DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Drone recover fail

MavicMaverick92

Active Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2020
Messages
30
Reactions
11
Age
31
Location
California
So I commissioned a local volunteer fire fighter to recover my Mavic Mini with his Mavic Pro. Got the bad news today that they both ended up in the water. I'm not sure how because he did it without me there. I offered $300 to anyone who could recover it but I didn't really specify anything about a failed recovery, partially from not thinking about it and also from trying to keep my mind off that negative outcome. My question is, should I pay him for not recovering my drone? Should I pay him only like $50? I'm at a crossroads here because I feel like I should because I made a deal but I also feel like I shouldn't pay someone for failing to recover my drone. I can't help but to think it's his fault for losing em in the waer because it's really windy today and I'm not sure how he attached the gravity hook that was gonna pick my drone up. I went to the spot a few minutes after he messaged and he wasn't there. Part of me feels like he may have recovered it and is now trying to hide it at his house and also collect the money. Not really sure what to do now cuz the money I was gonna pay him could buy me a new Mavic Mini.
 
Epic delima,

The expression "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" seem to be the case here if he did in fact crash. Ask him for the flight data. You will know if he actually did search the area and crashed. The pretext for asking is because you want to also search that area for his drone. If he can not send it then you have your answer or if he responds with it was over water and there is no need to search.

In addition, you can eliminate those areas from you aerial search.

I would guess that it would be hard to see from the air. As I ran my battery once past a reasonable point and had to make an emergency landing in a weeded field. It took me a bit to find it even through I knew the area and had a location. It was within 5 ft of the mapped location but was still very hard to see.
 
As interesting a predicament this is, I wouldn’t pay him...

A local fellow forum member and I have recovered or assisted in finding other people’s drones, and we don’t charge money for this service. We’re merely trying to help out someone in need, because the situation sucks. That’s all.

Go out and get your new Mavic, or stretch a bit to get the Mavic Air 2.
 
As interesting a predicament this is, I wouldn’t pay him...

A local fellow forum member and I have recovered or assisted in finding other people’s drones, and we don’t charge money for this service. We’re merely trying to help out someone in need, because the situation sucks. That’s all.

Go out and get your new Mavic, or stretch a bit to get the Mavic Air 2.
My conundrum is I offered to pay for recovery. I failed to mention what I would do if they somehow lost my drone aside from not holding them liable so I feel like he could argue that I should pay him. I haven't gotten a message from him asking about payment but I think he's just licking his wounds and possibly figuring out how to recover it from the water. He does water search and rescue so it's within his abilities. If he gives me a waterlogged drone I'd at least give him $150 but until then I'd rather just buy a new drone. I'm not rich by any means so it's either pay him or buy a new drone though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pelagic_one
My conundrum is I offered to pay for recovery. I failed to mention what I would do if they somehow lost my drone aside from not holding them liable so I feel like he could argue that I should pay him. I haven't gotten a message from him asking about payment but I think he's just licking his wounds and possibly figuring out how to recover it from the water. He does water search and rescue so it's within his abilities. If he gives me a waterlogged drone I'd at least give him $150 but until then I'd rather just buy a new drone. I'm not rich by any means so it's either pay him or buy a new drone though.
If he does water search and rescue, I don't understand why he didn't just slip on a scuba suit or something and get it that way instead of risking his drone.?‍♂️ Beats me, that would have been so much simpler... and less risky.
 
If he does water search and rescue, I don't understand why he didn't just slip on a scuba suit or something and get it that way instead of risking his drone.?‍♂️ Beats me, that would have been so much simpler... and less risky.

Oh trust me, it was more dangerous using humans. I'll post some pics of the island. The red circle is the area the drone was in. But basically it's an 80 foot island with a bunch of treacherous rocks and constant waves crashing against it. To get it would require climbing up the back where it slopes down a bit, crossing a very narrow land bridge and then teetering on the edge to grab it. Every year a kayaker or surfer dies in this area. It's no joke. Sending a person out was a last resort.
 

Attachments

  • 20201017_172642.jpg
    20201017_172642.jpg
    4.3 MB · Views: 114
  • Screenshot_20201021-214507_Maps.jpg
    Screenshot_20201021-214507_Maps.jpg
    860.5 KB · Views: 113
  • 20201021_214638.jpg
    20201021_214638.jpg
    473.8 KB · Views: 110
Oh trust me, it was more dangerous using humans. I'll post some pics of the island. The red circle is the area the drone was in. But basically it's an 80 foot island with a bunch of treacherous rocks and constant waves crashing against it. To get it would require climbing up the back where it slopes down a bit, crossing a very narrow land bridge and then teetering on the edge to grab it. Every year a kayaker or surfer dies in this area. It's no joke. Sending a person out was a last resort.
Wow, never mind then. I thought it was a small river or something. I'm not sure if I'd have risked any drone to attempt recovery. I wonder what was going on in his brain...
 
Wow, never mind then. I thought it was a small river or something. I'm not sure if I'd have risked any drone to attempt recovery. I wonder what was going on in his brain...
Honestly I think I could have done it but I just sold my Spark and plus the gravity hook I lent him would have been too heavy for the Spark but I literally watched a video of a guy using a Mavic Pro and the same gravity hook to rescue his Mini. I feel like the guy I sought help from attached the hook to his catch and release system without a rope between it and the drone and it probably tried landing while he was trying to lower it over my drone. He said he's a drone operator for the fire department so I figured he would be able to. Also he was gonna give the money to the fire department to put into their drone fund which I was all for cuz the fire departments do awesome work out here in NorCal.
 
After seeing the photos and location this was a high risk endeavor.

I don't think you would be liable.

First, most states have reward provisions that preclude the reward offer from liability so long as the nature of the activity was not illegal. This maybe covered in the scope of the protections provided by the Good Samaritan laws and the provisions of incentive or bounty based offers in your state. Second, he is operating as an independent contractor, as there is financial gain, and therefore assumes his own liability. He does not have an employment contract stipulating when and how he does the job. Third, if he exercised poor judgement, such as operating in windy conditions, in a reckless manner or a manner that incurred undue risk liking flying low over a body of water in windy conditions you would not be accountable. Four, he is trained in search and rescue and therefore inherently had knowledge of proper procedure, the risk and potential loss associated with such an operator. Fifth, he was not operating as a volunteer firefight at the time or on behalf of the fire department. This is relevant to demonstrate he was acting on his own accord and engaged in seeking personal rewards which government employees and volunteers are receiving while conducting government business. If he stated or inferred in some type of documentable communication that he was operating as a volunteer firefight he would be ineligible for the reward.

As per giving him $150 for waterlogged recovered drone which you offered a reward of $300 that would more than likely be a breach of contract. In essence, you offered a reward for recovery. The condition of the item is not subject the reward amount when he engaged in the search nor is it contingency based on the value of the recovered item. Therefore, you entered into a promissory agreement and should pay him the full $300 were he to recover your drone.

In your initial post you questioned his motives and in doing so asking for proof of his loss before compensating him in "good faith" for his loss would be reasonable.

Compensating him for a portion of his provable loss would be a kind thing to do but more than likely not legally required. It could even cause you to incur liability and it could be perceived as a casualty condition of the agreement. Even if he lost his drone searching for yours there is always the aforementioned arguments. If you felt morally or personal obligation to offset his loss a gift card would be a reasonable way to help him. A gift card, by it's name, is a gift and would be difficult to construed as financial instrument associated with a promissory agreement.

This is probably overkill and nothing will come of it. It sounds like someone combining learned skills, a training exercise, poor judgment and seeking a reward who had an unfortunate accident.
 
After seeing the photos and location this was a high risk endeavor.

I don't think you would be liable.

First, most states have reward provisions that preclude the reward offer from liability so long as the nature of the activity was not illegal. This maybe covered in the scope of the protections provided by the Good Samaritan laws and the provisions of incentive or bounty based offers in your state. Second, he is operating as an independent contractor, as there is financial gain, and therefore assumes his own liability. He does not have an employment contract stipulating when and how he does the job. Third, if he exercised poor judgement, such as operating in windy conditions, in a reckless manner or a manner that incurred undue risk liking flying low over a body of water in windy conditions you would not be accountable. Four, he is trained in search and rescue and therefore inherently had knowledge of proper procedure, the risk and potential loss associated with such an operator. Fifth, he was not operating as a volunteer firefight at the time or on behalf of the fire department. This is relevant to demonstrate he was acting on his own accord and engaged in seeking personal rewards which government employees and volunteers are receiving while conducting government business. If he stated or inferred in some type of documentable communication that he was operating as a volunteer firefight he would be ineligible for the reward.

As per giving him $150 for waterlogged recovered drone which you offered a reward of $300 that would more than likely be a breach of contract. In essence, you offered a reward for recovery. The condition of the item is not subject the reward amount when he engaged in the search nor is it contingency based on the value of the recovered item. Therefore, you entered into a promissory agreement and should pay him the full $300 were he to recover your drone.

In your initial post you questioned his motives and in doing so asking for proof of his loss before compensating him in "good faith" for his loss would be reasonable.

Compensating him for a portion of his provable loss would be a kind thing to do but more than likely not legally required. It could even cause you to incur liability and it could be perceived as a casualty condition of the agreement. Even if he lost his drone searching for yours there is always the aforementioned arguments. If you felt morally or personal obligation to offset his loss a gift card would be a reasonable way to help him. A gift card, by it's name, is a gift and would be difficult to construed as financial instrument associated with a promissory agreement.

This is probably overkill and nothing will come of it. It sounds like someone combining learned skills, a training exercise, poor judgment and seeking a reward who had an unfortunate accident.
**** man, are you a lawyer? Lol. You've given a lot to think on though.
 
Nope. Just a diverse education.

MavicMaverick92

I just realized you were in California. I found the spot you were flying on the map. Looks like it would be very hard to access and living here in Bay Area I know how hard flying around the Pacific can be especially how bad the wind is on coastlines like that. Was the other guy able to see your Mini?
 
Last edited:
Nope. Just a diverse education.

MavicMaverick92

I just realized you were in California. I found the spot you were flying on the map. Looks like it would be very hard to access and living here in Bay Area I know how hard flying around the Pacific can be especially how bad the wind is on coastlines like that. Was the other guy able to see your Mini?
Yea it was a bad spot to crash. And yea it could be seen from the cliffs and he sent me a pic of it a couple days ago when he went scouting the spot. It even looked like it was fine and not broken. Not now though I bet. He hasn't text me back saying he found em so I think they're lost for good. Especially with the gravity hook acting as an anchor on his drone.
 
My thoughts.

If the tacit agreement between both of you was "no recovery, no pay", then you are not obliged to pay anything. In fact, the fire fighter here assumes the risk associated with the recovery efforts, including possible loss or damage to his own drone. It's like a contracted work based on results.

That being said, if you do want to pay him something, then it is more for building goodwill. The goodwill you create here will surely pay off in the future.

Now if you suspect some kind of fraud, that is a different story.

Hope you get to settle this and sorry for the loss of your Mini.
 
Last edited:
So I commissioned a local volunteer fire fighter to recover my Mavic Mini with his Mavic Pro. Got the bad news today that they both ended up in the water. I'm not sure how because he did it without me there. I offered $300 to anyone who could recover it but I didn't really specify anything about a failed recovery, partially from not thinking about it and also from trying to keep my mind off that negative outcome. My question is, should I pay him for not recovering my drone? Should I pay him only like $50? I'm at a crossroads here because I feel like I should because I made a deal but I also feel like I shouldn't pay someone for failing to recover my drone. I can't help but to think it's his fault for losing em in the waer because it's really windy today and I'm not sure how he attached the gravity hook that was gonna pick my drone up. I went to the spot a few minutes after he messaged and he wasn't there. Part of me feels like he may have recovered it and is now trying to hide it at his house and also collect the money. Not really sure what to do now cuz the money I was gonna pay him could buy me a new Mavic Mini.
Did he recover your drone?
It sounds like the deal was to recover your drone.
If he didn’t do that you shouldn’t pay him. It’s unfortunate what happened but should you be liable for his piloting?
 
  • Like
Reactions: JAW and dawgpilot
My gf just told me: what if hes gone AWOL because he was using the Departments' drone for his own personal gain, and then lost the Departments' drone? ?

First things first though, gotta make contact and follow-up.
 
I don't understand something. You was going to pay $300 for a $399 brand new drone with all accessories.
 
I don't understand something. You was going to pay $300 for a $399 brand new drone with all accessories.
It was more so my drone wouldn't be trashing the beautiful coast out here. I take littering very seriously and I already had a buddy punch me in the face for it, which I literally asked for cuz it's their home. I'm just a transplant.
 
It was more so my drone wouldn't be trashing the beautiful coast out here. I take littering very seriously and I already had a buddy punch me in the face for it, which I literally asked for cuz it's their home. I'm just a transplant.
My respect you. you are a great citizen. I wish have more people thinking like you. Sorry for your lost.
 
So I commissioned a local volunteer fire fighter to recover my Mavic Mini with his Mavic Pro. Got the bad news today that they both ended up in the water. I'm not sure how because he did it without me there. I offered $300 to anyone who could recover it but I didn't really specify anything about a failed recovery, partially from not thinking about it and also from trying to keep my mind off that negative outcome. My question is, should I pay him for not recovering my drone? Should I pay him only like $50? I'm at a crossroads here because I feel like I should because I made a deal but I also feel like I shouldn't pay someone for failing to recover my drone. I can't help but to think it's his fault for losing em in the waer because it's really windy today and I'm not sure how he attached the gravity hook that was gonna pick my drone up. I went to the spot a few minutes after he messaged and he wasn't there. Part of me feels like he may have recovered it and is now trying to hide it at his house and also collect the money. Not really sure what to do now cuz the money I was gonna pay him could buy me a new Mavic Mini.

Unless you agreed to pay him him whether he recovered your drone or not I suspect you don't owe him a dime. If it was me, and you have proof of his loss, I would likely spot him $100 or so for the attempt. The one time I crash landed mine into thick thorn bushes 1/4 mile from the nearest road I offered $100 with recovery. And got someone who got the job done in 15 minutes. I paid him $125.
 

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,586
Messages
1,554,118
Members
159,586
Latest member
DoubleBarS