DJI Falling out of Sky

[RexAsh]

So I was flying my Mini 4 Pro one day over a lake, getting some footage, and It was pretty cloudy, but nothing to indicate a storm. Suddenly rain came, and so I immediately started flying the drone back (I was maybe 1200 - 800ft out when it started). I was only 15ft from land when I got a motor blocked message and the drone fell out of the sky into the lake. Luckily I had a friend with me who jumped into the lake and recovered the unit for me so I could send it to DJI for repair. I was wondering if the motors shut down when they get wet or if that is supposed to happen when they get wet. I know DJI drones aren’t water resistant, but to fall out of the sky 40ft in the air? Anyone had similar experience’s?

 

[AeroJ]

was wondering if the motors shut down when they get wet

I would say not, as a rule. Motors are not immediately affected by rain and I struggle to think of any reason that they would stop because of it unless it somehow got far enough in to short neighbouring motor connections (?). Do they all move freely now, powered off ?

I suppose we should review the flight data to see if there are further clues there.

Anyway, sorry it went down, and not very encouraging (but a valuable warning) for the rest of us M4P guys to know it can't always limp home when surprise rain kicks off. I think most of us tend to assume we could probably survive the return flight home if caught out by it. Noted ! I will turn the precipitation threshold down to 0% in UAV forecast !

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Post the flight log there might be a clue in there as to what happened.
I have had a mini caught in a shower and it was fine, maybe you just got unlucky and a particularly nasty droplet worked its way in somewhere where it shouldn't have been.
It's a pity the DAT is unreadable.
Any African dust rain there?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

So I was flying my Mini 4 Pro one day over a lake, getting some footage, and It was pretty cloudy, but nothing to indicate a storm. Suddenly rain came, and so I immediately started flying the drone back (I was maybe 1200 - 800ft out when it started). I was only 15ft from land when I got a motor blocked message and the drone fell out of the sky into the lake. Luckily I had a friend with me who jumped into the lake and recovered the unit for me so I could send it to DJI for repair. I was wondering if the motors shut down when they get wet or if that is supposed to happen when they get wet. I know DJI drones aren’t water resistant, but to fall out of the sky 40ft in the air? Anyone had similar experience’s?

We specialize in flying the Mini 3 and Mini 4 in the pouring rain , and never one experienced a motor failure do to the rain and we fly in some extreme rain storms. Rain Storm

Im thinking being that the Motor blocked message happened after it hit the water, that would make more sense to me, so it will interesting to see the Report .

My guess would be that the Battery Disconnected if it fell straight down into the water, which is why we
have the Air tight Seal on the Battery designed into the Wet Suit. .

Gear to fly your Mini 3 and Mini 4 Pro in the Pouring Rain.
Phantomrain.org

 

[Meta4]

I was only 15ft from land when I got a motor blocked message and the drone fell out of the sky into the lake.

Did you have a good view of the drone when this happened?
A motor blocked message usually shows as a result of a collision, rather than in open air.

I was wondering if the motors shut down when they get wet or if that is supposed to happen when they get wet. I know DJI drones aren’t water resistant, but to fall out of the sky 40ft in the air?

No, the drone motors don't shut down in rain.
Brushless electric motors can run under water.

The best course is to find out what actually happened by investigating the recorded flight data.
To post your flight data there are a couple of options ...

1. Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
2. Just post the .txt file here
or
3. If you use Airdata, you can view the flight data on Airdata and post a link for the Airdata report

If you are using one of the controllers with an integrated screen, the txt files are to be found here:
Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord

 

[RexAsh]

I would say not, as a rule. Motors are not immediately affected by rain and I struggle to think of any reason that they would stop because of it unless it somehow got far enough in to short neighbouring motor connections (?). Do they all move freely now, powered off ?

I suppose we should review the flight data to see if there are further clues there.

Anyway, sorry it went down, and not very encouraging (but a valuable warning) for the rest of us M4P guys to know it can't always limp home when surprise rain kicks off. I think most of us tend to assume we could probably survive the return flight home if caught out by it. Noted ! I will turn the precipitation threshold down to 0% in UAV forecast !

Yes, All the motors move freely

 

[RexAsh]

Did you have a good view of the drone when this happened?
A motor blocked message usually shows as a result of a collision, rather than in open air.

No, the drone motors don't shut down in rain.
Brushless electric motors can run under water.

The best course is to find out what actually happened by investigating the recorded flight data.
To post your flight data there are a couple of options ...

1. Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
2. Just post the .txt file here
or
3. If you use Airdata, you can view the flight data on Airdata and post a link for the Airdata report

If you are using one of the controllers with an integrated screen, the txt files are to be found here:
Android\data\dji.go.v5\files\FlightRecord

Yes, I did have a good view of the drone. Right before it reached land I hit the emergency brake to get my bearings and I stopped it for 2 seconds before I continued. A few seconds later it stoped (not because of me) and my father watched it spiral out of the sky into the water. Let me see if I can upload the flight data.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Yes, I did have a good view of the drone. Right before it reached land I hit the emergency brake to get my bearings and I stopped it for 2 seconds before I continued. A few seconds later it stoped (not because of me) and my father watched it spiral out of the sky into the water. Let me see if I can upload the flight data.

Do you have any of the video on your cashe on the controller of the flight in the rain. ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain,

 

[RexAsh]

Where can I find the Cache on the RC 2

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Where can I find the Cache on the RC 2

Try this link Here
Its not uncommon for DJI to ask for the Cashe Video when filing a Claim so everything helps.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Land on the Water, Capture the Storm

 

[Meta4]

Where can I find the Cache on the RC 2

Don't worry about the video, the recorded data is what's important.

 

[RexAsh]

How do I get the data off of the RC 2 and onto here?

 

[msinger]

How do I get the data off of the RC 2 and onto here?

Follow the instructions here:

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer

 

[Meta4]

How do I get the data off of the RC 2 and onto here?

See post #5