EMERGENCIES ......IMMEDIATE ACTIONS....SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.?

[Andy Mac 230]

Morning guys and girls,
I am new to drone flying but have over 40 years experience of being a helicopter crewman.
My query is are there any guidelines as to what type of things can go wrong and what do we do as responsible pilots to minimise damage to people, property and our expensive drones.
I know that we were always taught that when it all goes wrong
FLY THE AIRCRAFT
Then carry out immediate actions for the scenario.
Then go through the emergency check list.

I have seen lots of checklists with regards to preflight, flight and post flight but none for any it’s all gone wrong

Any guidance would be much appreciated

 

[Meta4]

My query is are there any guidelines as to what type of things can go wrong and what do we do as responsible pilots to minimise damage to people, property and our expensive drones.

You can get a good idea of the things that can go wrong from threads on the forum, particularly in this sub-forum: Mavic Crash & Flyaway Assistance

Unfortunately, once things get tricky, it's usually too late for any action to minimise damage etc.
Understanding what could go wrong and how to ensure that it doesn't is the best strategy to prevent serious issues.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Usually if something goes wrong with a drone flight, there isn't enough time think about what's happening, let alone rectify an issue.
Proactive pre flight checks usually negate risk a long way.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Thanks guys need to read more links on the subject but till then its the old acronym.
PPPPPP
Prior
Planning
Prevents
P**s
Poor
Performance

 

[bumper]

Kind of like the old pilot's saying, "Never run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas at the same time". With drones, don't do stupid stuff and you won't have stupid accidents . . . well that won't eliminate all the risk, but it should cover most of it.

 

[Fishman Dan]

The only thing I can truly think of that will be unaccounted for is birdlife. Even the other day having flown several hundred metres across a paddock, when I return I had a chaperone in the form of a wedge-tailed eagle, which circled me until pestered away by some smaller birds.

There are a few good responses on how to react during a bird attack, which can be found in a few threads.

It's all too tempting to do some drone-burnouts, but the more I fly, the more I capture what I like, land, reassess (such as check battery levels, change if required), and then go again.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Dan I had similar 2 days ago, a flock of Canada geese flew towards my drone whilst over a lake. My wife bless her was shouting at me to get it out of the way . Birds are far better at avoiding ......they are natural pilots... so I just held a hover and they avoided me.lol

 

[Andy Mac 230]

This makes good reading to us newbies.

Prevent a Crash or Flyaway with Your Mavic | Mavic Help

Mavic Help is a site for help with DJI Mavic drones. Find the latest fixes, how-tos, guides, accessories, modifications, and more.

www.mavichelp.com

Borrowed from another post on the forum

 

[Fishman Dan]

Dan I had similar 2 days ago, a flock of Canada geese flew towards my drone whilst over a lake. My wife bless her was shouting at me to get it out of the way . Birds are far better at avoiding ......they are natural pilots... so I just held a hover and they avoided me.lol

Geese and ducks are clumsy though! I remember one flew in front of my car once driving along a country road once - I couldn't do much and tapped him on the bum with my windscreen! They are big, awkward flying and not as fast as other birds!

I'd say a goose or two would easily take down a drone due to their size.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Lol they aren’t the most agile or graceful. A goose would really spoil your day. I’ve had a few bird strikes over the years and even a starling makes a nasty mess on a helicopter!!

 

[old man mavic]

@Andy Mac 230 the most important requirement when things appear to be going wrong ,is really to try and keep calm, and if possible try and fly your drone away from the danger, or to somewhere that it can get to terrafirma without damage to people or property,sounds great doesn't it, now for the reality of the situation,if you are a thousand feet out flying along minding your own business ,and for whatever reason your drone suddenly starts to head to the ground, because of say a bird strike prop breakage or some other catastrophic failure,honestly its all over and where it lands and what it hits you will not have any control over
all we can do when it comes to our drones, is do the airframe inspections,make sure we have fully charged batteries ,only lift off when we are satisfied all is as it should be in other words mitigate as much risk as possible and hope that we can get home safely to land and fly again,the one thing we do have control over is flying within the guidelines and knowing what our drones capabilities are

 

[dirkclod]

That’s a biggie stay calm . Panic gets lots and they forget
all they have read here to save it if that’s possible.

 

[Dale D]

Morning guys and girls,
I am new to drone flying but have over 40 years experience of being a helicopter crewman.
My query is are there any guidelines as to what type of things can go wrong and what do we do as responsible pilots to minimise damage to people, property and our expensive drones.
I know that we were always taught that when it all goes wrong
FLY THE AIRCRAFT
Then carry out immediate actions for the scenario.
Then go through the emergency check list.

I have seen lots of checklists with regards to preflight, flight and post flight but none for any it’s all gone wrong

Any guidance would be much appreciated

I am a retired physician (ophthalmologist 38 years). In my practice, I performed eye surgery with the aid of an anesthesiologist giving IV sedation. In discussing our two specialties (ophthalmology versus anesthesiology) I always heard this statement, which I think also applies to flying our drones. Here is the statement...

"Anesthesiology is a speciality which involves 99% boredom, and 1% sheer panic."

Sure sounds like flying a drone to me!!!

 

[old man mavic]

I am a retired physician (ophthalmologist 38 years). In my practice, I performed eye surgery with the aid of an anesthesiologist giving IV sedation. In discussing our two specialties (ophthalmology versus anesthesiology) I always heard this statement, which I think also applies to flying our drones. Here is the statement...

"Anesthesiology is a speciality which involves 99% boredom, and 1% sheer panic."

Sure sounds like flying a drone to me!!!

i can understand the sheer panic part ,but i disagree with the boredom ,unless you are just using the pre programed flight modes ,i myself prefer to fly manually

 

[LazerMan]

I'm never bored when flying to much to pay attention too. But panic OMG yes for a second or 2 when something happens and before you take a deep breath and think. Just the other day for some unknown reason my screen went black and got the no image transmission message. Not sure why the adrenaline rush as I could see my drone . it was about 800 ft out and 150 ft high. But you know a black screen LOL I hit RTH and let her come back on her own. watching it all the way.

 

[Simone L]

The only thing I can truly think of that will be unaccounted for is birdlife. Even the other day having flown several hundred metres across a paddock, when I return I had a chaperone in the form of a wedge-tailed eagle, which circled me until pestered away by some smaller birds.

There are a few good responses on how to react during a bird attack, which can be found in a few threads.

It's all too tempting to do some drone-burnouts, but the more I fly, the more I capture what I like, land, reassess (such as check battery levels, change if required), and then go again.

I had a large hawk fly towards my Mavic Pro 2 two days ago but I was flying low and close by so I sternly and in a loud voice said, “Go on now!” And steered it closer to me. It flew away. The hawk. Not the sUAS.