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Goodbye to my old friend Mavic Air 2. I loved her : An Overseas Crash Story

cgmaxed

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I went fishing over the ocean yesterday with my Mav Air 2 equipped with a payload drop system. I had it hooked to the fishing line for a bait drop. The fishing line got stuck as the drone was pulling it out to sea. My poor drone became unstable and fluttered downward toward the ocean and to it's salt water death. I already used up my 2 care refresh drone replacements, so now she is gone forever. As I reeled the line in the drone was still attached. I dried it out completely , but with the water being salt and all, she can only boot up and show me that virtually every part in the drone is showing an error. Gimble error, IMU error, Camera Error, Compass error etc etc. Any error you can think of, I got it. Funny thing though, It actually turns on, the camera aligns , the motors do their adjustments, the LEDs light up and the familiar DJI music plays. That's pretty much all it can do. Luckily though I still have an AIR2S and my 2 Heavy Duty EVO2s. Oh, by the way, the battery didn't react well to the salt either. It's dead as well.

A lesson learned; Because of the Lighter weight of the MAV Air 2 it's ability to stay stable when dragging a fishing line and bait is much less than using the heavier MAV 2 series or EVO2 series drones. I never have issues when the larger drones get jerked or pulled by the fishing line. They remain steady and actually pull on the rod with lots of force without being affected. So, be very cautious when carrying payloads with the lighter weight drones, especially with a fishing line pulling on it. I really screwed myself. Darn it !
 
Sorry for your loss, and yet another reason I advise folks to stay away from the "mini" (or really any light-weight) drone line...which can handle even less "disturbances" than the MA2 line.
 
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Sorry for your loss, and yet another reason I advise folks to stay away from the "mini" (or really any light-weight) drone line...which can handle even less "disturbances" than the MA2 line.
Looks like i'll stick to my EVO2 drones to drop fishing lines. I started flying drones with just DJI models including the mav 2 series. I sold 2 of my mav 2s and replaced them with evo2s. Their ability to carry high weight payloads is significantly greater than the Mav2 series. Stability under payload stress is much better as well. The MAV2s are perfectly capable of carrying payloads as well, but I think the EVO is just stronger. I used both, I liken the EVO2s to a tank, and the MAV2s to an agile jet. Someone trespassing on my property actually hit my Mav2 drone with a stick as I filmed them. The thing just went flying across the yard and stopped in mid air and hovered. The trespassers ran off before I could get a good recording.
 
Sorry for your loss, and yet another reason I advise folks to stay away from the "mini" (or really any light-weight) drone line...which can handle even less "disturbances" than the MA2 line.
I’m curious if you’ve ever had a Mini? I’ve had mine since shortly after it was released and have yet to have a problem with it. If you use some common sense about where and when you fly it, there’s really no reason not to buy one. I think the problem is that it tends to be the first drone many people buy and, as a consequence, they have no real idea what they’re doing with it. The fact that it has so few restrictions imposed upon it (certainly in Europe) makes it an even better buy.
 
I went fishing over the ocean yesterday with my Mav Air 2 equipped with a payload drop system. I had it hooked to the fishing line for a bait drop. The fishing line got stuck as the drone was pulling it out to sea. My poor drone became unstable and fluttered downward toward the ocean and to it's salt water death. I already used up my 2 care refresh drone replacements, so now she is gone forever. As I reeled the line in the drone was still attached. I dried it out completely , but with the water being salt and all, she can only boot up and show me that virtually every part in the drone is showing an error. Gimble error, IMU error, Camera Error, Compass error etc etc. Any error you can think of, I got it. Funny thing though, It actually turns on, the camera aligns , the motors do their adjustments, the LEDs light up and the familiar DJI music plays. That's pretty much all it can do. Luckily though I still have an AIR2S and my 2 Heavy Duty EVO2s. Oh, by the way, the battery didn't react well to the salt either. It's dead as well.

A lesson learned; Because of the Lighter weight of the MAV Air 2 it's ability to stay stable when dragging a fishing line and bait is much less than using the heavier MAV 2 series or EVO2 series drones. I never have issues when the larger drones get jerked or pulled by the fishing line. They remain steady and actually pull on the rod with lots of force without being affected. So, be very cautious when carrying payloads with the lighter weight drones, especially with a fishing line pulling on it. I really screwed myself. Darn it !
Looking at its size, I would only ever consider the Air 2 to be a camera platform and not a payload drone. YouTube will probably be a good source of recommendations for a fishing drone.
 
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immerse in distilled or deionized water, allow to air dry and see if it is a lazarus!
 
Sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing.
 
May not be a lost cause. Try the methods above and it may come back to life. My MA2 was underwater for 5-10 minutes and was still powered up when I fished it out. It didn’t work at first, but after a couple days in rice, it’s working fine although the battery was compromised. It was a freshwater river, so not entirely the same. Definitely worth sending to DJI Drone Service for diagnosis/repair. Given the high risk of submersion with your task, I’m surprised your MA2 wasn’t equipped with the PhantomRain wetsuit and rescue jacket. Seems like a necessity with your line of activity.
 
I’m curious if you’ve ever had a Mini? I’ve had mine since shortly after it was released and have yet to have a problem with it. If you use some common sense about where and when you fly it, there’s really no reason not to buy one. I think the problem is that it tends to be the first drone many people buy and, as a consequence, they have no real idea what they’re doing with it. The fact that it has so few restrictions imposed upon it (certainly in Europe) makes it an even better buy.
same here! i love my mini and had zero problems....so far! has less to do with drone and more to do with common sense of pilot.
 
Completely submerge the drone in 90-99% Isopropyl Alcohol, let it sit for 30 mins, pour off the Iso, and resubmerge the drone in fresh Iso (let the Iso take the water/salt away) for another 30 mins. Repeat as many times as you feel necessary (I'd suggest a minimum of twice)

When you're done with that, take some fresh iso and grab a clean toothbrush, and open the drone up enough that you can access as much of the internal PCB's as possible. Give them a good scrub with the Iso+toothbrush. Once scrubbed, sluice the parts off with fresh iso before setting them aside to air dry

When dry, reassemble, slap a battery in it, cross your fingers (and eyes, and toes, legs, arms...) and give that power button a doubleclick and see if it pulls a Phoenix Rising!
 
ouch, sorry for your loss.. I would rinse with deionized water and see what it does in a week or so... worst case its a paperweight, best case it gives you a few more flies out with a fishing line...
 
I’m curious if you’ve ever had a Mini? I’ve had mine since shortly after it was released and have yet to have a problem with it. If you use some common sense about where and when you fly it, there’s really no reason not to buy one. I think the problem is that it tends to be the first drone many people buy and, as a consequence, they have no real idea what they’re doing with it. The fact that it has so few restrictions imposed upon it (certainly in Europe) makes it an even better buy.
Sorry for the late reply. Don't know if you'll get this. But yah, the first drone I ever got was the DJI mini. I used it for several months until upgrading to a Mavic2Pro. The mini is a great drone, especially for those new to the hobby. After getting the Mav2Pro I gave my mini to my nephew. He crashed it pretty early on. I knew he would. Teens and drones just don't mix. They take too many risks. But I was willing to give up the drone. It was fun for him while it lasted.
 
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