My Drone caught fire phantom 4 pro

My Drone set on fire while it was in his case.

Did you leave your battery in your drone? Must have been the battery that caught fire.

I always leave my battery in my drone, is that wrong?

GreenHornet55 Posted at 2017-3-17 19:39
I always leave my battery in my drone, is that wrong?

Yes, very much so. You should always remove the battery before storing the aircraft.

Geebax Posted at 2017-3-17 19:44
Yes, very much so. You should always remove the battery before storing the aircraft.

Why would they be shipped like that then (battery in drone)? Just curious?

DRONEDADDY8299 Posted at 2017-3-17 19:52
Why would they be shipped like that then (battery in drone)? Just curious?

I agree, all are shipped in the drone.

fans34fc1837 Posted at 2017-3-17 19:14
My Drone set on fire while it was in his case.

What was the last thing you did before putting it in the case? Was it exposed to water? Did you have a crash?  What percentage was the battery left at? How long was it in the case before this happened?

Are you sure you turned the bird OFF before you closed the case?

I can see there being a heat issue if you leave the bird turned ON and close the case... I don't know if it could start on fire, but a closed environment would most certainly cause it to overheat.

Per your pics it looks like whatever heat/fire there was, was being pulled through the left side (looking from the back) only.   Which, if I am not mistaken, is the exhaust side of the bird (air gets drawn in from the area below the USB/Micro SD card slot, and exhausted out the opposite side).  Which means it was left on, and it overheated.  If not then the area on the right side would have been equally scorched/burned, which it obviously is not as bad off as the left per your pics.  Also it is obvious the battery compartment wasn't the cause as that area of the bird is the least affected/burned.

If anything, this goes to show that maybe DJI needs to consider having a thermal sensor installed on future models that would force a shut-down if a overheat issue occurs.  The problem with that is the resultant failures of such a sub-system and the inevitable issues caused by such a system shutting the bird down in error (ie, having the bird fall out of the sky, liability, etc).  Then again, most people are expected to use common sense and make sure the bird is shut off before closing the case.  Their double-tap and hold system is pretty foolproof in that regard.  Now I can see if someone tapped the abttery button toe check battery status before closing it and while closing it something put pressure on the button and caused it to start the bird up, but I am sure that is also pretty much "user error" in regards to having mis-packed something that could even touch the battery button in the first place.

Presume battery wasn't damaged? Hey worth a try!

DRONEDADDY8299 Posted at 2017-3-17 19:52
Why would they be shipped like that then (battery in drone)? Just curious?

Usually DJI shipped the drone with very low battery and wont cause this issue, but after you received the drone and fully charged and keep plug into the drone and keep inside the storage case/backbag mostly will cause this issues because the battery will automatic discharge when not using depend how many days you set it on dji go apps. So when it automatic discharge the battery will get hot and if the storage/backbag the you keep and totally zipped then no air flow out.

I always leave the battery in the drone when it's in the transport case, so I guess I won't do this anymore.
I hope this incident is not occuring to more owners. Imagine this thing turns into something like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 "Gate"!
They wouldn't let us transport batteries on airplanes anymore.

The OP has packed the drone with gimbal protection on.
If he accidentally powered on the batterie, the gimbal must have tried to go through his start up procedure.

If the gimbal is blocked it would be a great feature that the AC is able to shut down the battery!

Battery in battery out, shouldn't happen, dji must have surely tested this, if it was the case that leaving the battery in was a real fire hazard then it would be on the first page of the Manual for starters. I myself use small lipo bags because of the known dangers around lipo batteries.

dude :/ nooooooo

fans34fc1837 Posted at 2017-3-17 19:14
My Drone set on fire while it was in his case.

My take on this is that a spare battery in the LH side of the case has caught fire.  There is storage for 2 batteries on that side.  If you look where the fire has left soot in the case it is directly where these spare batteries sit.  I don't think that the P4 was on fire.You have my sympathies, and I am a little less confident now that I have seen this, especially as I have 4 batteries, one in the P4P, 2 spares in the case, and the other one carried in a separate bag.

No my friends, i has my Drone turn off and hadn't used that day. It has three days storage. The batteries were at 30% percent of charge. Ve carefull with the batteries because it's a dangerous item, and with this inconvinient DJI didn't want to take responsability on the case.

No my friends, i has my Drone turn off and hadn't used that day. It has three days storage. The batteries were at 30% percent of charge. Ve carefull with the batteries because it's a dangerous item, and with this inconvinient DJI didn't want to take responsability on the case.

  it's an expensive item and the service was not good

fans34fc1837 Posted at 2017-3-18 19:45
No my friends, i has my Drone turn off and hadn't used that day. It has three days storage. The batteries were at 30% percent of charge. Ve carefull with the batteries because it's a dangerous item, and with this inconvinient DJI didn't want to take responsability on the case.

Can you please provide the case or ticket number from your correspondence with Support?

To the OP:

So, you are saying that after three days one of the batteries decided to burn?

I would be interested if you had the battery "turned on", since I noticed you can turn on the battery the same way you turn on the bird with the battery in.

Personally, I make sure the batteries are off when I store them.  I am somewhat paranoid of that, with this exact case my concern.

At 30% and with only 3 days it should be completely out of the batteries "smart discharge" window.  So I am REALLY interested in regards to how they started on fire like that.

Where they Phantom 4 Pro 5870mah extended batteries, or Phantom 4 5350mah regular batteries?  I ask because the P4 regular 5350mah batteries have been known to have issues, but the P4P batteries (outside of DOA) are known to have a good reputation.

Personally, knowing that, I spent the extra money on all P4P 5870mah batteries.

Also, are you sure the entire case didn't get wet or something???

I can see having issues if it got water-logged... But for it to "spontaneously" go up like that just does not seem plausible, as there HAS to be a contributing factor.

I mean if you said they were at 70%-100% charge and after the pre-set timelimit it started auto-discharging and the end result is the fire, then that makes sense.  But at 30% charge after 3 days, it just doesn't add up.

Nelsonlee Posted at 2017-3-18 00:47
Usually DJI shipped the drone with very low battery and wont cause this issue, but after you received the drone and fully charged and keep plug into the drone and keep inside the storage case/backbag mostly will cause this issues because the battery will automatic discharge when not using depend how many days you set it on dji go apps. So when it automatic discharge the battery will get hot and if the storage/backbag the you keep and totally zipped then no air flow out.

first of all, when i received my drone, the battery was at 70%. And it was in the box and in the drone for WHO KNOWS how long b4 i received it! Second of all, as you can see in the pictures, the battery compartment is not damaged at all, therefore nothing in the battery compartment was the source of this fire!

DRONEDADDY8299 Posted at 2017-3-20 15:51
first of all, when i received my drone, the battery was at 70%. And it was in the box and in the drone for WHO KNOWS how long b4 i received it! Second of all, as you can see in the pictures, the battery compartment is not damaged at all, therefore nothing in the battery compartment was the source of this fire!

Bummer....I'd rather film the fire than be on