Crash advice

[picpockett]

So my 2 week old M2P crashed - I was flying suspecting all sensors were working, did a lateral movement, crashed into a pole, it fell and dipped in water. Gimbal stopped working, vide was still recording. Managed to fly it back to me, was in line of sight (200m from me), turned it off. Since turning back on, video not working at all, gimbal not working and it won't read the SD card.

Sent to DJI a week ago, it still hasn't arrived.

Contacted DJI, as I didn't buy the refresh program, I will have to use my insurance (not a big deal). DJI support said it is a user error, but they can't seem to explain clearly to me why the crash happened in the first place, apart from claiming user error.

So my question is, when/why/what/how are the lateral sensors disengaged? I was not aware they are not used in particular modes, one of the main selling points of the 2 was the extra sensors. But I need to understand this to avoid future accidents.

Oh, and I will not fly laterally again!

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[Zonian]

Likely the "pole" was not a large enough object for the sensors to detect?? Not sure about the M2P, but on my MP1 the sensors do not detect "everything".

 

[Deleted member 103366]

If you want answers to "why", post the flight logs, see the instructions for obtaining those on DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

But, if the sensors were on, have you read the relevant section of the manual "I was flying suspecting all sensors were working" makes me wonder, it is quite likely the pole was too thin, as Zonian suggests.

Did you test the sensors prior to flying a real flight? I am nervous about trusting them and normally have them off but if I switch them on a normally test them a slow speed, with my heart in my mouth.

 

[offtheback]

So my 2 week old M2P crashed - I was flying suspecting all sensors were working, did a lateral movement, crashed into a pole, it fell and dipped in water. Gimbal stopped working, vide was still recording. Managed to fly it back to me, was in line of sight (200m from me), turned it off. Since turning back on, video not working at all, gimbal not working and it won't read the SD card.

Sent to DJI a week ago, it still hasn't arrived.

Contacted DJI, as I didn't buy the refresh program, I will have to use my insurance (not a big deal). DJI support said it is a user error, but they can't seem to explain clearly to me why the crash happened in the first place, apart from claiming user error.

So my question is, when/why/what/how are the lateral sensors disengaged? I was not aware they are not used in particular modes, one of the main selling points of the 2 was the extra sensors. But I need to understand this to avoid future accidents.

Oh, and I will not fly laterally again!

Thanks,
Daniel

The side sensors only work in tripod mode.I usually yaw the drone 90 degrees to see if the path is clear before going sideways.That way the camera gives an additional clue as to what will be in your sideways path.Judging the obstacle distance with VLOS before going sideways can be inaccurate.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

All the above said, you can, if compatible with the shot, yaw the camera itself and fly forwards. I wonder if that is part of the reason they don't allow the mavic 2 to yaw during RTH

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

As stated above (and in the manual), the side sensors don't work in all modes. Also, get comfortable with the display bars in DJI GO. Change modes and see the bars come and go. This way, you will get comfortable with being able to see which sensors are active at a glance. This is a good thing to know before flying blind (side ways or backwards without seeing the direction you're flying on the screen).

That said, even when the side sensors are active, they are the least sensitive sensors of all. I still look left/right (hover, turn craft 90 degrees and look with the camera) before flying sideways (also see next paragraph). The sensors still come in handy (if activated) when going slowly (tripod mode) and will tell you if you are slowly approaching something large enough to detect.

Also, this is one reason you are supposed to fly VLOS. You can look with your eyeballs at the aircraft (not the screen) to see what's around it, especially when flying blind (sideways/backward). Yes, it's true that probably none of us are flying 100% VLOS ... but sideways and backwards should pretty much always be one of those moments.

Chris

 

[cgmaxed]

So my 2 week old M2P crashed - I was flying suspecting all sensors were working, did a lateral movement, crashed into a pole, it fell and dipped in water. Gimbal stopped working, vide was still recording. Managed to fly it back to me, was in line of sight (200m from me), turned it off. Since turning back on, video not working at all, gimbal not working and it won't read the SD card.

Sent to DJI a week ago, it still hasn't arrived.

Contacted DJI, as I didn't buy the refresh program, I will have to use my insurance (not a big deal). DJI support said it is a user error, but they can't seem to explain clearly to me why the crash happened in the first place, apart from claiming user error.

So my question is, when/why/what/how are the lateral sensors disengaged? I was not aware they are not used in particular modes, one of the main selling points of the 2 was the extra sensors. But I need to understand this to avoid future accidents.

Oh, and I will not fly laterally again!

Thanks,
Daniel

This is why I buy my DJI and Autel drones at Best Buy, They have a 45 day no questions asked return policy on all their drones. I've had to use it twice. I got my drones exchanged the same day. Very convenient.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

This is why I buy my DJI and Autel drones at Best Buy, They have a 45 day no questions asked return policy on all their drones. I've had to use it twice. I got my drones exchanged the same day. Very convenient.

So, make sure and get all of your crashing done in 45 days or sooner?

;-)

Chris

 

[picpockett]

Likely the "pole" was not a large enough object for the sensors to detect?? Not sure about the M2P, but on my MP1 the sensors do not detect "everything".

They were columns, not poles - probably 30cm diameter.

 

[picpockett]

If you want answers to "why", post the flight logs, see the instructions for obtaining those on DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

But, if the sensors were on, have you read the relevant section of the manual "I was flying suspecting all sensors were working" makes me wonder, it is quite likely the pole was too thin, as Zonian suggests.

Did you test the sensors prior to flying a real flight? I am nervous about trusting them and normally have them off but if I switch them on a normally test them a slow speed, with my heart in my mouth.

I can't recall specifically if the lateral sensors were tested prior, but this wasn't my first flight so had tested it out.

Yeah the pole was a 30cm diameter column, I used a misleading word.

I do have the flight logs, sent them to DJI for assessment - is it just the txt file? I open it and it is all giberish, unsure if this is what you mean?

 

[picpockett]

As stated above (and in the manual), the side sensors don't work in all modes. Also, get comfortable with the display bars in DJI GO. Change modes and see the bars come and go. This way, you will get comfortable with being able to see which sensors are active at a glance. This is a good thing to know before flying blind (side ways or backwards without seeing the direction you're flying on the screen).

That said, even when the side sensors are active, they are the least sensitive sensors of all. I still look left/right (hover, turn craft 90 degrees and look with the camera) before flying sideways (also see next paragraph). The sensors still come in handy (if activated) when going slowly (tripod mode) and will tell you if you are slowly approaching something large enough to detect.

Also, this is one reason you are supposed to fly VLOS. You can look with your eyeballs at the aircraft (not the screen) to see what's around it, especially when flying blind (sideways/backward). Yes, it's true that probably none of us are flying 100% VLOS ... but sideways and backwards should pretty much always be one of those moments.

Chris

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I can't understand when and why particular modes are engaged/disengaged.

The display bars is something I need to get used to, I wasn't watching them so wasn't aware about which sensors were on. As mentioned, I was under the assumption that unless I changed the mode in the menus, then all of the sensors were engaged. I understand that some modes disengage the lateral sensors, but without changing any settings I had no idea it could happen on the fly, and still do not understand when and why it happens.

Yeah it all happened about 200m from me within VLOS. I was trying to manoeuver in between these 2 columns, so in hindsight and with what I know now, I wouldn't attempt it again. The columns are 5-10m apart, so I had plenty of room - but I was thinking the side sensors would stop me if I were too close.

But I will definitely be checking with the camera before any lateral movements in future. I am really disappointed the sensors can't be on all the time, this is something I hadn't read up about and was presuming they would always be working.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

You need to use CsvVi

I do have the flight logs, sent them to DJI for assessment - is it just the txt file? I open it and it is all giberish, unsure if this is what you mean?

Did you read the instructions on the site I mentioned in post #3 ? DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

The txt log
DJIFlightRecord_YYYY-MM-DD_[HH-mm-ss].txt
can be unscrambled with the downloaded software CsvView, CsvView Downloads but they are complcated to read.
Or, you can upload the log to the Phantomhelp page and then the link posted here. There are folks on here that are very good at reading logs and presenting understandable explanations of what went on.

If you use an RC1A controller you might have had a DAT flightlog as well but, if you sync'd your logs with DJI, I beleive they 'take' the DAT files.
If you used an RC1B controller no DAT is recorded.

 

[Pilot Adam]

So my 2 week old M2P crashed - I was flying suspecting all sensors were working, did a lateral movement, crashed into a pole, it fell and dipped in water. Gimbal stopped working, vide was still recording. Managed to fly it back to me, was in line of sight (200m from me), turned it off. Since turning back on, video not working at all, gimbal not working and it won't read the SD card.

Sent to DJI a week ago, it still hasn't arrived.

Contacted DJI, as I didn't buy the refresh program, I will have to use my insurance (not a big deal). DJI support said it is a user error, but they can't seem to explain clearly to me why the crash happened in the first place, apart from claiming user error.

So my question is, when/why/what/how are the lateral sensors disengaged? I was not aware they are not used in particular modes, one of the main selling points of the 2 was the extra sensors. But I need to understand this to avoid future accidents.

Oh, and I will not fly laterally again!

Thanks,
Daniel

The position of the flight mode swithes, makes it easy to move the switches by mistake. This would possibly cause an obstacle collision.

 

[cgmaxed]

The position of the flight mode swithes, makes it easy to move the switches by mistake. This would possibly cause an obstacle collision.

If the camera video and gimbal gets knocked out and you're BVLOS, it's easy to get back into VLOS with the GPS map screen.

 

[picpockett]

You need to use CsvVi

Did you read the instructions on the site I mentioned in post #3 ? DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

The txt log
DJIFlightRecord_YYYY-MM-DD_[HH-mm-ss].txt
can be unscrambled with the downloaded software CsvView, CsvView Downloads but they are complcated to read.
Or, you can upload the log to the Phantomhelp page and then the link posted here. There are folks on here that are very good at reading logs and presenting understandable explanations of what went on.

If you use an RC1A controller you might have had a DAT flightlog as well but, if you sync'd your logs with DJI, I beleive they 'take' the DAT files.
If you used an RC1B controller no DAT is recorded.

Thank you, here is the link: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum.
Shame about the M2P, it's a great drone mate, but not totally immune to crashing in the right conditions.

So much in the log that is obviously bad operation, surprised the forced landing happened, was this due to striking the column, or did it force land into the column ?

Did you fly under the Brunswick Rd / Citylink toll overpass ??
Upward obstacle. and a touch under 30' alt ??

Not sure if it had anything to do with the crash / forced landing, but that area you flew in a no flight area (controlled airport or the approach and departure paths).

Get onto the CASA website, they have a wealth of drone related info on flying legally and safely.
There are several good apps that show where you can fly . . . probably the easiest to start in web based OpenSky, it also has the phone app for on the move.

Drone safety apps

Hope you end up getting a new M2P on insurance or whatever, but DJI are probably right about this being pilot error.
It'd be a myriad of possible ways flying here could have been an issue.
Read the manual back to front several times, youtube has great tutorials for all the drones DJI make, search for m2p first flight, menu settings etc.

Fly somewhere safe until you know how the aircraft works, and where you can fly it without danger to others, manned aircraft, people, vehicles, property, etc.

 

[MikeSD]

So my 2 week old M2P crashed - I was flying suspecting all sensors were working, did a lateral movement, crashed into a pole, it fell and dipped in water. Gimbal stopped working, vide was still recording. Managed to fly it back to me, was in line of sight (200m from me), turned it off. Since turning back on, video not working at all, gimbal not working and it won't read the SD card.

Sent to DJI a week ago, it still hasn't arrived.

Contacted DJI, as I didn't buy the refresh program, I will have to use my insurance (not a big deal). DJI support said it is a user error, but they can't seem to explain clearly to me why the crash happened in the first place, apart from claiming user error.

So my question is, when/why/what/how are the lateral sensors disengaged? I was not aware they are not used in particular modes, one of the main selling points of the 2 was the extra sensors. But I need to understand this to avoid future accidents.

Oh, and I will not fly laterally again!

Thanks,
Daniel

DJI has the worst customer service. I bought a few things from them years ago and they did nothing but lie. I haven't had any dealings with customer since then. Just not worth the bother.

 

[cgmaxed]

DJI has the worst customer service. I bought a few things from them years ago and they did nothing but lie. I haven't had any dealings with customer since then. Just not worth the bother.

DJI Care Refresh is there only saving grace. Each time I've had a drone break or crash, they replaced it for nominal fee. The whole process from sending it to them and getting a brand new drone back takes 2 weeks.

 

[Pilot Adam]

The position of the flight mode swithes, makes it easy to move the switches by mistake. This would possibly cause an obstacle collision.

Hopefully they will send a new one. The sensors should be able to detect aerial telephone lines.
Best of luck!

 

[cgmaxed]

Hopefully they will send a new one. The sensors should be able to detect aerial telephone lines.
Best of luck!

I had an interesting experience with DJI Care refresh. With care Refresh, it doesn't matter what the cause of the crash or breakage is from. It's not like a warranty where they can deny service.

When I used my Care refresh, they said something like, 'due to the condition of the drone, the warranty does not cover the repair or repacement of your drone.' But under the Care Refresh, it said you have the option to pay for the repair or replace the drone. I'm assuming the drone wasn't covered under warranty, due to evidence that I modified the battery to attach an extra battery. There was some heat damage to the plastic around the positive pins inside the battery bay. Because of the excess weight of the battery the battery draw was so significant, enough heat built up around the positive terminals to slightly melt the plastic. This occurred, I assume, because I had the battery unbalanced on the drone , so the current to the front motors was too high, the heat produced caused the melt. After, I balanced the battery, the melting ceased. The motors also stayed cooler.