Crashed twice today

[Jhumpert]

Well first time had the spark in the air in quite a while and both times crashed today. First time just took off and got a warning and the engines shut off and it fell straight down from about 30 feet and landed on the right front engine luckily in grass but still fell straight down powerless. Message I saw on the screen said something about signal loss but it was dead stick shut down.

Picked it up, changed batteries, did general inspection, resync'd no problem and set it down and started the engines and the right front prop is now hitting the prop guard. Took the guard off and started flying and it didnt feel right but not bad but I was also gunshy after the first crash. Flew for about 10+ minutes and got critical battery level return to home in 3 seconds which it didnt so I was flying trying to get it down quick because I was probably 90 feet in the air. Before I got it back to ground the engines shut off so it landed in grass and tumbled to a crash landing. I have had my spark almost a year in November so I am hoping if there is damage I can find it and get my refresh before my warranty ends.

With the prop now hitting the guard do you think I bent an engine arm with the crash because it landed on the right front and that is the one thay now hits the guard? When you spin the prop by hand the entire prop tip hits the guard which was mounted properly because I marked them and had them where they belonged.

 

[Dragonfly Joe]

My guess is that right front engine has a bent shaft and will need replacing. What is concerning is why it shut down and crashed the first time. If it is still covered you can send it back to DJI for repairs and testing. If not, the engines are fairly easy to replace. I put one in for a friend a couple months ago and as long as you can use a soldering iron it's pretty straight forward.

 

[Jhumpert]

My guess is that right front engine has a bent shaft and will need replacing. What is concerning is why it shut down and crashed the first time. If it is still covered you can send it back to DJI for repairs and testing. If not, the engines are fairly easy to replace. I put one in for a friend a couple months ago and as long as you can use a soldering iron it's pretty straight forward.

When it came down deadstick it had dipped because I was in a climb so it literally landed right on the right prop. I was half expecting to see the gimble broke. Just looked up to see when I ordered my spark and I ordered it Nov 8 got it around the 11th and ordered refresh around the 12th. I will inspect the right engine for sure. Is that a refresh warranty or send it to repair?

 

[Jhumpert]

[QUOTE="Dragonfly Joe]
What is concerning is why it shut down and crashed the first time.
[/QUOTE]

As far as possible loss I was at my brothers wedding and he has Dish Hopper and he had a Wireless Joey out in the garage so dont know if that contributed any or not.

 

[Jhumpert]

One good thing is I have Litchi but wasnt using it so the crash was ilon DjiGo4. Wasnt going to use Litchi until after warranty expired

 

[Jhumpert]

[QUOTE="Dragonfly Joe]
What is concerning is why it shut down and crashed the first time.

As far as possible loss I was at my brothers wedding and he has Dish Hopper and he had a Wireless Joey out in the garage so dont know if that contributed any or not.
[/QUOTE]
Just logged in to DJIGo4 and looked at the video imagery and the whole flight was 30 seconds, climbed to 30 feet, battery showed 93%, saw a propulsion limited to protect the battery output failure displayed and it threw a critical battery warning and went 0% and fell out of the sky. You can see went from 30 feet to 0 in like 3 seconds. Battery showed 0% when it failed but 93% prior to that. Was flying in GPS mode and had 13 satellites

 

[DavidBlezard]

When it came down deadstick it had dipped because I was in a climb so it literally landed right on the right prop. I was half expecting to see the gimble broke. Just looked up to see when I ordered my spark and I ordered it Nov 8 got it around the 11th and ordered refresh around the 12th. I will inspect the right engine for sure. Is that a refresh warranty or send it to repair?

I would say this is a refresh loss. I’d point out and your flight data will show engine shutdown. Hopefully DJI will see it as equipment failure not pilot error. Either way it is less money than buying a replacement. Open the ticket to DJI ASAP. Good luck.

 

[Jhumpert]

Emailed last night and got response this morning how to file. Will I need to send the remote or just the drone?

 

[DavidBlezard]

My issue was a battery drop out. Only sent drone no props. Just ask them and they will let you know. Good luck.

 

[Mtntrogger]

One good thing is I have Litchi but wasnt using it so the crash was ilon DjiGo4. Wasnt going to use Litchi until after warranty expired

Sorry to hear about your crash's. Definitely a bummer and also sort of scary. Just using Litchi doesn't automatically void your warranty. Pretty sure that's a falsely circulated myth. I've read many posts on here that state this is not true. I've only had my spark a few months but I started using Litchi shortly after I got the bird. I still use dji go for most flights, but I love Litchi. If you still have refresh your good to go !

 

[Jhumpert]

Sorry to hear about your crash's. Definitely a bummer and also sort of scary. Just using Litchi doesn't automatically void your warranty. Pretty sure that's a falsely circulated myth. I've read many posts on here that state this is not true. I've only had my spark a few months but I started using Litchi shortly after I got the bird. I still use dji go for most flights, but I love Litchi. If you still have refresh your good to go !

I will eventually try learning and using Litchi, I was just going to wait until after my 1 year period to use it. I have tried it on a couple flights but not long.

 

[Mtntrogger]

The waypoint flights are so fun ! Definitely the best feature on Litchi. Although the tracking features are also really good.

 

[Jhumpert]

Well I came home tonight and did DJI Refresh Express and just paid the 49.00 paypal so need to find a small enough box to send the drone and props to Texas. DJI support tells me to send the remote, battery and everything but according to Refresh Express all I send is the drone and the props. Thats fine they want the props they can have them, I will get new with the replacement and I have another set new in the box.

 

[Dragonfly Joe]

Well I came home tonight and did DJI Refresh Express and just paid the 49.00 paypal so need to find a small enough box to send the drone and props to Texas. DJI support tells me to send the remote, battery and everything but according to Refresh Express all I send is the drone and the props. Thats fine they want the props they can have them, I will get new with the replacement and I have another set new in the box.

Thanks for the update. Please post back and let us know how things work out for you.