Crashed Ship

The subject of this article is from the Beyond update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 27 November, 2019.

This article is about the Beyond version for Crashed Ships. For the Atlas Rises version, see Crashed Ship (Atlas).

Crashed Ships are one of various planetary Points of Interest.

Summary

Empty Crashed Ship Location — A Empty Location

Crashed Ships spawn randomly on planets, and can be of several sizes and classes (check out the starship page for the different types and how to spot the best). The player can choose to claim and repair it, or use it to exchange for a better one at a Space Station or an Outpost. The crashed ship can be exchanged for one of the ships already owned, or, if fewer than six ships are already owned, it can be added to your starship collection. The ship not in use will be stored on the freighter. For players that don't own a freighter can still own more than one ship, it will just stay on the ground where they where found. Warping the freighter one time after accepting the crashed ship will move the other ship to the hangar.

Interacting with the Distress Beacon will give the player a random reward dependent on the player's choice of two possible actions, including units, Nanite Clusters, standing with a race, and maybe a module. There is always a Damaged Machinery nearby as well, providing some Nanite Clusters, Starship Launch Fuel, or a module.

The site can be empty, with a red orb in the Distress Beacon, broadcasting a message that the Crashed Ship was removed.

Locating

Crashed Ships can be located in a variety of ways:

Using Transmission Towers. After correctly solving a number sequence at a Transmission Tower, a Distress Signal can be found (in some rare instances the location of a Crashed Freighter will be found instead). Transmission Towers are part of the Habitable Outposts signals when using a Navigation Data in the Signal Booster.
Crashed Ships appear as white dots on a Starship scope when flying across a planetary surface, just like other ships.

Need confirmation on this as I have never gotten a Distress Signal in a station : 
* Giving the top-tier influence gift for a faction (Korvax Casing, Gek Relic, or Vy'keen Effigy) to an NPC in the local Space station when the dialog indicates a distress signal will be offered in exchange.

Using Navigation Data

Since Beyond, you can exchange Navigation Data for a Planetary Chart. Activating Planetary Chart from your inventory will mark a Point of Interest on the same or (if not on any), on the closest one. The type is random, not necessarily a Crashed Ship.
NEXT or earlier: Using a Signal Booster, with Navigation Data and scanning for Distress Frequencies. There are several types of Distress Frequencies, so more than one scan may be needed to find a Distress Signal, just clear any signals found before scanning again.

Strategy

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Distress Signal Detected

Finish any Distress Frequencies you may have on the planet. That is any of these : Observatory, Abandoned Building or Crashed Freighter.
Do a scan for Distress Frequencies, using the Signal Booster with a Navigation Data, fly to and clear any result of the three types above.
If the signal found was not a Distress Signal and the previous result was cleared, scan again using another Navigation Data, repeat the procedure above until the first Distress Signal is found. Be aware that some planets may not have a Crashed Ship. This can be identified if you get the same sites again.
After finding and clearing the first Distress Signal on that planet, don't fly away! Deploy the Signal Booster again, and choose Locate Nearby Structures (it will not use a Navigation Data). This will find another Distress signal on that planet, if there is any. This will only work if you are close to the current Distress Signal. Repeat until you get the same Signal again, or one that you have already visited.
Be sure to interact with the Distress Beacon at the site. Your game will mark it as found for the next scan(s).

If you have fewer than six ships, you can add the crashed ship to your collection. If you already have six ships you can exchange one for the crashed ship. Any ships from the freighter can be summoned down to be used for the exchange. Beware that the current active ship will be lost forever when the exchange button is pressed, so be sure to transfer cargo and destroy any mods on it.

Instead of scanning for Distress Frequencies, it's possible to scan for Habitable Outposts. Search for a Transmission Tower to get the first Distress Signal.

One known bug is a Crashed Freighter signal staying active after running it This can block scanning for Distress Signals. It is easily identified with the scan failing just after pushing the Scan for Distress Frequencies. One way to clear off that stuck Crashed Freighter signal is to scan for a Drop Pod using Decipher and a Drop Pod Coordinate Data, but beware this will also remove any other signals currently tracked.

A good source for Navigation Data is an Ancient Data Structure, labeled as a yellow I on the Scanner Visor on some planets.

Repairing

In order to fly the crashed ship after claiming it, key technologies on the ship need repair. To launch, these two systems need to be repaired, and the Launch Thruster fueled with Starship Launch Fuel or some Uranium:

Launch Thruster:
- 50x Pure Ferrite,
- 1x Di-hydrogen Jelly (40x Di-hydrogen)

Pulse Engine:
- 1x Hermetic Seal (30x Condensed Carbon)
- 1x Metal Plating (50x Ferrite Dust)

After repairing these two systems and adding this ship to the collection, either it or the previously flown ship may be left there. The next time the freighter jumps or is summoned, the ship left behind will be transferred to the hangar.

To take the ship into space, it is also recommended to repair your new ship's shield and guns, because you never know who or what is out there.

Multiple Damaged Components limit storage and technology installation, but each of these can be repaired to free up the slots and increase the trade-in value of the ship

Scavenging

This can no longer be done, if you choose to not claim it you can not gain anything from it. (NEXT). In an exchange, remember to transfer cargo and destroy any modules on the ship being scrapped.

Trading in Crashed Ships

Once the Launch Thruster and Pulse Engine are repaired, the ship can be flown to a Space Station, Trade Post or an Outpost (any place with a Landing Pad) and trade it for any of the ships landing there. The trade-in value will be reduced by the ratio of Damaged Components to total slots. For example, a Class B shuttle with 24 slots is worth 2,280,000. The normal trade-in value is 70% of that, or 1,596,000. If 12 of the 24 slots have damaged components, the trade-in value will be reduced by 50% to 798,000. Damaged installed technology (e.g. Photon Cannon or Deflector Shield) and damaged Technology Slots do not count against the trade-in value.