Cessna172 Posted at 2016-2-17 07:38
DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-2-17 07:08
Sorry for your loss, your date can be read from the RC and read by ...

Yes, the RC still holds lots of data and when you sync that flight to the cloud and provide your account number they can analyze the flight record and see what happened.

kirk2579@aol.co Posted at 2016-2-17 09:53
As I read this thread I swear It is a clone story of another relatively new users lost phantom.

A f ...

Yes, that one from reading the logs from the RC, he had the RTH height set at 60m and the building was WAY higher than that. So that was operator error.
What everyone needs to realize is you need to set your RTH altitude to your surroundings and also make sure it is set correctly if it loses signal (RTH, Hover, or Land).

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-2-17 11:14
Manually plotted approx route you took, overlayed on to a snapshot video that labroides posted:

Ye ...

I agree that your diagram is probably what happened.

Geebax Posted at 2016-2-17 12:28
I think it is pretty well established that if it did not get home, then given the battery level it ...

Again, the flight log from the RC will tell what the RTH was set at and if indeed set to RTH.
I'm guessing it lost signal when it went behind the building and tried to come home and hit the side of the building.And to call it a Flyaway in the thread may not really be fair.
And I a truly sorry that the person lost their aircraft.
Please read the entire manual before even taking off, you will know exectly how your aircraft operates and accidents like this wouldn't happen (asumming that's what happened in this case, but not totally sure until the logs are analyzed from the RC)

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-2-17 15:16
Again, the flight log from the RC will tell what the RTH was set at and if indeed set to RTH.
I'm g ...

What I don't quite understand is that the logs seem to show quite good RC signal strength at the last recorded data point. It indicates a loss of the data stream only. Why would it initiate a RTH with a good RC connection?

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-17 13:28
What I don't quite understand is that the logs seem to show quite good RC signal strength at the l ...

Whatever info you are reading from Healthy Drones is nothing like how DJI analyzes the logs. So I really don't pay attention to any of that. I just wait to hear what the DJI software says what happened.

dji-ken said:
".And to call it a Flyaway in the thread may not really be fair...."

you are being nice!

it is not only unfair but not CORRECT...
a lost drone does not always equal a "flyaway", seldom in fact!

kirk2579@aol.co Posted at 2016-2-17 13:42
dji-ken said:
".And to call it a Flyaway in the thread may not really be fair...."

I left it open ended if they want to change the title of the thread.
We'll see if they do. And yes, I was being nice, but we'll see what the flight records say.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-2-17 15:51
I left it open ended if they want to change the title of the thread.
We'll see if they do. And yes, ...

I think you are both actually being unkind
More appropriate to have a question mark after the flyaway, but is equally incorrect to assume it isn't until as Ken points out, we see what the data says...

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-17 14:03
I think you are both actually being unkind
More appropriate to have a question mark after the flya ...

You could always go knock on that apartment building's door and see if they any drones recently. I'm sure they have some security or maintenance guy you can ask.

SVTRay Posted at 2016-2-17 16:58
You could always go knock on that apartment building's door and see if they any drones recently. I ...

They could do that!
Any recovery would certainly answer more of the questions of what happened to the aircraft!

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-17 17:03
I think you are both actually being unkind
More appropriate to have a question mark after the flya ...

"What I don't quite understand is that the logs seem to show quite good RC signal strength at the last recorded data point. It indicates a loss of the data stream only. Why would it initiate a RTH with a good RC connection?"
Because up  until the Phantom ducked behind the tower, it had perfect line of sight and strong signal.
As it slips behind, the video link drops first and then the control signal is also broken.
But by that time, there's nothing coming back to the controller to be recorded.

"I think you are both actually being unkind
More appropriate to have a question mark after the flyaway, but is equally incorrect to assume it isn't

There is no hint of a flyaway about this incident.  It's an open and shut case.
If you fly behind a tower block, a mountain or the giant Buddha on Lantau Island (all of these have been done), you will lose signal and if your RTH is not set higher than the obstacle the Phantom will fly straight into it.

Hi All,
Tnx for your replays and feeds.
going to look for it again.

calling it a "flyaway" issue^^ ... I call it as I see it...
Can I be wrong - of course.
I'll edit - as it's "unfair" at this time.

how do I recover the logs from the RC?

One thing is for sure, the only place that has a log that will tell the exact nature of the incident is the aircraft. As the return data stream was lost, there is not much in the RC unit to tell about the critical last seconds. The log in the aircraft will tell a much more complete story, if it can be found.

meirzri Posted at 2016-2-17 15:39
Hi All,
Tnx for your replays and feeds.
going to look for it again.

I would start looking around those buildings first, check with maintenance or property managers etc.

FYI: Be prepared to face the fiddle if say your drone did collide with their building and damaged it.

I have a trackimo for my drone. its a gps transmitter $139 includes first year of service, then $5 a month. I can track it using an app or by logging into there website. Trackimo.com   

Trackimo.com has a GPS locator you can attach to your drone. $139 includes first year of service, then $5 a month

dji-p3p1 Posted at 2016-2-16 22:14
Manually plotted approx route you took, overlayed on to a snapshot video that labroides posted:

Ye ...

Now that is some CSI work you have done there.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-2-17 13:08
Yes, the RC still holds lots of data and when you sync that flight to the cloud and provide your a ...

As long as the aircraft is communicating with the controller you should say.   (no?)

Once the aircraft is no longer communicating with the RC, there is no flight data being recorded anywhere EXCEPT inside the aircraft.   If you never find the aircraft, you never get the fulldata, only the data that was recorded during the time the aircraft was in comunication with the RC.

So, in this case, while there might be "some" flight data to upload (all of which is available in the DAT files, unless I'm mistaken), it will end once the aircraft stops communicating with the RC, such as behind buildings., over hills etc.

Only if the aircraft had an aftermarket device, such as a Trackimo or other device that transmits data via cellular networks would data recoded while in flight, but not in communication with the aircraft be available.   Now, IF and when the aircraft reestablishes communications with RC, it may (or may not) transmit the data gathered while NOT in communication with the RC.

That could account for occasional lag after re-establishing communications as it attempts to upload all the data it could not transmit while out of cominication with the RC

If I am mistaken I would appreciate to be corrected.

meirzri Posted at 2016-2-17 15:39
Hi All,
Tnx for your replays and feeds.
going to look for it again.

Thank you for editing, sync your flight logs to the cloud and make the last flight a favorite (tapping the star) and then start a tick with support and give them your account info and then they will find the flight log on the server and will be able to analyze it.
Again, sorry for the loss of you Phantom.

chrgnu Posted at 2016-2-18 00:29
I have a trackimo for my drone. its a gps transmitter $139 includes first year of service, then $5 a ...

Agreed, I have a Trackimo and have been using GPS trackers on every aircraft I've had.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-2-18 00:44
As long as the aircraft is communicating with the controller you should say.   (no?)

Once the airc ...

I need to make a correction, the data is not in the RC, it's in the app.
But still, it records quite a bit of info and gives an idea of what happened.
And correct, if signal is lost for 2 minutes then regained, those 2 minutes are not recorded in the app.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-2-16 17:16
I think hes in Israel

Israel? It was probably shot down with a missile.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-17 09:24
Israel? It was probably shot down with a missile.

Ok, I'm curious, I thought the Pro and the Advanced had object avoidance capability built in unlike my Standard which does not.  Is that correct?  If so, shouldn't it have been able to avoid the tall buildings on RTH?

bnwitt Posted at 2016-2-17 17:33
Ok, I'm curious, I thought the Pro and the Advanced had object avoidance capability built in unlik ...

No, none of the current DJI quadcopters have object avoidance.

nigelw Posted at 2016-2-17 09:41
No, none of the current DJI quadcopters have object avoidance.

So what is Vision position system?  An add on?

bnwitt Posted at 2016-2-17 17:49
So what is Vision position system?  An add on?

It looks downwards to follow patterns on the ground to help stabilise flight indoors where GPS isn't available.  It's not an add-on.

meirzri Posted at 2016-2-16 22:30
Tnx All,
look at these logs...
What do you think guys?

Two things leap out at me ... well, three really

First, point of lost connection is directly over water (lake) on the analysis map

Second, you're flying into 29mph of wind (with a drone that does 37mph maximum in calm air) ... and your battery hit almost 100 degrees temperature - ouch

Third, you had umpteen warnings of excessive signal loss and some pretty tall buildings between you and the bird in the latter part of the flight (look at the ground shadows from the buildings).  In fact, one of them was directly between the loss point and home point - was that building over (your RTH height) 80 metres tall (roughly 20-25 floors)?


Recommendation?  Ummm ... scuba gear and check that lake would seem the best option

Seriously though - sorry to hear you lost your bird, but there's enough warnings listed above that it was not the best choice of flight time or location if you've watched the training videos.

Old Geezer Posted at 2016-2-18 02:07
Two things leap out at me ... well, three really

First, point of lost connection is directly over ...

Unfortunately, I agree with Old Geezer.
Some people place a little too much confidence in the technology and not enough on their studies of the subject.

Whether it fell into the water or hit one of the buildings, these are things that primarily happen to people new to the hobby or who fail to fully understand the dynamics of UAV flght.

Statistically, such incidents are FAR more frequent with those who are new to the hobby and lesser informed than those who are better informed, read and understood more and/or are seasoned UAV operators.

That said, I do hope you recover your Phantom and find it in excellent condition.

I guess sticking to the FAA guidelines (keeping your drone in line of sight) is a best practice Who would have thought

bnwitt Posted at 2016-2-17 12:33
Ok, I'm curious, I thought the Pro and the Advanced had object avoidance capability built in unlik ...

Phantom 4 is rumored to have features like this and more Phantom 4

bnwitt Posted at 2016-2-17 09:49
So what is Vision position system?  An add on?

Bnwitt, your question has already been answered (VPS is not obstacle avoidance), but I'm curious: has anyone been telling you this, such as a drone salesman?

If you incorrectly assumed, that's innocent enough, but if someone is giving this disinformation, it is harmful.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-2-17 17:34
"What I don't quite understand is that the logs seem to show quite good RC signal strength at the  ...

Meh "flyaway" is not defined phenomenon.
As the OP says he called it how he saw it.
Obviously your prescient ability surpasses the need for examination of logs etc. That's impressive, does it work for lotto?

Where would one mount a Trackimo on a phantom?

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-17 20:37
Meh "flyaway" is not defined phenomenon.
As the OP says he called it how he saw it.
Obviously your ...

I can get the right lotto numbers every time...unfortunately the lotto machine can't.

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-17 15:37
Meh "flyaway" is not defined phenomenon.
As the OP says he called it how he saw it.
Obviously your ...

While I understand what you are saying,

he is correct and , we have seen this scenereo time and time again.

rookie,  
fly BEHIND high object ,
out of line of site
lose all com with quad and thus control
3 seconds later rth begins
flys straight line path to home point at current altitude or preset altitude whichever is higher

smacks into high building on way home

drone lost!

after a couple years of this you see the pattern......

If you flew anP2 vision or vision plus back in 2014 and followed the forums you KNOW what a "flyaway" is.
they were real!


good luck and have fun flying!

nigelw Posted at 2016-2-18 07:17
I can get the right lotto numbers every time...unfortunately the lotto machine can't.

ROFL don't you hate that!

mike.wildlight Posted at 2016-2-18 07:37
Meh "flyaway" is not defined phenomenon.
As the OP says he called it how he saw it.
Obviously your ...

"Meh "flyaway" is not defined phenomenon.
As the OP says he called it how he saw it.
Obviously your prescient ability surpasses the need for examination of logs etc. That's impressive, does it work for lotto?"


Contrary to what you think, my ability comes from examining the logs - the same logs that DJI would look at.
Since the P3 was released Flyaway is mostly a euphemism for "lost Phantom due to operator error and misunderstanding" as it would be in this case.
You say that the operator "called it how he saw it" and in this case the operator admits that he's only had it for a few days and has very little experience of some of the potential problems he could have run into.  How he saw it isn't what happened.
He then goes and flies behind a 40 storey building as is very plainly shown by his flight record.
That should be clear to anyone with even basic observation skills.
And an average flyer's understanding of how a Phantom works tells you what would happen next.
It's all there in black and white recorded by the  app for everyone to see.

However you want to  define flyaway, it usually involves the idea of the Phantom flying away ... to somewhere that the user didn't  command.
His Phanton didn't fly away anywhere - it went  exactly where he flew it.
Right behind a big building.

A company called CPS covers all water, accidental, fly aways... on crafts up to 3,500 I think.  you pay a portion of the crafts price up front then if you use the insurance you pay a deductible and they either fix it or replace it.

kirk2579@aol.co Posted at 2016-2-18 07:22
While I understand what you are saying,

he is correct and , we have seen this scenereo time and t ...

Any investigator, amateur or professional should always assess each case on the facts at hand. Previous cases should be looked at for hints as what to speculate in the absence of facts that form a definitive proof, but it can only ever be speculation.
However it seems there is a propensity for some within this group to jump to conclusions. They may not be wrong in these conclusions, but they act as if their authority on the matter is unquestionable and frequently berate the OP. This is simply incorrect and way not in the spirit of a community with a strong common interest.
For example: one fact that seems to have been overlooked in this instance is that before flying behind the second building the aircraft flies behind an identically shaped first building and maintains "good" signal the entire way. Just because it did on the first doesn't mean it will on the second but it is still evidence to be considered, it does weaken the validity of the hypothesis that RTH initiated a building collision.

All I'd hope for is that conclusion-jumping is left for politicians and other similarly dysfunctional individuals  with deity complexes and that posters (especially those new to our family) be treated with respect, support and guidance.

*sigh*