Ok, I made a mistake, got a little careless and crashed my P3S into a tree.  All my fault, no technology problems at all.  So my question is how do I know if anything is really damaged and needs to be replaced (I do have the DJI protection if needed).  The props look good but those are easy to replace.  I did retreive the P3S and flew it again and everything appeared to be normal but I don't want to do more damage if there is anything that may be damaged that isn't apparent.  Is there anything specific I can check or inspect to be sure everything is operating as it should?  Thanks in advance for the advice.

These drones are pretty robust.  Great you admit it's your error as I have also.  

Maybe post some pics of your drone.  If it's working fine just check your upper and lower case for damage and that your camera works.  Do some short flights make sure your RTH mode works.

  

I think most of us who have trees nearby have hit one of them at some point.  

What I like to do after an (ahem) unscheduled rapid dismantling, is sit it down, put on a head lamp and go over it with a magnifying glass looking for cracks in the shell, props, and landing gear.  Check the props thoroughly.  Then I open up the top and look at everything with a magnifying glass.  I check all the solders for fine cracks.  Be sure they are still tight to the boards.  I push down on all the plugs and what not and look for anything that may be out of order.  I check the GPS antenna for a fine crack in the porcelain and that it's still secure to the module.  Check all the cables, especially the compass cable and GPS cable.  Replace the top carefully, not pinching any wires.  Boot it up and watch that it boots correctly.  Then launch and hover, and watch it carefully for drift or TBE.  Perform compass calibration and IMU calibration if needed.  

I have to say I find it refreshing for someone on these forums to admit responsibility for his own crash. Sounds like your drone has come out ok.

I backed full speed into a coconut tree behind me me one day at the beach
It hit the tree , dropped about 40 feet to landscaping below and battery popped out

picked it up brushed to bark off , plugged the battery in and fired it up
finished the rest of the weeks videos no issues.

maybe do a IMU calibration if it seems to not hold it hover tightly
if props are damaged replace of course but otherwise if it is good...

good luck and have fun flying!

Sorry for your crash.
I'd suggest you to send it in for further further diagnosis and repair.
It's recommended to let our engineers to evaluate the drone.
You can visit : https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/Area　and fill in all the information required on the website and you’ll get a case number automatically.

AlecW Posted at 2017-2-27 11:03
Agreed.  And to the OP there is nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens just like we have fender benders in our cars on occasion.

If you want to have a fender bender with my front end, be my guest. Got to love it when people park thier drivers side door right on the line.
I let them have about 4 inches space.

I had a crash today also. Trying to land on carry case and fighting wind. My fault clear and simple. Then I went really stupid. I didn't notice that the tip broke off one of the props and tried to fly it. Crashed again this time I tried to grad it and got my left index finger in the prop. The thing knew something was wrong and wasn't acting right. There must be a sensor that tells it there is an out of balance prop or something. I am a beginner and was in beginner mode where I belonged. I should have left the complicated maneuvering for better weather. It is a blast to fly.  

From what it sounds like, you may have lucked out. Just to make sure I'm on the same page, you're not getting any error messages or performance issues so far, correct? Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. I accidentally 'dive bombed' a F550 rig I had built for fun all because I decided trying full manual mode was a 'good idea'. Needles to say, I never did that again and left it on GPS-Atti for the rest of its days.

Well, here's my embarrassing moment, which occurred on my very first flight attempt. I was so eager to fly that I didn't pay attention to the order in which I put my props on, so I got them reversed. On "takeoff," it didn't take off at all. It just flipped upside down and started mowing the lawn. Anyway, no damage, just a free green dye job on the props.

Thanks for all the replies - everything looks good to the eye and it's flying right and stable.  I still may send it in and let the professionals look at it since i did get the protection plan (guess I knew i would do this at some point).  

By all means send it in. That is the safest thing to do. But if it were me I would fly it low and close  (after the close visual inspection), put it through a bunch of quick maneuvers to stress it, try out the functions, and if everything checks out, go back to normal.

Taxi329 Posted at 2017-2-28 06:42
Thanks for all the replies - everything looks good to the eye and it's flying right and stable.  I still may send it in and let the professionals look at it since i did get the protection plan (guess I knew i would do this at some point).

If it's all working fine, why bother?  As others have commented, we all have these mishaps and the drones survive unscathed. I'd definitely leave it for the moment.............. if a problem arises later on, you can send it back then. If you send it in, it might actually come back with something wrong with it!! Leave well alone I say.

I think if the company that made the drone recommends sending it in for inspection, and the owner has purchased an extended warranty that would most likely cover the expense, then it may not be a bad idea to send it in.

BaconNBeer Posted at 2017-2-27 20:09
I had a crash today also. Trying to land on carry case and fighting wind. My fault clear and simple. Then I went really stupid. I didn't notice that the tip broke off one of the props and tried to fly it. Crashed again this time I tried to grad it and got my left index finger in the prop. The thing knew something was wrong and wasn't acting right. There must be a sensor that tells it there is an out of balance prop or something. I am a beginner and was in beginner mode where I belonged. I should have left the complicated maneuvering for better weather. It is a blast to fly.

Sorry to hear that.  Landing on any small platform, best make sure it isn't raised above the surrounding area.  I have a couple of landing pads, that sit flat on the ground.  Much safer to use, incase a wind gust does happen to move the drone over, it's not tipping and toppling falling off.


RedHotPoker

BaconNBeer Posted at 2017-2-27 20:09
I had a crash today also. Trying to land on carry case and fighting wind. My fault clear and simple. Then I went really stupid. I didn't notice that the tip broke off one of the props and tried to fly it. Crashed again this time I tried to grad it and got my left index finger in the prop. The thing knew something was wrong and wasn't acting right. There must be a sensor that tells it there is an out of balance prop or something. I am a beginner and was in beginner mode where I belonged. I should have left the complicated maneuvering for better weather. It is a blast to fly.

I tend to hand catch mine now, safer than trying to land it unless you've got a good flat area

Hand catch?  I usually land mine by finding a flat surface but I am curious how do you do it? Catch one leg ? Catch from top?

You might take a look at AMA's Safety Code

This is an embarrassing crash .... Military Drone Fly-Away

I wonder if they are using DJI-Go?

greenwire Posted at 2017-3-1 07:20
Hand catch?  I usually land mine by finding a flat surface but I am curious how do you do it? Catch one leg ? Catch from top?

I've been doing that a few times in the last few days as it's been so windy.     Surprisingly easy even for me!  I just bring it down to about 6 feet and grab a leg with my right hand whilst pulling the left lever all the way down with my left hand to shut the motors off.  Little bit fiddly without a lanyard or something to hold the controller but still quite easy.  Don't try and pull the drone down until the motors have stopped otherwise they try and speed up to get it back up to the height it was.

DroneSmeg Posted at 2017-2-28 01:30
Well, here's my embarrassing moment, which occurred on my very first flight attempt. I was so eager to fly that I didn't pay attention to the order in which I put my props on, so I got them reversed. On "takeoff," it didn't take off at all. It just flipped upside down and started mowing the lawn. Anyway, no damage, just a free green dye job on the props.

I remember you warning me about putting the props on correctly. Still one came off on my second day of flying but I was only maybe 30 ft max and my drone flipped and dove into a tea hedge.  Luckily the tea hedge acts like a nice cushion and no damage to the drone. Never found the lost prop. lol

Flying off a 2d map in a 3d world. Not good!

Every time I crash one of my heli's or fixed wing is embarrassing. Last weekend I augered in one of my smaller heli's while showing out. The 3D portion went fine and I didn't bounce it off of the ground. Still had about half a battery left so I started practicing high speed low level passes. On the third pass I went vertical, stall turned at the top and started my run. Well somewhere between the turn and pulling out at the bottom of the dive I must have given a little right. Half way down the runway is a cedar tree and I flew through it nose down full tilt lol. Prolly did $400 in damage.  Blades destroyed, fractured frame, custom canopy, tail boom, gears, battery, skids, and a few miscellaneous parts. Fortunately I have plenty of spares for the old align and it's stripped and ready to go back together. It just kills me when my friends give me that look and start with the smart a$$ comments while I salvage what's left of my bird and my pride.

DroneSmeg Posted at 2017-2-28 18:27
I think if the company that made the drone recommends sending it in for inspection, and the owner has purchased an extended warranty that would most likely cover the expense, then it may not be a bad idea to send it in.

they pretty much are obligated to say something like that under the circumstance..
its called cover your a$$

if it hover level without drift and responds as it should no reason to send in,

some folks would NEVER have thier quad to fly ..
if sent away for every event .lol

good luck and have fun flying!

good luck and have fun flying?

Kirk2579 Posted at 2017-3-1 18:34
they pretty much are obligated to say something like that under the circumstance..
its called cover your a$$

It's not covering your a$$ if it is an incident that the owner admits was his own fault. It isn't a warranty issue nor something the company could be liable for later. The company are not obligated to do anything, much less say anything. It's like if you accidentally drove your car up onto a sidewalk at speed and heard crunching in the undercarriage. The company wouldn't be covering their a$$ to recommend a detailed inspection if you want to be assured of no damage. It's just common sense.

Again, he has already purchased a coverage plan which would cover the cost of this inspection and he's already expressed concern over any hidden damage. It's up to him if he wants to send it in or not. If it were me, I would make my own assessment based on how bad I thought the crash was and the likelihood of it causing stress cracks in the structure, loosened connections on the board etc and decide whether it needed inspection by someone more qualified than myself.

GeoffN Posted at 2017-3-1 09:16
I've been doing that a few times in the last few days as it's been so windy.     Surprisingly easy even for me!  I just bring it down to about 6 feet and grab a leg with my right hand whilst pulling the left lever all the way down with my left hand to shut the motors off.  Little bit fiddly without a lanyard or something to hold the controller but still quite easy.  Don't try and pull the drone down until the motors have stopped otherwise they try and speed up to get it back up to the height it was.

Thanks