Hey Mavic Community,
Wanted to share with you a Mavic survival story I just experienced a few days ago. I was on a boat in Greece, with a friend helping me hand launch the Mavic from the front of the boat (pictured below) as we had done many times before. For some reason, the drone did not take off in a balanced fashion: the right side rose before the left, causing the drone to flip upside down as it went over the railing of the boat into the (very salty) sea. There is a chance my friend might have held on to it for a little too long as it was taking off - but he says the drone behaved erratically and just took off leaning on one side.
Once in the water, the Mavic sank straight to the bottom. Luckily the water was only about 2m deep and we were able to recover it within 10 seconds. I immediately removed the battery and rinsed out the drone with a freshwater shower, then immersed it in a freshwater bucket for about 30 seconds. Separately, I also rinsed the battery (but frankly, I don't remember if I immersed that as well). After letting everything dry outside in the sun for ~2 days, I plugged in a spare battery and held my breath as I powered everything on. All tests checked out just fine, and I did a test flight on land without any issues. Flew it a few times since then, without any problems whatsoever. My only potential loss is the original battery, which does no longer turn on the drone and occasionally flashes the power lights when just sitting around. I didn't try recharging that one as I wasn't sure if it was safe to do so.
After this mishap, I can certainly attest to the durability of the Mavic! I hope you never have to face a similar situation, but in case you do, following the steps I did above may help revive it. Anyone else experienced a failed hand launch like that before or have any ideas what may have caused it?
Wanted to share with you a Mavic survival story I just experienced a few days ago. I was on a boat in Greece, with a friend helping me hand launch the Mavic from the front of the boat (pictured below) as we had done many times before. For some reason, the drone did not take off in a balanced fashion: the right side rose before the left, causing the drone to flip upside down as it went over the railing of the boat into the (very salty) sea. There is a chance my friend might have held on to it for a little too long as it was taking off - but he says the drone behaved erratically and just took off leaning on one side.
Once in the water, the Mavic sank straight to the bottom. Luckily the water was only about 2m deep and we were able to recover it within 10 seconds. I immediately removed the battery and rinsed out the drone with a freshwater shower, then immersed it in a freshwater bucket for about 30 seconds. Separately, I also rinsed the battery (but frankly, I don't remember if I immersed that as well). After letting everything dry outside in the sun for ~2 days, I plugged in a spare battery and held my breath as I powered everything on. All tests checked out just fine, and I did a test flight on land without any issues. Flew it a few times since then, without any problems whatsoever. My only potential loss is the original battery, which does no longer turn on the drone and occasionally flashes the power lights when just sitting around. I didn't try recharging that one as I wasn't sure if it was safe to do so.
After this mishap, I can certainly attest to the durability of the Mavic! I hope you never have to face a similar situation, but in case you do, following the steps I did above may help revive it. Anyone else experienced a failed hand launch like that before or have any ideas what may have caused it?
