Drone disappeared on rth route

[Droning on and on...]

Don't forget "I tried to hit the cancel button because it was hovering over a safe place." This was right before he lost signal.

Yes, but that wouldn't have stopped fail-safe RTH on signal loss.

 

[3rdof5]

Wouldn't the log show the attempt to cancel RTH? And why the switch to Sport mode in the log?

 

[slup]

Wouldn't the log show the attempt to cancel RTH? And why the switch to Sport mode in the log?

The attempt to cancel the RTH was most probably made after the RC had lost the connection with the AC, otherwise we should have seen a FlightAction saying RTH cancelled...

The odd Sport mode is probably some very short middle mode when the software auto switches between modes or FlightActions... all starts with a Smart Power RTH (battery have reached the battery percent threshold for that depending on the distance it was back to the HP) the AC ascends & speeds up towards the HP. Then the AC pitches & rolls & the AC comes to a stop & the log indicates a "Other (52)" as a FlightAction. After this we see a very brief period (approx 1sec) of Sport mode followed by a RTH again without a specified FlightAction... log then ends.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

In the end the craft could have ended up in 3 different locations...

And what of Failsafe behaviour, will that over ride the on-going Low Battery RTH and send the drone back to 39.9910407253284, -75.2576242734896 'wasting' 3.z percent of the battery etc. etc, in the process ?

After all, Low battery RTH can be over ridden when you have a connection so it may be possible that it can be over ridden by Failsafe behaviour. If so the search area becomes from the start of the Low Battery RTH to the home point.

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

It's possible but looking at the telemetry data reveals something odd going on with the roll axis.

At 1219,3 sec into the log (this was the last flight of several on the same power on)... when the craft already have ascended up to RTH height & reached it's max heading speed towards the HP it suddenly appear to brake as the pitch goes from -28,5 degrees to +31,4 degrees. This could support a braking scenario, especially if the OP confirms that the return path to HP was into the sun... but in the middle of the "braking" the craft also rolls heavily to the left, from a roll angle of +1,6 degrees just before the craft pitches up to -18,4 degrees & then returns equal quick to approx. -1 degree.
Also the yaw axis is affected in some degree. This could indicate something else than a ordinary braking.

View attachment 167344

@gnp-droneflyer In the end the craft could have ended up in 3 different locations...

1. The craft was unharmed & could return to HP... the craft is somewhere in the tree tops there & well hidden.

2. The craft was harmed in some way right there when it pitches & rolls over... the craft is in the tree tops near the last known GPS position.

3. The pitching up was really a braking due to flying into the sun... the craft maybe could make stepwise slow progress towards the HP from where the log ends. In this case the battery most probably drained down until the low battery voltage forced auto landing started... the craft is then somewhere along a straight line between the last known position in the log & the HP, maybe in another tree top or on the roof of that house it had to fly over on the way to the HP.

That’s a neat graph. The drone was not flying directly in to the sun I do know that. The sun was pretty high and to the right on that trajectory. So that weird pitch and sudden stop could that have maybe been a bird? There are definitely red tail hawks there And I did see them that day. In which case it could have theoretically been knocked pretty far off course of that last spot. I looked all over that area and at the rth location. I even used my old drone to fly up and look around. Scoured the videos on my big screen too. It’s the mavic mini 3 pro so it’s not that big and I did some tests with my mavic mini by throwing it up and letting it land in some bushes. Lol. It dropped pretty far in. The area where the signal got lost is very dense vine covered trees and the rth point is dense but from under the tree you can see light in most places. I may go back again tomorrow to look one last time before it rains. It hasn’t rained yet. Not sure how I’d even get to it if it’s way up in a tree but at least I’d know. Dji is replacing it for the $250 flyaway service. But I’d love to get my card and $60 filter back too lol

 

[MA2 317]

But I’d love to get my card and $60 filter back too

You might get it back if / when somebody else finds it in the future.

I put my user information on the card as a simple text document just in case the stickers on the outside wear out over time in the elements.

Ten years from now somebody may find it and return it to me.

RTH sort of works at that point.

.

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1579747" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

You might get it back if / when somebody else finds it in the future.

I put my user information on the card as a simple text document just in case the stickers on the outside wear out over time in the elements.

Ten years from now somebody may find it and it return it to me.

RTH sort of works at that point.

.

Lol yeah for now it will be a mystery. The grounds keepers for the place have been told about it so if they find it they will return it too. Just makes me so uneasy about flying it now with the this freak disconnection stuff happening. This is my 5th Dji drone in like 8 years ish and I’ve never had that happen ever. But seems to be happening a lot with this model.

 

[MS Coast]

But seems to be happening a lot with this model.

A lot of Mini 3 Pros are being lost because of unexplained disconnections? Documented cases? I don't recall reading about a lot of problems.

 

[Droning on and on...]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1579747" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

You might get it back if / when somebody else finds it in the future.

I put my user information on the card as a simple text document just in case the stickers on the outside wear out over time in the elements.

Ten years from now somebody may find it and it return it to me.

RTH sort of works at that point.

.

That's called "Smart Pilot" RTH

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Well I found it! Crazy but went one last time because it was pretty windy last night. Found it in the tree above the home point. Thank you all so much for your help. I was able to get it down with some help and a very tall ladder and poll. Caught it in a blanket like a fireman’s catch and it works! Barely a scratch on it!
Still very concerned why it disconnected but I learned a ton with this exp and from you guys. Thanks so much!

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Pics of the screen I really wish I had taped the rescue mission

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Well I found it! Crazy but went one last time because it was pretty windy last night. Found it in the tree above the home point. Thank you all so much for your help. I was able to get it down with some help and a very tall ladder and poll. Caught it in a blanket like a fireman’s catch and it works! Barely a scratch on it!
Still very concerned why it disconnected but I learned a ton with this exp and from you guys. Thanks so much!

Das ist wunderbar.
If the tree in photo 1024 is the 'catcher' can you please add an arrow pointing to where the drone was hiding?

Interestingly I just tried an experiment and switched the controller off whilst a Mini 2 was RTHing -twice, it didn't make a blind bit of difference to the Mini 2, it carried on with the RTHs unabated.

 

[RodPad]

I just found this thread, this is great!

The picture would be great.

Yorkshire_Pud

mavicpilots.com

Is there any data on a Mavic Bbox SD card that is usable now?

Rod ..

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Das ist wunderbar.
If the tree in photo 1024 is the 'catcher' can you please add an arrow pointing to where the drone was hiding?

Interestingly I just tried an experiment and switched the controller off whilst a Mini 2 was RTHing -twice, it didn't make a blind bit of difference to the Mini 2, it carried on with the RTHs unabated.

It’s dead center on the image. Won’t let me load the close up for some reason lol

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Zoomed in pic it was not easy to find lol

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Das ist wunderbar.
If the tree in photo 1024 is the 'catcher' can you please add an arrow pointing to where the drone was hiding?

Interestingly I just tried an experiment and switched the controller off whilst a Mini 2 was RTHing -twice, it didn't make a blind bit of difference to the Mini 2, it carried on with the RTHs unabated.

Oh the outside view. Here ish lol it dropped very far through the tree and somehow hit that branch. Otherwise it would have went splat on the sidewalk! Was at least 50’ from that point to the sidewalk. I do imagine it was higher on day one and fell further due to the winds we had recently.

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

Well this guy got some new hardware today and I hope I never have to use it lol

 

[MS Coast]

A suggestion.

Take a very close look at the props. It's unlikely that they didn't get a little damage from striking the tree limbs. Be especially wary of cracks. It's probably a good idea to put on your spare set and not have to worry about one failing in flight.

Once again, DJI's RTH system did it's job. That signal disconnect is still a head scratcher, though. Be alert for a possible repeat.

Good on you for continuing the search.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Twist the props slightly. Crack faces can mate so perfectly when not under load that they can be VERY difficult to spot.

 

[gnp-droneflyer]

A suggestion.

Take a very close look at the props. It's unlikely that they didn't get a little damage from striking the tree limbs. Be especially wary of cracks. It's probably a good ide to put on your spare set and not have to worry about one failing in flight.

Once again, DJI's RTH system did it's job. That signal disconnect is still a head scratcher, though. Be alert for a possible repeat.

Good on you for continuing the search.

Yeah the props have some scuffs I have a bunch and will replace. Good call