Disconnected and Gone....Any tips on where to look?

Logger · Mar 13, 2017

CH26 said:
...We found it within 5 minutes of being in the area you described. The battery fell out on impact. The rear props are demolished and the rubber peices that the gimbal dangles from popped out on one side.

Wow thats great - well done. Looks like the view from up there was worth the hike too.

Bonus question. The video from the crash is on the card (it has a large file size) but it wont pull up on my computer. Any suggestions?

This site offers a few suggestions
How to Repair Corrupt MP4 and MOV File using VLC and other Media Player

First thing, create a backup of it and work on the copy, in case you mess things up.

raymo · Mar 13, 2017

Amazing again. I never cease to be amazed at what can happen when a group of dedicated folks get together here and help each other. Glad you got your bird back, a little worse for wear, but sounds repairable. Good work folks!

Gary cato · Mar 16, 2017

I am always amazed reading these by MSinger,Robby.Bud walker, Cyberpower and others.You guys just put so much time and effort into this and your knowledge is outstanding. I dont think i have seen you guys not find a drone yet.Respect to you all.iwonder howmany thousands of dollars you gents have saved in lost Mavics. Wish i could buy you all a beer

kodiak1120 · Mar 16, 2017

Wow... great results. Good job! On a side note, you shouldn't fly behind a mountain or a hill like that... you'll always lose signal.

Hivoltage · Mar 16, 2017

Wow amazing!! Great job for all those who helped and to the OP for finding it!! So as a newbie (me) who is still reading and watching videos, why cant you just set the RTH height to say.... 200 feet to clear everything no questions asked?

Glen e · Mar 16, 2017

Hivoltage said:
Wow amazing!! Great job for all those who helped and to the OP for finding it!! So as a newbie (me) who is still reading and watching videos, why cant you just set the RTH height to say.... 200 feet to clear everything no questions asked?

You can.....My RTH is 300 FEET, never a problem. So many problems here are operating mistakes by the pilot . That's answer is usually on page 3 that many don't read

kodiak1120 · Mar 16, 2017

The problem is that setting gets reset when you install new firmware, so you have to keep changing it back.

NinjaBlade · Mar 16, 2017

I hope DJI integrates a pre-flight checklist popup to DJI Go.

NinjaBlade · Mar 16, 2017

CH26 said:
I want to thank you all again. The response I got was fast and frankly astonishing. Thank you for your expertise and willingness to help.

We just got back from our adventure it took us a hour or so to hike in. We found it within 5 minutes of being in the area you described. The battery fell out on impact. The rear props are demolished and the rubber peices that the gimbal dangles from popped out on one side.

Bonus question. The video from the crash is on the card (it has a large file size) but it wont pull up on my computer. Any suggestions?

Maybe you lack video decoder/codecs on your computer. Can you upload it to Dropbox?

Hivoltage · Mar 17, 2017

Glen e said:
You can.....My RTH is 300 FEET, never a problem. So many problems here are operating mistakes by the pilot . That's answer is usually on page 3 that many don't read

Thats good to know. My page 3 is the contents of the manual ?

jmorse62 · Mar 17, 2017

I was lucky enough to be using Litchi which has the "Find My Aircraft" option. Anything like that in the DJI app? I don't think so.

Logger · Mar 17, 2017

jmorse62 said:
I was lucky enough to be using Litchi which has the "Find My Aircraft" option. Anything like that in the DJI app? I don't think so.

Yes. The flight log, which will also lead you to the last known position.

msinger · Mar 17, 2017

jmorse62 said:
I was lucky enough to be using Litchi which has the "Find My Aircraft" option. Anything like that in the DJI app? I don't think so.

You can play the flight log back in DJI GO to find the last recorded location. Unfortunately, that's usually not the final location in scenarios where the downlink is lost before the remote controller signal is lost or the aircraft crashes on the way back to the home point. So, it's not always such a great asset to have in your toolbox.

erkme73 · Mar 18, 2017

CH26 said:
Bonus question. The video from the crash is on the card (it has a large file size) but it wont pull up on my computer. Any suggestions?

A corrupted video file on the MP is rare. If it's the last (or only) video file, it's safe to assume the MP suffered an instant power loss, and it was unable to finish writing the current video file. When this happens, the video is rendered unplayable in any device.

However, the fix is stupidly simple. Just put the SD card back in the MP and power it up. It will automatically close the file (though the date stamp will be wrong). It should then be playable on any device that can handle the codec.

gumpybsc · Mar 18, 2017

Brilliant story, peer support and outcome. This is a great forum!

McMavic · Mar 18, 2017

NinjaBlade said:
I hope DJI integrates a pre-flight checklist popup to DJI Go.

Indeed or even some sort of summary page to quickly show the important stuff like that RTH has been recorded, RTH altitude, vision systems active, signal loss behavior, tap to focus etc

Just checked my RTH altitude for first time since upgrade and both Go4 and Litchi were set at 0m?!

Logger · Mar 18, 2017

McMavic said:
Just checked my RTH altitude for first time since upgrade and both Go4 and Litchi were set at 0m?!

Recheck them once you have Go4 or Litchi connected to the aircraft. I believe the minimum possible on the aircraft is 20m. 0 can appear in the apps when not connected to anything.

But like you say something you definitely want to be checking.

SteelFlyer · Mar 18, 2017

What a fantastic story. I too am always amazed at the helpfulness of people on this forum. And I am stunned at the accuracy of the predictions on where to find it. I know its all just math but it still seems amazing when it all works as it should. Glad the Mavic was recovered. I hope the OP has DJI Refresh.