Drone stuck in tree, in "special zone"

[DerekG]

Any help, moral support or inspiration gratefully received. We'll be in Gring's Mill, Tulpenhocken Road, Penn State, Berks campus tomorrow from about 9:45-10am, probably for a good while. Anyone who has a 20 foot telescopic pole, or who knows an off-duty quarterback with spare football would be very welcome, but I wouldn't want to put a fellow pilot's drone at risk. I'll post photos when I get there...

Sounds good!! Trace could probably get it in the river but you'd be on your own once it's in there Hopefully you'll be able to get it out quickly There is rain in the forecast (yuck) so hopefully the plan will come together quickly. I've gotten a number of drones and planes stuck in trees before - Usually my go-to is duct-taping a number of poles together.

If I wasn't sick / working I'd offer to help, as I'm around 3 hrs away

 

[BD0G]

The ironic thing is that I've been jokingly posting within this thread and the OP is only about 40 miles from me.

Ha! Isn't that always the way things work? Some cosmic force at work.

 

[IADRN43]

Maybe

Starz to the rescue! Again! Hahahaha

 

[ncameron]

Any help, moral support or inspiration gratefully received. We'll be in Gring's Mill, Tulpenhocken Road, Penn State, Berks campus tomorrow from about 9:45-10am, probably for a good while. Anyone who has a 20 foot telescopic pole, or who knows an off-duty quarterback with spare football would be very welcome, but I wouldn't want to put a fellow pilot's drone at risk. I'll post photos when I get there...

Belay all that. Decided to fess up to Park Rangers and try and arrange tree expert recovery. They are annoyed, as there is a local airport way up the hill. That's why I got the message I suppose; although I wonder why it let me carry on. Also, if it had resolutely told me not to fly, and why, I wouldn't have!
Waiting on a return call from the guy in charge to chew me out and tell me how to proceed.
Worst case is I get prosecuted, and they tell me I can't get it back. And I can't claim on DJI Care Refresh as I can't produce a drone!
All together, a bad day out.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Oh, I'm keenly aware that I'm ****** - but I need to know if I'm singly ******, doubly ****** or completely ******!

You should be able to hire a small boat to get out there. Climbing the tree is another matter... maybe some local kid into parkour?

 

[KiterTodd]

...They are annoyed, as there is a local airport way up the hill. That's why I got the message I suppose; although I wonder why it let me carry on. ...

Ugh. You ran into a hard-*ss. Not fun.

Hmmm, it may have been a warning zone and not a no-fly zone. So, while the rule is to call the tower and let them know, that really isn't the park's business. They should only be concerned if it is against park rules (because lets be honest, if an airplane was flying as close to the trees as you were, there's a much bigger problem and it isn't your Mavic!)

You may be up against the wall, but educate yourself on the local laws before that call so you can say firmly (and politely) if you were violating the laws or not. You can also say something about that you were well below the 400' ceiling or whatever the local law is. State how careful you were to fly away from any pedestrians so that you put nobody at risk. Maybe show them the drone GPS track from your phone if it won't get you in further trouble.

Be annoyingly calm and persistently polite. Plead competence in your flight planning, ignorance if you were unaware of a local law or park rule. Once they get their lecture out of the way they may accept that the best thing to do for everyone is to let you recover the darn thing, take a hand slap, and be on your way.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. (and don't overlook a night-ops drone recovery mission)

 

[DerekG]

The airport is around a mile away, so you would definitely want to contact the tower before flying there. You are right in the middle of Class D airspace, so I can see why they weren't happy. That said, that's the FAA's authority, not the local police / park ranger's. I'd look into seeing if there are any ordinances against taking off / landing in the park, as that's what will get you in trouble (if there are). Still, unless there is a big sign at the entrance you could probably argue that without proper signage a reasonable person (burden of proof required) would assume a remote area away from people was a great place to fly a drone.

 

[ncameron]

I did check the Park signs beforehand; and only thing they forbade were ball games. The lady I first spoke to said that it is stated in their ordinances that drone flying is forbidden. Fair enough, but how many people really check those?
Still waiting to hear from the head guy.
There is heavy rain there now, which will probably kill the Mavic anyway, so I am hoping that this will dislodge it into the water and I will be allowed to pick it up...
At least then I can initiate Care Refresh.

 

[KiterTodd]

I did check the Park signs beforehand; and only thing they forbade were ball games. The lady I first spoke to said that it is stated in their ordinances that drone flying is forbidden. Fair enough, but how many people really check those?
Still waiting to hear from the head guy.
There is heavy rain there now, which will probably kill the Mavic anyway, so I am hoping that this will dislodge it into the water and I will be allowed to pick it up...
At least then I can initiate Care Refresh.

I am missing some information here... you are not allowed to pick it up even if it falls?
Unless there is a fence around the water, drag a kayak out there or put on some waders and just go grab your darn drone.

 

[integlikewhoa]

Following along for the out come.

 

[Cyberpower678]

I did check the Park signs beforehand; and only thing they forbade were ball games. The lady I first spoke to said that it is stated in their ordinances that drone flying is forbidden. Fair enough, but how many people really check those?
Still waiting to hear from the head guy.
There is heavy rain there now, which will probably kill the Mavic anyway, so I am hoping that this will dislodge it into the water and I will be allowed to pick it up...
At least then I can initiate Care Refresh.

Is the drone powered down? If so, they rain may not kill it. Just be sure to dry it inside and out first before turning it back on.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[jerry2032]

I don't think it was a NFZ - it was some kind of warning, but it seemed happy after it verified my identity via SMS.
The connection to that message was as to whether it voided my DJI Care cover.
That issue now appears to be moot unless I can recover it from 30 feet high, and 20 feet out over a river.

Did it fly off on its own into the tree? Mine did that in a DJI NFZ. BTW if you're not using UAV Forecast I highly recommend it. It shows those areas where you're going to get the "Unlock Area" message.

 

[Robbyg]

I will just add my 2 cents.

If it was me and yes I actually have been in similar situations with RC planes.
We just went out to the nearest recreational area where skate boarders hang out and then offered two guys in the 15-17 year old bracket $100 a piece to retrieve the craft. These guys would go through any property and climb any tree until they recovered the plane and got their money. Literally all we did was tell them not to damage it further and then used a pair of binoculars and let them see where the plane was located.
We asked them no details or plans, just asked them to get it. In a couple of hours they always returned with the plane.

 

[cobra46]

Contact local geocachers. I can help with this if you need. i can find a local geocacher that has the tools needed. Many of us geocachers are good at retrieval of things like this.

Go to home depot and get either a light bulb changing tool or an extendable tree trimming pole saw.

 

[ncameron]

I went back. Rained all night and it's out of the tree. Now looking in stream.
Do waterlogged Mavics sink?

 

[ncameron]

I went back. Rained all night and it's out of the tree. Now looking in stream.
Do waterlogged Mavics sink?

Sorry, stupid question - of course they do!

 

[KiterTodd]

Good luck! Hope you find it. It was windy yesterday so that likely helped. Depending on the current,it hopefully isn't too far but could have floated a ways before it got waterlogged. Search long and hard and you should find it. If not, call the park anyway on the off chance that they recovered it or witnessed other activity.

I liked @Robbyg 's suggestion the best. I'll have to remember that if I'm ever in a similar situation...

 

[integlikewhoa]

I went back. Rained all night and it's out of the tree. Now looking in stream.
Do waterlogged Mavics sink?

All Mavics sink unless you added your own flotation device to it.

 

[Pepermz]

I see a vide in which they used a long PVC stick.

 

[KiterTodd]

Did you find it?