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Crashed my new Mavic Air 2 on small island in lake in Montreal

Shismo

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Last Friday I was getting too confident with the MA2 and didn't realize that collision avoidance is off in S mode. So it crashed on this small island with only trees. It about 500m offshore, but in late November I cannot not find anyone with a small boat to help retrieve it.

My choices are:

1 Find someone with a dinghy willing to help this late in the year
2 Wait and see if lake freezes over in February and attempt the rescue
3 Wait until next spring to do 1 above

I'm covered with DJI Care till Nov 2021. All I would need is to recover the drone to get replaced before expiry.
I'm attaching the flight records should any member be kind enough to share their insight. I'm interested to find out if it's possible to determine the altitude at crash time. This might tell me if it's at the top of a tree or crashed nearer to the ground. It appears to be the latter.

Thanks
PS a new MA2 is in on the way....can't wait till spring :))
 

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After the first collision the craft fell 12 meters before coming to rest. If you know the height of the collision point relative to the ground, you can tell whether it's on the tree or the ground. The GPS altitude is 25 meters above the mean sea level.

1606170891626.png
 
Last edited:
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That’s very useful, thank you. I forgot to mention that I could see that it was caught in twigs.
The trees there would be around 12-15 m and there’s nothing else on the island. If it fell 12m, can I assume it’s likely caught in the lower branches?
Thanks.
 
O shismo, what a nightmare.
I wouldn't leave your mavic out in the elements over winter if you want it to be more than just a paper weight.
I do beleive it will be a challenge to reach it. Not only finding a boat but also landing on the shore of the island.
Nevertheless nothing is really impossible when you put your mind to it.
I don't know what the weather is like at this time, but do keep your own safety and that of the boat's captain in mind.

Ruud
 
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I assume you meant CR expires Nov 2021 and not Nov 21, 2020. Now that I think of it, it's already the 24th so it would have to be 2021, and MA2 hasn't been out for a year yet.

You can add Refresh Plus to get an additional year if you need more time.
 
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Last Friday I was getting too confident with the MA2 and didn't realize that collision avoidance is off in S mode. So it crashed on this small island with only trees. It about 500m offshore, but in late November I cannot not find anyone with a small boat to help retrieve it.

My choices are:

1 Find someone with a dinghy willing to help this late in the year
2 Wait and see if lake freezes over in February and attempt the rescue
3 Wait until next spring to do 1 above

I'm covered with DJI Care till Nov 21. All I would need is to recover the drone to get replaced before expiry.
I'm attaching the flight records should any member be kind enough to share their insight. I'm interested to find out if it's possible to determine the altitude at crash time. This might tell me if it's at the top of a tree or crashed nearer to the ground. It appears to be the latter.

Thanks
PS a new MA2 is in on the way....can't wait till spring :))
Don't know if it's a bit easier if you have it visual ... it's easy to see that it reached near ground level, the GPS track goes vertically through the tree.

1606207859114.png

1606208179277.png

1606208126266.png
 
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I assume you meant CR expires Nov 2021 and not Nov 21, 2020. Now that I think of it, it's already the 24th so it would have to be 2021, and MA2 hasn't been out for a year yet.

You can add Refresh Plus to get an additional year if you need more time.
Thank you for noticing. Yes I meant 2021. Which gives me quite a lot of time to figure it out.
 
Don't know if it's a bit easier if you have it visual ... it's easy to see that it reached near ground level, the GPS track goes vertically through the tree.

View attachment 117773

View attachment 117776

View attachment 117775
Wow! This is amazing! Thank you so much. What makes the task easier is that those trees are bare, which explains the 12m drop and with all the analysis you all provided, just getting there will be the challenge.
 
O shismo, what a nightmare.
I wouldn't leave your mavic out in the elements over winter if you want it to be more than just a paper weight.
I do beleive it will be a challenge to reach it. Not only finding a boat but also landing on the shore of the island.
Nevertheless nothing is really impossible when you put your mind to it.
I don't know what the weather is like at this time, but do keep your own safety and that of the boat's captain in mind.

Ruud
Thank you Ruud. The lake is fairly calm at this time and may likely freeze over in Feb. For now, the chances of finding a boat late in the season are dim.
 
I assume you meant CR expires Nov 2021 and not Nov 21, 2020. Now that I think of it, it's already the 24th so it would have to be 2021, and MA2 hasn't been out for a year yet.

You can add Refresh Plus to get an additional year if you need more time.
I thought Refresh plus added another drone, not another year...
 
Hey shismo,

Looking at the photographs of the island. And the rock visible under water it will be close to impossible to reach the shore without possible damaging the hull. An inflatable would very likely tear due to submerged jagged rocks.
The only place I think you could try to reach the shore is on the first photo op the top left where there is a little "beach" area.

But again, when you decide to wait untill February the drone has become an expensive paper weight and isn't worth the risk of the recovery anymore.

Ruud
 
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You was flying too low 38FT when you hit the tree. You was going at full speed too low. 1.jpg
 
Hey Shismo, I just had a thought. Can you borrow a canu?
The shallow death of a canu will make it easier to reach the shore without hitting the submerged rocks.

Ruud
 
Surely there must be someone who lives by the lake who has a small boat. For all it’ll cost them for fuel and their time a bottle of nice whiskey or whatever should do the trick. Most people are only too happy to help with these things. I know I would. Get door knocking with bottle in hand. Tell them it’s to recover an “aircraft”, and only let on it’s just a drone when the boat is launched LOL ?
 
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Post an ad on Kijiji or other local site to offer a reward to anyone with a boat in the area. Also, post a map of the area. I narrowed it down with the attached Google Map based upon the partial coordinates that I could read from your post.
 

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Hey shismo,

Looking at the photographs of the island. And the rock visible under water it will be close to impossible to reach the shore without possible damaging the hull. An inflatable would very likely tear due to submerged jagged rocks.
The only place I think you could try to reach the shore is on the first photo op the top left where there is a little "beach" area.

But again, when you decide to wait untill February the drone has become an expensive paper weight and isn't worth the risk of the recovery anymore.

Ruud
Thanks for the advice Ruud. I won’t take any unnecessary risks of course.
 
Post an ad on Kijiji or other local site to offer a reward to anyone with a boat in the area. Also, post a map of the area. I narrowed it down with the attached Google Map based upon the partial coordinates that I could read from your post.
Thank you. I will.
 
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