H520 Crash

[emilereynolds]

My Yuneec H520 fell out of the sky today for no obvious reason, once I had picked up the pieces and looked at the ST16 screen it said 'lost communication' the craft will come back to land, it never did it just fell. It was only 80m away from me and about 25m up.
Everything was fine yesterday as I was able to complete two missions. :-(

 

[Ty Pilot]

Very unfortunate. Was this a new craft making it's first flights? In the past many of the power falls from altitude have been caused by an improperly seated battery, any chance the battery may not have been pushed all the way in? Again sorry for your loss. You should call Yuneec Support first thing and see what they say. Good Luck.

 

[Steve Carr]

It's important to take pictures of a crash before you touch the aircraft. It documents a lot of things that you don't see at the time.
Were the lights still flashing on the 520 when you found it?

 

[emilereynolds]

It's important to take pictures of a crash before you touch the aircraft. It documents a lot of things that you don't see at the time.
Were the lights still flashing on the 520 when you found it?

No lights, the impact seems to be directly on the camera forcing it and its housing up into the body of the craft. this impact crushed the battery and its casing and it was dislodged out the craft. I actually saw it fall, all parts of the craft were intact [ nothing had fallen off just before the crash ], also the battery has not grass or dirt tell-tail marks so i know the battery was in the craft as i always make sure it is locked in.

 

[AH-1G]

Are we able to get telemetry data for the H520 to look at?

 

[Steve Carr]

No lights, the impact seems to be directly on the camera forcing it and its housing up into the body of the craft. this impact crushed the battery and its casing and it was dislodged out the craft. I actually saw it fall, all parts of the craft were intact [ nothing had fallen off just before the crash ], also the battery has not grass or dirt tell-tail marks so i know the battery was in the craft as i always make sure it is locked in.

You will need to contact Yuneec UK right away. They will want a copy the entire telemetry folder as a zip file.

 

[moodman]

Please keep us posted. My th the same thing last week. I rebuilt it but the camera is toast

 

[NorWiscPilot]

No lights, the impact seems to be directly on the camera forcing it and its housing up into the body of the craft. this impact crushed the battery and its casing and it was dislodged out the craft. I actually saw it fall, all parts of the craft were intact [ nothing had fallen off just before the crash ], also the battery has not grass or dirt tell-tail marks so i know the battery was in the craft as i always make sure it is locked in.

It may seem obvious to most, but to clarify for anyone doing a search and finding your response about the battery “still in the aircraft”...

The question asking whether the battery had been properly locked during pre-flight was not hinting about “was the battery still in the craft upon discovering the crash zone.”

The battery only needs to move maybe less than half or quarter of an inch, or less than a centimeter to break connection with the power input contacts of the aircraft. We are not talking about full ejection of the battery as a possible cause, but rather a “loose” connection.

Hope this helps anyone who may be wondering.

Good luck with your recovery efforts.

Jeff

 

[rmax252]

Very interesting. Mine also fell out of the sky this week. I was flying a demonstration mission. So it was an auto flight about 5 minutes into flight it lost connection. I changed positions and reaquired contact and since it was a demonstration I decided to send return to launch command. It got to about 100 yards and completely lost power. Camera completely shattered including breaking memory card. I can not retrieve any data off of it. Flight information on controller shows nothing after return to home command. Aircraft is about 15 months old and has a lot of flight time on it with no major issues before. It was updated last weekend. While possible battery could have come lose, because it is hard to push in and fits flush, it's usually a self check that its seated.

 

[emilereynolds]

Some good news to report or perhaps concerning news depends on how you wish to receive this but, Yuneec are replacing my drone with a completely new one!! C90 and battery etc. I have not been given any information on their crash investigation or findings so I am a little unsure about the craft now [ lost a bit of confidence in it ], I will worry more now.
Is this normal to be told nothing of the fault??

 

[AH-1G]

Very interesting. Mine also fell out of the sky this week. I was flying a demonstration mission. So it was an auto flight about 5 minutes into flight it lost connection. I changed positions and reaquired contact and since it was a demonstration I decided to send return to launch command. It got to about 100 yards and completely lost power. Camera completely shattered including breaking memory card. I can not retrieve any data off of it. Flight information on controller shows nothing after return to home command. Aircraft is about 15 months old and has a lot of flight time on it with no major issues before. It was updated last weekend. While possible battery could have come lose, because it is hard to push in and fits flush, it's usually a self check that its seated.

Can we look at the telemetry?

 

[Steve Carr]

Is this normal to be told nothing of the fault??

Yes it is normal. In fact, none of the major manufacturers will provide any information regarding a fault unless it is operator error. Since they are replacing it indicates they did find the cause of the fault. It could be something as simple as a bad sensor or it could be a failure of the Flight Controller.
Regarding your confidence in the aircraft.......every single make and model have the same issues. There is no perfect aircraft, manned or unmanned. You simply have to fly with that in mind. The very first video I watched on Youtube of an Inspire showed the maiden flight going straight up to about 1200' and then came straight down. It was completely uncontrollable. It was being flown by an experienced team.

 

[rmax252]

Can we look at the telemetry?

For mine no. The SD card was broken in half when camera shattered. I could not retrieve anything off of it. The flight data on controller only said lost connection prior to crash.

 

[rmax252]

For mine no. The SD card was broken in half when camera shattered. I could not retrieve anything off of it. The flight data on controller only said lost connection prior to crash.

It is a corporate aircraft so not out of my pocket per say. I was able to replace all parts. Camera was biggest cost of course. Come up with couple theories around battery seating so I will be watching for that. One involves a slightly swollen battery that is a little harder to push in than others. I do not know that this was the one at time of crash but it is marked and probably will be taken out of service.

 

[NorWiscPilot]

For mine no. The SD card was broken in half when camera shattered. I could not retrieve anything off of it. The flight data on controller only said lost connection prior to crash.

I trust you already looked...

The telemetry should be recorded in the ST16s, not the camera.

Jeff

 

[moodman]

It's also possible that the card can be fixed. As long as it didn't break the actual memory chip in the card, you might be able to fix it.

 

[rmax252]

I trust you already looked...

The telemetry should be recorded in the ST16s, not the camera.

Jeff

Unfortunately no. No telemetry has been recorded for over a year. That option to save telemetry is unchecked from directions from my agency that worries about privacy laws and also about data making its way back to China. It's overreaction but not much I can do. I understand with that there is not much hope of getting Yuneec to cover cost. But in future if we identify a flaw, it could prevent us from purchasing further from them. I certainly hope not. Right now, market choices are really low with DJI off the table.

 

[moodman]

And why is DJI off the table? Do you think Yuneec is safer from China data piracy than DJI?

 

[Phaedrus]

And why is DJI off the table? Do you think Yuneec is safer from China data piracy than DJI?

Yes, it is because Yuneec does not require you to connect to their servers on a regular basis for "updates" or to fly/request authorization to fly.

 

[moodman]

And I totally agree. No matter how much China assures us that the data is "anonymous", so what? I see no compelling reason for them or anyone else to collect data on what I do with my property. They do it because they can. For this reason, I want to make my own drone, but lack the technical expertise to make what I want. Here is what I would want in my own drone:
1. Sensors on top, bottom, front and back for collision avoidance
2. RTH that works 100% of the time.
3. 360degree HD camera. Yuneec got this one right
4. Extended range, like 5 miles
5. Strong enough to survive most crashes without breaking
6. No "no fly zones" I should have the freedom to break the law without a nanny state deciding in advance that I am going to do so. In other words, if I break the law, I pay the penalty. But don't make everyone suffer for the few criminals that MIGHT be out there.
7. Programmable routes. I know Yuneec has this, but the CCC on the TH is a joke. I want PRECISE positioning

If you gave me this kind of platform, I would buy it in a heartbeat. (assuming it is affordable)