There's always an inherent risk when buying electronics. Despite their popularity, most electronic gifts are extremely fragile: they will often break when dropped, and few can come in contact with any amount of water and survive. Electronics make up some of the most popular gifts on the planet during the holidays, and yet, their very nature is one of fragility.
Of course, that goes doubly for drones. Not only are the quadcopter cameras worth hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars, but a single crash landing or a dip in some water will instantly destroy the gadget. For Zwier Spanjer, it looked like both were going to happen at the same time. After a day of flying, Spanjer's Phantom II began to fall from the sky, straight towards a large body of water. To put it lightly, that drone looked absolutely doomed.
The fact that the drone survived such a fall is pretty amazing, but Spanjer's catch was downright astounding:
If a drone-based highlight reel is ever created, that fall should be the first clip on display. That catch was nothing short of miraculous, because another couple inches, and the drone's camera and other electrical systems would have been underwater and subsequently annihilated. With one outstretched arm, Spenjer saved nearly $700 worth of electronics.
That's right: the basic Phantom II drone model sells at a whopping $679 from the DJI website, and it only gets more expensive from there. If there were any accessories on the drone, it's highly likely that those would have been destroyed along with the camera. It's safe to say that Spenjer is probably going to be a bit more careful with how long he keeps his drone in the air from now on...
The moral of the story: always make sure your batteries are charged.
