My son and I were skiing up on the north shore of Lake Superior on a beautiful January day. (Yes, mid-30's in Minnesota in January is beautiful and rare!) On our return drive, we stopped at Palisade Head, a beautiful 900+ foot cliff on the banks of Lake Superior. With my son's Mavic Air 2 in hand, I wanted to get some pictures and video for my investment firm, Palisade Wealth. We've been at Palisade before and took some great video and pictures of the spot. But today did not end on a happy note.
As my son flew his Air 2 over Lake Superior and as we stood on top of the cliff, the drone went into a "landing mode" He tried to "over-ride" the drone as it descended over the lake. Forced to act quickly, the only option was to find "dry land" at the base of the 900' cliff. (the drone would not ascend back to it's original starting location) Thinking we could hike to it's documented location, I began descending the cliff to hike around to the lake shore on the north. Unfortunately, we found the cliff to drop directly into the water; no access to the rocks beneath our location. ONLY OPTION: experienced climbers to descend the cliff or access the rocks below by watercraft. Let me remind you, it's mid-January!
Nearly 3 weeks later and a break in the winter weather, I decided to not give up on the Air 2! (watching my son's face as it descended in mid-January crushed me; he's 20 and paid for this drone with proceeds from H.S. "Senior Pictures" over the summer of '20)
I contacted the MN State Park office and discussed my plans with the ranger. On the day of the scheduled recovery, I informed them of my entering the lake by kayak. Pulling the kayak through over a foot of snow, I entered Lake Superior with a roughly 1/2 mile paddle to the cliff's edge and rocks I hoped the drone would be sitting on. Docking the kayak and climbing out, I stepped 6 feet and found the Air 2 partially lodged between 2 large rocks. I spent roughly 30 minutes taking in the beauty of this spot and the successful recover.
Two weeks prior to the recovery, we contacted DJI and submitted the "flight history" for review. Hoping DJI would find the origin of the malfunction, they could not diagnose the reason WITHOUT physically assessing the drone. Needing overhead shots for a mid-February job for the world's largest hockey equipment manufacturer, I instructed my son to order the replacement from DJI with the discount they provided. (-15% off drone, battery)
Back to the recovery, I returned home with the recovered drone; it was determined that there was a battery issue along with the gimbal needing re-calibration.
In contacting DJI once again via phone, I was connected to a customer service personnel that was, well, a (Mod Removed)I had MANY questions as we were soon to have 2 drones. (the replacement was on it's way via UPS) All said, I explained in-detail the possible different scenarios to our story. Not able to answer my questions, the customer service personnel hung-up on me!!! I immediately contacted DJI online support and requested a supervisor and began to explain/summarize the above story. They proceeded to have me open a new ticket for repair online.
After a wait of 3 business days, I contacted DJI again asking for the shipping instructions and label for the recovered drone. I was then told that "THIS CASE IS CLOSED; you should have received an email" (no email...) What DJI was telling me is I had no options for repair of the recovered drone NOR could I return the return the newly delivered drone that had not even arrived at my home. "What the actual (Mod Removed Inappropriate Langage)
My question to this group is:
(1) Have you heard of a malfunction like this? (some say the drone was "confused" because we launched and operated the drone at a spot "higher" than where the drone was actually flying)
(2) Any tips on how to go about pressing DJI to "do the right thing?"
I don't think this story is over; I don't take it well when I spend $$ and get ( Mod Removed)all at one time!
I welcome your comments!
As my son flew his Air 2 over Lake Superior and as we stood on top of the cliff, the drone went into a "landing mode" He tried to "over-ride" the drone as it descended over the lake. Forced to act quickly, the only option was to find "dry land" at the base of the 900' cliff. (the drone would not ascend back to it's original starting location) Thinking we could hike to it's documented location, I began descending the cliff to hike around to the lake shore on the north. Unfortunately, we found the cliff to drop directly into the water; no access to the rocks beneath our location. ONLY OPTION: experienced climbers to descend the cliff or access the rocks below by watercraft. Let me remind you, it's mid-January!
Nearly 3 weeks later and a break in the winter weather, I decided to not give up on the Air 2! (watching my son's face as it descended in mid-January crushed me; he's 20 and paid for this drone with proceeds from H.S. "Senior Pictures" over the summer of '20)
I contacted the MN State Park office and discussed my plans with the ranger. On the day of the scheduled recovery, I informed them of my entering the lake by kayak. Pulling the kayak through over a foot of snow, I entered Lake Superior with a roughly 1/2 mile paddle to the cliff's edge and rocks I hoped the drone would be sitting on. Docking the kayak and climbing out, I stepped 6 feet and found the Air 2 partially lodged between 2 large rocks. I spent roughly 30 minutes taking in the beauty of this spot and the successful recover.
Two weeks prior to the recovery, we contacted DJI and submitted the "flight history" for review. Hoping DJI would find the origin of the malfunction, they could not diagnose the reason WITHOUT physically assessing the drone. Needing overhead shots for a mid-February job for the world's largest hockey equipment manufacturer, I instructed my son to order the replacement from DJI with the discount they provided. (-15% off drone, battery)
Back to the recovery, I returned home with the recovered drone; it was determined that there was a battery issue along with the gimbal needing re-calibration.
In contacting DJI once again via phone, I was connected to a customer service personnel that was, well, a (Mod Removed)I had MANY questions as we were soon to have 2 drones. (the replacement was on it's way via UPS) All said, I explained in-detail the possible different scenarios to our story. Not able to answer my questions, the customer service personnel hung-up on me!!! I immediately contacted DJI online support and requested a supervisor and began to explain/summarize the above story. They proceeded to have me open a new ticket for repair online.
After a wait of 3 business days, I contacted DJI again asking for the shipping instructions and label for the recovered drone. I was then told that "THIS CASE IS CLOSED; you should have received an email" (no email...) What DJI was telling me is I had no options for repair of the recovered drone NOR could I return the return the newly delivered drone that had not even arrived at my home. "What the actual (Mod Removed Inappropriate Langage)
My question to this group is:
(1) Have you heard of a malfunction like this? (some say the drone was "confused" because we launched and operated the drone at a spot "higher" than where the drone was actually flying)
(2) Any tips on how to go about pressing DJI to "do the right thing?"
I don't think this story is over; I don't take it well when I spend $$ and get ( Mod Removed)all at one time!
I welcome your comments!
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