Very strange crash

[Jerry64]

Had my first real and very strange crash today:
I was flying at moderate wind (about 2,5 bft) at Gran Canaria - first flight there.
I prepared the Mavic, gave time to fix satellites, set up RTH hight and checked all status.
I'm not a pro in flying, but I flew model planes many years, owned a P1 2 years and had several flights with the Mavic.
So I started the motors and went up a little to hover. But instantly when it got up it dashed westward at a hight of 2 m over the ground (a sandy dune). I was not able to stop or control it so I pulled it down letting it crash in the sand.
It had no mechanical damage, but a lot of sand I the rear motors.
When I replayed it at Go4 app I was very surprised that the right control lever was shown as being pushed 100% to the left the complete "flight" time! Needless to say, that I did NOT pushed the stick - for the aim of hovering I did not move it at all!

My setup: Mavic on .400, DJI app latest version. 30+ flights in Germany.
It was the first flight with a new installed galaxy S7 edge (android 6.0.1) and first at Gran Canaria. I was thinking of recalibrating compass, but app said it was ok, so I didn't.

My question: does anyone has an idea why the RC thought, the stick was pressed 100% to the left although it defenetly was not?

Thanks
Jerry

 

[Bunny Too]

Had my first real and very strange crash today:
I was flying at moderate wind (about 2,5 bft) at Gran Canaria - first flight there.
I prepared the Mavic, gave time to fix satellites, set up RTH hight and checked all status.
I'm not a pro in flying, but I flew model planes many years, owned a P1 2 years and had several flights with the Mavic.
So I started the motors and went up a little to hover. But instantly when it got up it dashed westward at a hight of 2 m over the ground (a sandy dune). I was not able to stop or control it so I pulled it down letting it crash in the sand.
It had no mechanical damage, but a lot of sand I the rear motors.
When I replayed it at Go4 app I was very surprised that the right control lever was shown as being pushed 100% to the left the complete "flight" time! Needless to say, that I did NOT pushed the stick - for the aim of hovering I did not move it at all!

My setup: Mavic on .400, DJI app latest version. 30+ flights in Germany.
It was the first flight with a new installed galaxy S7 edge (android 6.0.1) and first at Gran Canaria. I was thinking of recalibrating compass, but app said it was ok, so I didn't.

My question: does anyone has an idea why the RC thought, the stick was pressed 100% to the left although it defenetly was not?

Thanks
Jerry

I would start with calibration of the controller, it operates based on a magnetic principle and metal or electronics can make it go wonky. Nothing in your set up looks out of place

 

[james_mav]

I would start with calibration of the controller, it operates based on a magnetic principle and metal or electronics can make it go wonky. Nothing in your set up looks out of place

Yea, that's the first place I'd start but that's pretty scary.

 

[Strafe1]

Did you have any preflight warnings show up on your app? Was the orientation of the Mavic the same as that shown on the map before takeoff? Also, was GPS lock and Homepoint properly recorded before takeoff? What surface were you taking off from, and was there any metal around or near your launch point? All of these things can affect your bird on take off.

 

[Jerry64]

I would start with calibration of the controller, it operates based on a magnetic principle and metal or electronics can make it go wonky. Nothing in your set up looks out of place

Thanks bunny too - that sounds sensible: since I obviously went by plane there definitely were magnetic interferences - though I thought only the Mavic's compass had to be calibrated - but that seemd ok...

 

[Jerry64]

Yea, that's the first place I'd start but that's pretty scary.

Great video, james_mav, thanks for sharing! I will try it...

 

[Jerry64]

Did you have any preflight warnings show up on your app? Was the orientation of the Mavic the same as that shown on the map before takeoff? Also, was GPS lock and Homepoint properly recorded before takeoff? What surface were you taking off from, and was there any metal around or near your launch point? All of these things can affect your bird on take off.

@Strafe1 only warning was one regarding flightzones. The orientation I don't remember but we were in a kind of desert, so *nothing* around except sand. Therefore we took a large sandfree towel were to start from
The GPS was locked, I checked this twice, since we are more than 3000 kilometers away from last location. Homepoint to be honest was not checked by me - I set it while first hovering. But I do not think that it was a problem of GPS; even it would not have been showing that it was ok, the Mavic would not have been dashing away that incredibly fast...

 

[Strafe1]

@Strafe1 only warning was one regarding flightzones. The orientation I don't remember but we were in a kind of desert, so *nothing* around except sand. Therefore we took a large sandfree towel were to start from
The GPS was locked, I checked this twice, since we are more than 3000 kilometers away from last location. Homepoint to be honest was not checked by me - I set it while first hovering. But I do not think that it was a problem of GPS; even it would not have been showing that it was ok, the Mavic would not have been dashing away that incredibly fast...

Ive heard of this happening when entering a NFZ.

 

[Jerry64]

Ive heard of this happening when entering a NFZ.

That's strange - it was just a warning and I have been flying with such warnings without trouble.
On the other hand it's a "new" equipment: smartphone OS and dji app...
Yesterday I calibrated the RC, put it on a table and let it "fly" 2 mins without props. In the log everything seemed fine afterwards...

 

[redserv]

Hi Jerry did you ever figure out what went wrong? I am very curious. I am a new pilot and don't claim to know everything but hopefully I can learn from your experience.

 

[joejaxvic123]

Stay away from Area 51.....

 

[redserv]

Stay away from Area 51.....

Lol

 

[ac0j]

I read a similar thread here a year or so ago, it seems a smart watch or magnetic bracelet can cause this, as well as the magnetic smart cover of a tablet can do it as well. Repeating from memory, I could have missed something!

 

[joejaxvic123]

Sorry red, I think Jerry got abducted by aliens. Flew too close to the sun. Seriously though, could have been some strong interference, remote out of calibration, not waiting for an established home point, a government plot or aliens.

 

[redserv]

Sorry red, I think Jerry got abducted by aliens. Flew too close to the sun. Seriously though, could have been some strong interference, remote out of calibration, not waiting for an established home point, a government plot or aliens.

It's really scary when **** happens and their are no explanations.

 

[joejaxvic123]

Oh yeah, I'm looking for a tablet holder and I'm wondering if a metal tablet holder will affect anything?

 

[Johnmcl7]

I read a similar thread here a year or so ago, it seems a smart watch or magnetic bracelet can cause this, as well as the magnetic smart cover of a tablet can do it as well. Repeating from memory, I could have missed something!

The magnetic cover of a tablet can definitely do this as I was checking something indoors on my controller and was getting warnings and realised it was because it was sitting on a Galaxy Tab S2 with the Samsung magnetic cover.