I unexpectedly came across a situation that caused my Phantom 4 to initiate an Auto Landing within the Yellow/Authorization Zone. In doing so, my drone became stuck high up in a tree and 3 days later, finally dislodged itself from the forest canopy and smashed into the ground.

1.         (From http://www.dji.com/flysafe/geo-system ) “Authorization Zone. In these Zones, which appear yellow in the DJI GO map, users will be prompted with a warning and flight is limited by default. Authorization Zones may be unlocked by authorized users using a DJI verified account. Example Authorization Zone: Model aircraft flying club near an airport.”

Situation: My property and flight path are within a Yellow/Authorization Zone in the DGI Go app.

Before being able to take flight within this “Authorization Zone,” the DGI Go app asks to confirm two things by checking the boxes on the pop up overlay that appears on the monitor on your remote control.
Please confirm:
1.        I have authorization (if required) to fly in this location.
2.        I bare full responsibility for my flight here.
By unlocking you reaffirm all terms and conditions of use.
I agreed, the Zone unlocked and I continued into my flights that evening and throughout the next day.

I believe that the “Timeframe” is of the essence to what is about to happen…fast forward 24 hours or should I say 23 hours and 59 minutes from the moment that I agreed to and unlocked the Yellow Authorization Zone.

23:59 - I take off and 12 minutes into my flight I am at a height of 251 ft and a distance of 1,574 ft (Data Log Intel)

As I reached that moment of my flight, my drone and remote controller lost connection/communication with each other for a few seconds…as they reconnected, the same Unlock/Authorization Pop up/Overlay mentioned above appeared on my screen. Surprised, I quickly checked off the same confirmation boxes that I did the previous day but as I was about to press the confirm button to finalize and re-submit my Zone Unlocking Agreement…the connection between the drone and controller died again…this time for good.

I looked up into the sky, waiting for my drone to return home…after all, I safe guarded my drone and its flights by setting it to “Return to Home” in case of a situation such as this. I waited and waited…my drone did not return home.

What happened?!? What went wrong!?!

After researching DJIs’ Geo-Fencing, particularly the Unlocking of Yellow/Authorizing Zones for flight and going into my flight log, I discovered a couple things, one of which I feel to be a possible safety hazard that should be considered…and please correct me if I am wrong.

Self-authorizing to take off within a Yellow Zone thru your hand held controller gives a window of 24 hours of uninterrupted flight time and using the online DJI Flight Planner allocates up to 72 hours…after which you will be required to reconfirm acknowledgement and responsibility before re-unlocking and flying in that particular area.

With all this in mind, this flight began within the initial 24 hour period…but then disconnected its signal after the 24th hour, subsequently DJI’s programming required me to reconfirm and re-unlock the Zone.  The problem in my situation was that I was in midflight with an unstable/non-existent connection when I was required to reconfirm.

Why would DJIs’ programming not recognize that the unit is currently in midflight and allow my drone to return to home before having me re-execute a form of agreement to re-unlock the zone that I am currently in flight in?

In this particular instance, why would DJIs’ programming override my pre-programmed “Return to Home” command and initiate an “Auto Landing” risking the safety of the drone and anything in its way in its descending path to land?

Has anyone else experienced this situation? If so, how has DJI addressed your case?

My drone landed and extremely hard…one of its arms is seriously bent, upper and lower housing, along with the gimbal are all cracked and split. Internally, only time will tell.

Thank you in advance for your input and insight to my situation.

Hello Secret Squirrel, really sorry about your crash, would you please sync your flight records firstly and then send an e-mail to support@dji.com? our tech support will help you analyze flight records.
Please refer to this tutorial:

DJI Natalia Posted at 2016-9-8 12:19
Hello Secret Squirrel, really sorry about your crash, would you please sync your flight records firs ...

Thank you for your support DJI Natalia!

Flight data is synced and I sent an email with the above details to DJI Support.

Kind regards

A very similar situation happened to me this past weekend.

I took flight in a warning zone, (over ocean to film a boat)  off an island that had a yellow authorization zone around the airport on the island. While following the boat into the harbor I entered the yellow zone and lost control of my phantom 3 pro. Unaware of this situation a warning notification popped up on my screen asking me to sign into my account. While doing so, and realizing the aircraft was becoming low on battery, the wind slowly pushed my drone into the mast of a  four million dollar 65' sailing vessel. The drone fell to the deck of the boat and damaged the varnish. The unpleasant capt. held the drone hostage and threatened to call authority if we did not deliver $800 cash to him within the next two hours. I did so to only to retrieve a broken drone.

I am very disappointed in the dji software to unable my flight (mid-air) causing me a damaged drone and a loss of $800. I had full control of the drone and was prepare to land right before I lost control.  
What will dji do to help fix my damaged drone?

Thanks   

Hello, I had a similar issue which caused me to lose my Phantom 4 advanced.  I had already taken off and then the message popped up.  Simultaneously the drone also was encountering issues with the compass and switched itself into ATTI mode but I was busy dealing with the Auth Zone issues which, to me, made it seem like I was locked out.  The screen stated it was returning to home but in reality it was heading in a different direction.  I didn't realize it soon enough before the aircraft became disconnected.

Yachtaerial Posted at 2017-7-10 08:35
A very similar situation happened to me this past weekend.

I took flight in a warning zone, (over ocean to film a boat)  off an island that had a yellow authorization zone around the airport on the island. While following the boat into the harbor I entered the yellow zone and lost control of my phantom 3 pro. Unaware of this situation a warning notification popped up on my screen asking me to sign into my account. While doing so, and realizing the aircraft was becoming low on battery, the wind slowly pushed my drone into the mast of a  four million dollar 65' sailing vessel. The drone fell to the deck of the boat and damaged the varnish. The unpleasant capt. held the drone hostage and threatened to call authority if we did not deliver $800 cash to him within the next two hours. I did so to only to retrieve a broken drone.

Wow, and you did not take a witness with you to watch you hand over the money? And you did not report the 'Captain' to the police for extortion?

Is there a retaliation ship to the new trashware?

Wow, has this issue ever been addressed? I think pilots should be given a few minutes to land safely, instead of crashing the drone into the sea, heads of other people, etc... what if a gps/software bug makes the bird think that I am in a restricted zone, when not?

i just had the same exact issue what was the result??

fans1a8f5cde Posted at 2-28 20:31
i just had the same exact issue what was the result??

It appears that there has been a fix to the software where DJI adjusted the timing of the 24 hour "Unlock Token." They have made the the "Closing" of the air space to happen at Midnight instead of the 24 hours. This should take care of most flights...unless you are flying with night waivers...in which I'm unsure if the problem continues.

The airspace that I was flying in was Class G which does not require authorization only acute awareness.

After hours and hours of emails, forum messages, chat dialog...DJI took ZERO responsibility, even though they have modified their software to time out during "Dark" hours. I had to have my drone repaired at my own cost.

Shame on you DJI...I was bringing my/our issue to your attention so that you could fix this bug and make a safer flying experience...instead, you deflected the blame and then charged me $350 for repairs.

Secret Squirrel Posted at 3-1 04:49
It appears that there has been a fix to the software where DJI adjusted the timing of the 24 hour "Unlock Token." They have made the the "Closing" of the air space to happen at Midnight instead of the 24 hours. This should take care of most flights...unless you are flying with night waivers...in which I'm unsure if the problem continues.

The airspace that I was flying in was Class G which does not require authorization only acute awareness.

THAT'S DJI!
That is definitely a clear problem. Why would they not let the drone return home?

Secret Squirrel Posted at 3-1 04:49
It appears that there has been a fix to the software where DJI adjusted the timing of the 24 hour "Unlock Token." They have made the the "Closing" of the air space to happen at Midnight instead of the 24 hours. This should take care of most flights...unless you are flying with night waivers...in which I'm unsure if the problem continues.

The airspace that I was flying in was Class G which does not require authorization only acute awareness.

Not surprised at the way you were treated, but sorry for it all the same.
Thank you for your efforts to get this fixed for all our benefit!

I believe you can get a 3-day unlock if you do the unlock via your desktop or laptop rather than your Go app.  I've been getting 3-day unlocks for quite some time.  

Re the Class G thing, if you're 107, no authorization is required, if you're 101, pilot must notify the tower/airport if within 5 miles.  Since the DJI restrictions are generic, their zones do make some amount of sense, especially when one considers that most pilots are not 107 certified.  

Good luck

Secret Squirrel Posted at 3-1 04:49
It appears that there has been a fix to the software where DJI adjusted the timing of the 24 hour "Unlock Token." They have made the the "Closing" of the air space to happen at Midnight instead of the 24 hours. This should take care of most flights...unless you are flying with night waivers...in which I'm unsure if the problem continues.

The airspace that I was flying in was Class G which does not require authorization only acute awareness.

"It appears that there has been a fix to the software"


I'm curious, as your original post is two and a half years old now. There have been a number of significant changes of firmware on the P4, the DJI Go 4 App'. Also the flysafe databases which have gone through major changes recently, reshaping their No Fly Zone, and Authorisation required areas.

With all updated does it work as you would expect ?

It was kinda a surprise that this thread came back to life after a couple of years Aardvark.

Yes to your question...the firmware is working to my expectations at this time.