.

www.dji.com/support

Thanks Tony, I did just that and the good news is that they have decided to replace my spark!
Now who could want better service than that?
2018-11-14
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Oracle Miata
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Glad to hear that... nice job DJI.   
2018-11-14
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Droffarc
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BTW here are two pics from early in the flight -
btw
I flew following a stream towards a bridge some 100 meters away.
Then returned- as you can see there were no structures around except the bridge and the ablution block in the distance also you can see the black box I used for launching.
Umm? JJB, how do I go about loading the flight log, please?





2018-11-14
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White Ox
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Droffarc Posted at 11-14 03:19
Thanks Tony, I did just that and the good news is that they have decided to replace my spark!
Now who could want better service than that?

YAY!  I'm happy they are replacing it.
2018-11-14
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wimherman
Second Officer
Flight distance : 208556 ft
Norway
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Hi!

I am sorry for your loss. I had the same issue and have been in close contact with DJI support which was absulutely a great experience. If you take a look in my threat: https://forum.dji.com/thread-172228-1-1.html and read my story, it might help you to determine where your Spark is. Though DJI determined that my "fly away" was a waranty case and issues service according to that, i was determined to recover the Spark and have it send to DJI for analysis inhope to help them improve and eliminate this isse. In the feedback i received later on, the fly away had a broken compass sensor.

So anyhow, every message according to compass should be taken very seriously, and when after calibration, the issue persist, dont hesitate to contact DJI. They are aware of this issue and are gving very personal help. I even got called (mulitiple times) all the way from China. Seriously many companies here in the west could take example..

And i see in ur last post that you get a replacement.. Thats what i call service! Hope you receive your new Spark soon. !
2018-11-14
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White Ox
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hallmark007 Posted at 11-14 02:54
This might help with understanding what can happen.

https://youtu.be/ZL6NbpzJVJI

Thank you for that.

It's refreshing to see that the information I've been absorbing from the informative posters we have on this forum has been absorbed mostly correct. lol
2018-11-14
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