Got hit by my Mavic blades

[RotoRanger]

Well, as long as we're sharing stories about drones and stupidity, I think I must qualify as cosmically moronic.

I had been flying the early Phantom series for a couple of years when I stepped up to the Inspire. I had often hand caught the Phantom, but never considered doing it with the Inspire. After having had the Inspire for a few weeks, one day I was flying from a too-small elevated platform. Upon attempting to land in a moderate crosswind, I was slowly lowering the Inspire onto the platform. Just as I was touching down and de-powering the rotors, a wind gust blew the craft sideways and 2 of the landing legs slipped off of the platform. With insufficient lift to maintain altitude, the Inspire was heading toward the ground for a potentially damaging low speed crash. Like an idiot, I instinctively reached out to grab one of the legs. Almost instantly my brain said, "Stop, you moron!!". Too late. The physical sensation and an audible, "Brrappppp" told me a very bad thing had just happened.

As I looked at the Inspire lying upside down on the ground, I immediately killed the motors before smoke arose from the windings or the ESCs. It was then that I noticed that my controller was covered in blood and that it was more than a minor cut. A trip to the ER was in my immediate future.

Several hours and 33 sutures later (graphic photos available), I was walking out of the ER with a bit of a wobble due to the pain meds, my dignity severely dented. Fortunately, I still had all of my digits attached and did not cut a vital nerve or tendon, although the amount of sliced meat was considerable. I spent the next couple of days one-handedly cleaning the dried blood out of the controller's innards and getting the same bodily fluid off of the Inspire.

Both the craft and I survived to fly again and today the squadron consists of my last purchased Phantom 2, a Phantom 4, the Inspire, a Typhoon-H, and my new favorite, the Mavic, along with a few sundry little Hubsans.

The moral of this little tale is that even an experienced pilot is capable of having a momentary brain fart of epic proportions which leads to some really bad consequences. Also, even when the power is winding down, the Inspire can inflict some horrendous damage on squishy humans. Finally, hand catching is a calculated risk at best, and while I will still do it with the Typhoon, if it is another one of the crafts where the rotors are close to the landing gear, well, that sucker is just going to have to make it onto ground without assistance from me. (I would agree with a previous poster that the smaller hinged blades of the Mavic being driven with considerably less power are certainly far less likely to cause this sort of damage).

I'm reminded of this lack of attention to safety every morning when I wake up and stretch my arms always noticing that it will take a few minutes of motion for the index finger of my left hand to unstiffen and move properly. A small incident in the greater scheme of things for sure, but one that I will likely always have that little physical reminder of.

....and yes Wombat55, as Billy Crystal said, "I hate it when that happens".

Fly safe everyone!

 

[boone]

I've been hit twice and I bled both times. Once I flew into my chest when I first got it and once I flew it inside and it started to drift, controller inputs did nothing so I tried to stick my finger on the battery and guide it away from the wall and the motors tried to compensate by spinning faster and caught the tip of my finger. If you think you got full contact and that's the max damage that can happen, go ahead and hover it then stick your finger into the blade...... please post a pic afterwards I'm curious

I do not mean any disrespect, but I giggle snorted when I read your comment saying you crashed into your own chest. That's some funny stuff.

I nearly cut my ring finger the F off with my mavic. Guess I have soft skin.

 

[erkme73]

Well, as long as we're sharing stories about drones and stupidity, I think I must qualify as cosmically moronic.

I had been flying the early Phantom series for a couple of years when I stepped up to the Inspire. I had often hand caught the Phantom, but never considered doing it with the Inspire. After having had the Inspire for a few weeks, one day I was flying from a too-small elevated platform. Upon attempting to land in a moderate crosswind, I was slowly lowering the Inspire onto the platform. Just as I was touching down and de-powering the rotors, a wind gust blew the craft sideways and 2 of the landing legs slipped off of the platform. With insufficient lift to maintain altitude, the Inspire was heading toward the ground for a potentially damaging low speed crash. Like an idiot, I instinctively reached out to grab one of the legs. Almost instantly my brain said, "Stop, you moron!!". Too late. The physical sensation and an audible, "Brrappppp" told me a very bad thing had just happened.

As I looked at the Inspire lying upside down on the ground, I immediately killed the motors before smoke arose from the windings or the ESCs. It was then that I noticed that my controller was covered in blood and that it was more than a minor cut. A trip to the ER was in my immediate future.

Several hours and 33 sutures later (graphic photos available), I was walking out of the ER with a bit of a wobble due to the pain meds, my dignity severely dented. Fortunately, I still had all of my digits attached and did not cut a vital nerve or tendon, although the amount of sliced meat was considerable. I spent the next couple of days one-handedly cleaning the dried blood out of the controller's innards and getting the same bodily fluid off of the Inspire.

Both the craft and I survived to fly again and today the squadron consists of my last purchased Phantom 2, a Phantom 4, the Inspire, a Typhoon-H, and my new favorite, the Mavic, along with a few sundry little Hubsans.

The moral of this little tale is that even an experienced pilot is capable of having a momentary brain fart of epic proportions which leads to some really bad consequences. Also, even when the power is winding down, the Inspire can inflict some horrendous damage on squishy humans. Finally, hand catching is a calculated risk at best, and while I will still do it with the Typhoon, if it is another one of the crafts where the rotors are close to the landing gear, well, that sucker is just going to have to make it onto ground without assistance from me. (I would agree with a previous poster that the smaller hinged blades of the Mavic being driven with considerably less power are certainly far less likely to cause this sort of damage).

I'm reminded of this lack of attention to safety every morning when I wake up and stretch my arms always noticing that it will take a few minutes of motion for the index finger of my left hand to unstiffen and move properly. A small incident in the greater scheme of things for sure, but one that I will likely always have that little physical reminder of.

....and yes Wombat55, as Billy Crystal said, "I hate it when that happens".

Fly safe everyone!

Not calling BS (I do believe you)... but the saying goes ... Without pictures, this post didn't happen Please post if you're up to it.

 

[Wombat55]

The Mavic blades fold , that's the key here . You met the blades with enough resistance that they immediately folded and your hand came into contact with the root part of the blade . Had you contacted the props at a slower rate the tips of the props would have sliced flesh like butter .

I'm not sure that the fact that the propeller blades fold is that much of a benefit once the motors are on. When the Mavic is flying those propellers are spinning around at around 5000 rpm. Extremely large centrifugal forces acting on those propellers which will resist any forces acting to fold up them up.

 

[RIchard Host]

Tried to save my Mavic after it hit a tree and panicked - blades cut the corner of my finger tip off. There was nothing to stitch. It was my fault - should have pulled the sticks down to disable before picking up. Finger grew back and I now have a lot more respect for the bite of the Mavic.

 

[RotoRanger]

Here ya go erkme73.

BTW what you can see in the photos doesn't show all of the sutures. All of the fingers on my left hand (except the pinkie) had them. And we didn't take photos of the stitches on my leg as the Inspire swung toward the ground. The ER staff indeed tallied the count at 33.

 

[erkme73]

OWW! That made my boys suck inside me just looking at that. Thanks for posting. This is exactly what people need to see when they contemplate whether these are toys or not. Glad you're ok.

 

[RotoRanger]

OWW! That made my boys suck inside me just looking at that. Thanks for posting. This is exactly what people need to see when they contemplate whether these are toys or not. Glad you're ok.

Thank you sir.....it healed up really well. The PA did a great job with the sutures. Still have a bit of numbness on 2 sides of the thumb (2 years later) and that flap over the index finger knuckle survived as well, but due to the cut going down to the bone underneath, that's the finger that is still hard to move in the morning until things "warm up".

As you say, "not toys!"

 

[Up & Adam]

That's why folding props are safer.

 

[bakerboy]

And here I was thinking my prop injury was bad, OP you're lucky man, that's a nasty looking wound

 

[Michael W.]

MythBusters did an episode on drone prop strikes to the neck. Phantom didn't really do any damage, the larger, although still minor, damage was done by a larger drone with carbon fiber blades. Was a good episode, they showed the blades in slow motion and the Phantom plastic blades distort quite a bit on impact.

 

[Dronebow]

MythBusters did an episode on drone prop strikes to the neck. Phantom didn't really do any damage, the larger, although still minor, damage was done by a larger drone with carbon fiber blades. Was a good episode, they showed the blades in slow motion and the Phantom plastic blades distort quite a bit on impact.

They said it was Plausible. And having been hit by Mavic blades, they will do damage to "skin".

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

I am fortunate, have not had this problem. I have seen another that was hit by the blades and it looked like he was in a knife fight. Sliced him up pretty bad. If I can find the photos, I will upload them. I have also witness a UAS fly along side of a vehicle and the blades cleaned off the paint down to the metal. Regardless of the craft size, the blades are high speed knives and appropriate precautions should be taken so your fingers are not.

 

[moonlitnite]

<clip>

Hit in the face or eyes by a Mavic and real damage WILL occur, and none of us come with spare parts. Resist the urge to save your drone "at all costs." Remember they're making new drones everyday, but you are a once in a lifetime, irreplaceable model.

For sure, searching for "ocular laceration photo' and clicking on IMAGES in google is a horrific reminder for those with a strong stomach. Add the words "drone propeller" to learn about the very young child's sad injury. Subtract the word "ocular" and click on the photo of the woman on the ground holding her head.

On that note, three years ago on behalf of UAV pilots I communicated my apology and associated laws to the needless bystander drone collision incident to Raija Ogden who was running in a marathon. Lucky for the drone operator (aviator pilot Warren Abrams) flying overhead and lost control of his DJI 350 series quadcopter, she didn't take legal action.
'River of blood' after drone 'hits' Australian athlete

To be sure, piloting a small craft like the Mavic with non-carbon fiber props makes it less dangerous provided it doesn't result in an eye laceration. RotoRanger - I'm very sorry to hear/see your mishap. How thoughtful and brave of you to post your accident to help reinforce the consequence of what might happen on a "really bad day" with bigger gear.

 

[Fletcher500]

Thanks for sharing. For those of us new to drones, this is helpful. I was wondering how bad a rotor cut would be.

I don't plan on making hand launch/catch a habit, but I will need to do it periodically off of a boat. With that said, I was thinking of wearing a glove, long sleeve shirt, and perhaps wrapping another shirt around the lower portion of my hand.

I realize a prop can still find a way to cut, but does this approach make sense?

 

[Chippie314]

On day two of ownership I tried to catch mine when it drifted towards my friend against my input.

Broke my fingernail and had a huge blood blister. Lesson learned.

 

[BCMoto]

@ stratos:

I'd recommend you keep a close eye on the blade props that 'hit' your hand.

Reason: the stock DJI blades are not tough - and in fact are really fragile (take one off and flex it just a bit-you'll see what I mean).

Subsequently - the blades that have come in contact with something - even though they don't show immediate damage WILL do so. They will eventually show cracks prematurely - EVEN if you were to not hit anything with them again......

Just an "FYI" for you!

Happy (and safe) flying in the meantime !

 

[moonlitnite]

Thanks for sharing. For those of us new to drones, this is helpful. I was wondering how bad a rotor cut would be.

I don't plan on making hand launch/catch a habit, but I will need to do it periodically off of a boat. With that said, I was thinking of wearing a glove, long sleeve shirt, and perhaps wrapping another shirt around the lower portion of my hand.

I realize a prop can still find a way to cut, but does this approach make sense?

If you're lucky, it goes like this

If not, it might go like this

Apparently it pays to have dexterity to keep your dominant and on the controller and be able to power down with the thumb of that hand. Secondly, you'll need to avoid catching the Mavic without the other hand being picked up by the sensor (if activated). Third... do you feel lucky?

There are old pilots, and bold pilots... but no old, bold pilots
Michael

 

[Red 5]

once I flew it inside and it started to drift, controller inputs did nothing so I tried to stick my finger on the battery and guide it away from the wall

I did exactly this. Nice big cut into the pad of my finger. Bled a lot. Probably could have used a stitch. The very tip of the blade did it to me.

 

[BubbaDan]

I was practicing fine control in the back yard, at 18 inches off ground. I did not notice my 18 month old Husky eyeing it. She caught me off guard and caught the Mavic in her mouth! Needless to say we were both equally surprised. She was completely unhurt, but now goes in the house when I launch. Smart dog!