Just crashed my MP...

[Jerrychi]

Had my MP about a month. Has worked great with no issues until tonight. Was bringing it in for a landing, and all of the sudden it took off like a bat out of **** and went up and to the right directly into a tree. Landed it in the same spot multiple times with no issue. What the crap happened???? Tore the gimbal off so repairs are necessary.
Anyone tips on dealing with DJI refresh?

Dji i's not taking accountability for this, it's happened to plenty other recently, mine did the exact same thing, fly logs shows nothing, i received all emails only no direct phone call from repair shop, since they couldn't come up with an answer they decided to charge me only $200 so they say

 

[Maxheadspace]

Pilot error, the cause of >90% of all accidents. Sorry to hear of your loss however, RTH has resulted in so many similar incidents. I’ve owned 5 DJI Quads, Phantoms, Inspire and a couple of Mavics, have flown >2500 miles with the only incident being my fault, in which I ran out of battery power after beng warned to return home, thinking I could out smart it and travel just a few moments longer. Ended up losing a Mavic in a lake, 1500ft short of its home point, after nearly completing an 8 mile run with a strong headwind on its return. Packed up my leftover gear, went home and ordered a new one.

Can't agree more. I lost two drones (not DJI) to RTH long ago. Taught me never to use RTH unless in a crisis situation. Having obstacle sensors/avoidance greatly reduces chance of catastrophic consequences, but as this case highlights, obstacle avoidance is not a guarantee of safe return with RTH.

 

[Aerial West]

I dont know how having your drone under a tree when RTH activates is a warranty issue.

 

[netfolks2000]

Someone please explain this to me. If he was landing on the table from where he took off, then THAT was the RTH point. Why would it go up again and try to RTH elsewhere? He said it was because he moved. Does that mean his RTH was set to the controller position and THAT is why it tried to RTH to a place other than the table where it originally was launched?

 

[Aerial West]

Someone please explain this to me. If he was landing on the table from where he took off, then THAT was the RTH point. Why would it go up again and try to RTH elsewhere? He said it was because he moved. Does that mean his RTH was set to the controller position and THAT is why it tried to RTH to a place other than the table where it originally was launched?

if its not exactly, then it goes to an altitude. even if thats not a direct path, because it has no idea what is between where it is, and the landing space.

 

[HighlandsVideo]

Sorry for your damaged bird. Hope it can be restored.

The fallibility of the robotics aside for a moment, this re-enforces for me the lesson that when any LiPo battery is discharged below it's nominal voltage under heavy load, it is more susceptible to internal damage. While said damage may not always be permanent, it is always potentially fatal to your flight. I never discharge a battery below what it takes to get safely back on the ground after the default warning signal!!! To me that means about 20-25% max. Given that and the nature of the robotics... trying to push the air time limits seems doubly discouraged.

 

[sar104]

Someone please explain this to me. If he was landing on the table from where he took off, then THAT was the RTH point. Why would it go up again and try to RTH elsewhere? He said it was because he moved. Does that mean his RTH was set to the controller position and THAT is why it tried to RTH to a place other than the table where it originally was launched?

He did not take off from that table, so there is nothing to explain.

 

[baddog]

Had my MP about a month. Has worked great with no issues until tonight. Was bringing it in for a landing, and all of the sudden it took off like a bat out of **** and went up and to the right directly into a tree. Landed it in the same spot multiple times with no issue. What the crap happened???? Tore the gimbal off so repairs are necessary.
Anyone tips on dealing with DJI refresh?

Be patient, but persistent. If you are not satisfied with their support push back and ask for more info and keep it up until they at least meet you half way.

You should also post your flight log here. There are some great members here that can help decipher what went wrong.

Hope this helps

 

[Classic flyer]

From what I could tell, RTH was triggered on low batt, about 20m away from home point. So it was rising to the RTH altitude (60m).
You were right at the borderline, less than 20m, it'll not rise but fly at current alt to home point.

You're Awsome sir, to be able diagnose that stuff...great job

 

[Bdeta724]

Update:

Dji shipping took 6 days to get their facility. Way too slow.

They have had my drone for a week now and it is still in damage assessment stage.

I got a response from them on the 21st that they would let me know in 2-3 days what results were and if any charges were necessary. It is now the 26th and no response yet.

 

[Bdeta724]

I emailed DJI this morning asking for status, and got a canned response back asking me to sync flight records (which was done immediately after the crash), asking date of incident, which I have already given them at least 3 times, asking me to describe what happened, which I have given them at least 3 times.... starting to get frustrated with them!

 

[Bdeta724]

DJI sent an email 3 days ago, saying crash was my fault, and repairs are covered under refresh at a charge of $79. I paid for it within 30 minutes of getting email. I sent a follow up email yesterday asking about when I could expect it back, and they claimed they hadn't received payment yet. So I had to send them proof that I had paid them. Getting very frustrated with how long this is taking, and how dis-organized their process is.

 

[macoman]

DJI sent an email 3 days ago, saying crash was my fault, and repairs are covered under refresh at a charge of $79. I paid for it within 30 minutes of getting email. I sent a follow up email yesterday asking about when I could expect it back, and they claimed they hadn't received payment yet. So I had to send them proof that I had paid them. Getting very frustrated with how long this is taking, and how dis-organized their process is.

Crazy that a multi-billion dollar company can't have a reliable repair service and feel more like a startup small business.

 

[sar104]

Crazy that a multi-billion dollar company can't have a reliable repair service and feel more like a startup small business.

That's certainly not the strongest part of their business model. They have clearly attempted to emulate Apple in many ways, and succeeded in some, but not in customer service where they seem to be at somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

[Former Member]

Crazy that a multi-billion dollar company can't have a reliable repair service and feel more like a startup small business.

As a startup, I take offense to that statement. joking

 

[macoman]

As a startup, I take offense to that statement. joking

Your customer services skills is above DJI... They should learn from you my friend!

 

[Canuk]

I think one big difference is caring .
Dji just don’t care . I have not read one bad customer experience with thunderdrone .
Wish he had a office in Canada

 

[lmel2005]

I think one big difference is caring .
Dji just don’t care . I have not read one bad customer experience with thunderdrone .
Wish he had a office in Canada

Wait for your turn please. We invited him in Europe first.

 

[Former Member]

Your customer services skills is above DJI... They should learn from you my friend!

I appreciate that!

 

[Bdeta724]

Got my drone back yesterday! It appears that they sent me a brand new one. By the time I got done done linking the controller, and updating the firmware it was to dark to attempt to fly last night.

Spent over over an hour on the phone with DJI on Monday trying to figure out what was taking so long to ship. It would help alot if they got customer service people who speak English as their first language to deal with those that speak English. Biggest issue in dealing with them is they struggled to understand what I was asking, and I had to re-explain my questions multiple times.