Phantom Crash, related to Battery fault? DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Crash survey related to Battery fault. My DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ fell from the sky on my 73th flight which happened in 1 minute and 21 seconds after the 30% low level battery warning came. The motors suddenly stopped to work and the phantom fell from the sky. There was no 16% low level battery warning nor did the phantom go to the self-landing. After the crash the battery level was 0%. Here is the crash video: After 19 days explaining and arguing with the DJI Shenzhen Headquarters technical support, I gave up. They just ascribed the blame to me and didn't even try to find out the real cause of the crash. I have sent them the “crash” video, explained everything very precisely and provided them all the information from the Assistance software. I provided them as much information as possible because I’d like to help to make this product even better before someone got hit by a falling Phantom or even worse. I asked them as well to get the battery back so that they can investigate the problem, but DJI didn’t ask for it or response on my request. This is DJI’s final conclusion / comment to this case ( in their words): “…we all know this acident is caused by operation on the copter and would like to emphasize again the crash is caused by battery had used up all its power before crash during the descending process”. I’m not sure if DJI currently is able to handle the claim. I got the first answer to my email within 5 hours which was a very quick reply. Unfortunately, the product knowledge from DJI technical support team is not so efficient or helpful. Not meant to harm, defame, or cause any problems for DJI, but yet it is an unbiased, personal experience with the DJI Headquarters support center. To have a safer Phantom, we need to have DJI to take battery issue seriously, to find out the cause of the problem and to fix it. Therefore, I would like to ask for your favor to help me complete this survey. ONLY for DJI Phantom 2 VISION+ and Phantom 2 Can you please provide me the following information? 1. The Phantom serial no. & Version. 2. Which firmware did you use? 3. The battery serial no. 4. Did you get low battery warning during the flight even the battery was still more than 30% charged? 5. Did your motors suddenly stop working? 6. Did you get a 16% (or whatever you have set) battery low level warning? 7. What was the battery level after the crash? 8. How many flights did you make with this same battery before the crash? 9. Did you fly in NAZA mode or Normal mode? 10. If you flew in NAZA mode is it set to fallsafe or not? 11. Did you discharge to less than 8% and fully charge this “crash battery” just before the flight? This is important to know. I’ll make a summary of all the comments and information I get and post to this forum. Is there another good forum where I could post this info/survey? Many thanks Roger Reuters interview http://www.reuters.com/video/2014/07/30/chinas-drone-king-says-the-revolution-de?videoId=329444760&videoChannel=5&channelName=Business
Similar issues have been reported and learned the hard way or easy way by others: https://www.droneflyers.com/talk/threads/dji-p2v-loss-of-control-with-low-battery.501/#post-1759 It's completely impossible for DJI to know or care what happened to 10's of thousands of units (individually) - and/or use what happened to one as a reason to change settings or firmware. You will find a lot of DJI threads at RC Groups, phantompilots and DJIguys.....but I suspect most experienced Phantom P2V+ pilots learned this particular lesson well before their 73rd flight. As I mentioned in the other thread, the PV2+ flies "heavy" and it reacts completely different than a stock or lighter Phantom model. This reaction seems tied to a number of factors such as: 1. How high the Phantom is when the 30% is hit - if it's high up, it freaks out just like you might if you were piloting a helicopter at 10,000 feet and realized you were almost out of gas! It's programming probably tells it "get down quick". 2. The exact condition of the battery - as well as environmental conditions (heat, humidity, etc.) 3. How the quad is being operated - none of us know exactly what the programming is, but it makes sense that the Phantom would take into account how the energy was being drained during the flight and perhaps use that as a guide to what it can expect later. 73 flights on the same battery may be fine - but if the battery was not taken care of properly it could make it drain faster, resulting in something like you mention. I have some batteries with my Phantom where I land as soon as they start showing lower voltage and others which I can let go because they seem to drain slower toward the end of the curve. ----------from my book------- For longer term storage, place the battery in a metal box with a charge of 40-50% The battery will last longer if you read the manual and perform the suggested discharges every 20 cycles. With proper care, expect 150-250 charges before the battery needs to be replaced. Do not charge in extremely humid or wet and hot conditions. ------------------------------- So all that stuff - and probably more - matters a lot.
By the way, no US pilot I know would ever fly their Phantom in ANY of those scenes of your video where you are above cars, roads, buildings, in high density areas, etc. Hobby quadcopters WILL ALL DROP FROM THE SKY. Every one of them. The only question is when...and it's often enough...
Appreciate your information. I think DJI should not take care of 10’s of thousands of their units, I would already be happy if they take care of the serious problems with the phantom and not push the blame back to the user. Regarding the Battery I’m taking very good care of my batteries and follow exactly the DJI manual. Actually it was the 41st flight with this “crash” battery. I discharged the battery to below 8% and fully charged before the flight. I’m doing this after every 20 flight with all my batteries as recommended in the DJI manual. Regarding the Humidity Well, I’m living in Asia and most of the time I’m in Singapore and Malaysia. It is 365 days 30+ degree and humid. So it’s hard to avoid charging the battery in a hot and humid condition. If the Phantom is getting crazy once hit the 30% level (didn’t see this in the DJI manual), would it then be better to set it to 35% or better to 25%? What is your experience? By the way, I think it makes more sense if DJI would advertise the phantom with 10 minutes flight time and not 25 minutes. This is misleading, don’t you think so? In my case, the Phantom didn’t get crazy, I could normal fly back and decent, but the motors suddenly stopped and the thing fell from the sky. I’m sure and I tested it, it’s not possible to keep the Phantom in the air until the motor stop respectively it will self-decent or at least show some sign like wobbling or so. But in my case there was no such sign.
Yes, the 20-25 minute flight time is not right. I would advertise it as 12-15 minutes. The more lightweight Phantoms will act as you describe. The Vision+ is too heavy (IMHO) - something which I noticed when flying it. That's why I decided not to buy it yet. It does not have the same manners as it would if a little lighter. Almost two minutes after the 30% warning....is a long time! Batteries can act funny after a number of flights. All in all, I suspect DJI is correct in saying there is nothing inherently wrong with your Phantom. However, these products are still highly technical and not failsafe. They will crash. In fact, the Phantom is probably the first "consumer" quadcopter where you could get 70 flights and not lose it or totally destroy it. One Phantom owner reported that they were able to get insurance (squaretrade) on the camera - and maybe even on the quadcopter. That's probably a good idea. I think, in the future, insurance or extended warranties will be more available.
