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Crashed my mavic air in a cave, due to gps error

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Hi everyone,

Yesterday, I was making a hike to a beautiful cave in Vietnam. As I arrived, I was so thrilled about the beautiful nature and instantly grabbed my new Mavic Air, which I bought for my journey through Asia. I wanted to make an amazing shot by flying through the cave, which I now regret so much. As I was flying through the cave, the app reported “Max altitude approached. Wait for the GPS satellite signal recovery before ascend” (while only flying 3 meters above the ground) and “satellite positioning off. Fly with caution”. This had occured to me once before. So I wanted to fly the drone back to me so it would again be safe. Unfortunately, the drone started to move by itself, without me touching the controls. This resulted in crashing my drone to the wall of the cave, after which it fell into the water. As my heart was beating in my throat, I tried to swim as soon as possible towards my drone. Luckily, a Vietnamese local retrieved it out of the water before I could. As soon as he gave it to me (approx 2,5 minutes after crash), I switched off the battery and removed it. At the same time, my girlfriend had grapped the controller and later told me the camera was still functioning when I got the drone out. I tried to get as much water out of the drone as possible, blew in some openings as well, later I put it in a plastic bag, wrapped in a dry towel. As I got back to the homestay (approx 2 hours after crash), I immeadiately got a hairdryer and dried it (with good distance) for about 10 minutes on both sides. Then, I put it in a plastic bag filled with dry rice, of which they luckily have loads here in Vietnam! It’s still in this bag, outside, where it’s warm. I’m going to test it in about 2 or 3 days, but I am affraid it has been exposed in water for too long. Now I got 2 questions for the people reading my post.

1. Could this “maximum altitude reached” while flying just 3 metres above the ground be a production faillure? And could this help me to get a new drone if it is the case?
2. Do you have any recommendations on what I can do more with my drone which is currently surrounded by dry rice?

Hoping you guys can help!
 
Not sure about the messages or about whether or not DJI may help you if needed.

Sounds like you did everything right in terms of post drone drowning.
I saw a video of something similar, a drone going right down into a river. Whatever the guy did the drone worked when he tried it days later. I bet yours will work.
You sure about having it in sunlight though?
 
All your issues stemmed from flying in a cave with no gps. There was no failure of the AC.

ATTI mode: The aircraft automatically changes to Attitude mode (ATTI mode) when the Vision Systems are unavailable or disabled and either the GPS signal is weak or the compass is experiencing interference. When the Vision Systems are unavailable the aircraft is not able to position itself or auto-brake, so potential flight hazards exist when flying in ATTI mode. In ATTI mode, the aircraft is easily affected by its surroundings. Environmental factors such as wind can result in horizontal shifting, which may present hazards, especially when flying in confined spaces.

It is strongly recommended that you find a safe place to land as soon as possible if the aircraft enters ATTI mode. To reduce the likelihood of the aircraft entering ATTI mode and minimize hazards if it does enter ATTI mode, avoid flying in areas where the GPS signal is weak and avoid flying in confined spaces

GPS Signal Weak Blinking YellowFlight LimitsDJI GO 4 AppAircraft Status Indicator Max AltitudeHeight is restricted to 16 feet (5 meters) when the GPS signal is weak and Downward Vision System is activated. Height is restricted to 98 feet (30 meters) when the GPS signal is weak and Downward Vision System is inactivated.Warning: Height limit reached.
 
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Why have you started a new thread on the same subject with the same question?
 
No need for a duplicate. Please stay in the first.
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