Lost signal to my Mavic, was set to RTH, ended up landing on some random building....

[Grungymike95]

Alright... so yesterday I was trying to get some footage of SXSW in Austin, TX, soon as I got about 800ft away and reached an elevation of 67ft high, all of a sudden got "strong signal interruption" message on the RC and the footage got very jittery for about 7-10 seconds before completely blacking out and lost signal completely. I went back to flight logs and traced the drones final landing spot, and it looked like it was on top of a 36 story high apartments complex. Went into that apt complex and spoke to the front desk dude, (whom was completely aggressive and uncooperative) asked him if he would escort me to the roof of the building or if he send someone to scout it out. He said that was not possible, and attacked me saying "first of all, we don't appreciate people flying drones in the city, even worst, that close to our building and spying on our tenants" I snapped on him and told him don't jump to conclusions and act like you've got everything figured out. I wasn't even near your **** building but drone lost signal and was trying to return home and your building was in the way, so the drone, for some reason ended up landing on top of your building. He then took my info down and told me he'll contact me if he finds anything the next morning. as I was walking out the building, I saw a resident from that building coming out of the elevator, asked he if she knew anything about a drone flying by this balding and landing on the roof, she goes "yeah, and its in the polices possession" so called the ADP this morning, spoke to a lady that was very nice, said that they do have my drone, and her exact words were " I should be able to get it back easily on Monday morning" said all I had to do was come in and explain the situation and the "malfunctioning of the drone"... That sounds good and all, but my concern is, she's being very nice just to get me to come into the Police department and they're gonna end up fining me a **** ton of money.. I can already see it happening. so my question to everyone out there, should I even go to the police department or save myself the big ticket and the headache and just get a new mavic?

Thanks, I know this was a very long story but I was venting off as well as giving details...

 

[ldcam2]

Alright... so yesterday I was trying to get some footage of SXSW in Austin, TX, soon as I got about 800ft away and reached an elevation of 67ft high, all of a sudden got "strong signal interruption" message on the RC and the footage got very jittery for about 7-10 seconds before completely blacking out and lost signal completely. I went back to flight logs and traced the drones final landing spot, and it looked like it was on top of a 36 story high apartments complex. Went into that apt complex and spoke to the front desk dude, (whom was completely aggressive and uncooperative) asked him if he would escort me to the roof of the building or if he send someone to scout it out. He said that was not possible, and attacked me saying "first of all, we don't appreciate people flying drones in the city, even worst, that close to our building and spying on our tenants" I snapped on him and told him don't jump to conclusions and act like you've got everything figured out. I wasn't even near your **** building but drone lost signal and was trying to return home and your building was in the way, so the drone, for some reason ended up landing on top of your building. He then took my info down and told me he'll contact me if he finds anything the next morning. as I was walking out the building, I saw a resident from that building coming out of the elevator, asked he if she knew anything about a drone flying by this balding and landing on the roof, she goes "yeah, and its in the polices possession" so called the ADP this morning, spoke to a lady that was very nice, said that they do have my drone, and her exact words were " I should be able to get it back easily on Monday morning" said all I had to do was come in and explain the situation and the "malfunctioning of the drone"... That sounds good and all, but my concern is, she's being very nice just to get me to come into the Police department and they're gonna end up fining me a **** ton of money.. I can already see it happening. so my question to everyone out there, should I even go to the police department or save myself the big ticket and the headache and just get a new mavic?

Thanks, I know this was a very long story but I was venting off as well as giving details...

Go get it o. Your phone you should have the video to show where you were and what happen . Bring a witness with you

 

[Grungymike95]

Go get it o. Your phone you should have the video to show where you were and what happen . Bring a witness with you

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently the department that handles lost and found items is closed on the weekend. Will have to wait until Monday to go in.

 

[FlyAwayPTSD]

Interested in the outcome of this. I had a fly away once with a P2. Called local police to inform, who in turn notified the State Police, who then notified the FAA. 3 phone calls, all really cool and understanding, no issues.

Good luck hopefully they just return it and take a report.

 

[Grungymike95]

Was it your own P2 or someone else's that you reported?

 

[FlyAwayPTSD]

It was my own

 

[FlyAwayPTSD]

I also launched from my house, in the middle of the city, 4 blocks from the state prison and 3 miles from an airport. When asked where I was flying I told the truth and they didn't make a peep about it. The FAA Investigator was the nicest of all. Point is just be honest and they will know you're genuine and not some **** out flying reckless.

Sidenote: I heard you can look up drone accident reports by FAA. Went to the site and found my case lol.

 

[jmfixitman]

The ignorance of people regarding hobby drone video is astounding. They act like your flying a spy satellite above their home... I can get better video of them with my cell phone standing in front of their house. My only fear for you and your done is you live in Austin Texas...