Hawk? Propeller loss? Malfunction?

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I think this is just a propellar that popped off do to over tightening maybe , but that does not resemble a bird strike.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. land on the Water.

Such a failure would I think detach the head of the screw and leave the screw's threaded bit in the boss/screw-hole. If the entire screw is missing then I would suspect that the screw has come undone.

 

[old man mavic]

i am probably going to be hated ,by all those people who decide to use after market props on their DJI drones,regardless of which drone in the line up they own
the reason i say this is because, DJI have gone to considerable trouble to produce the props that they supply with their drones,and i have only ever used OEM props on all the DJI drones i have owned, ( i did try some MAS orange coloured props on my MPP for a few flights many moons ago ) of course its entirely up to individual owners ,if they choose to use none OEM props ,but personally for me, the fact they have pretty colours ,or supposedly better sound, and flight times, is not enough to warrant their use

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Here is the video with increased exposure.

Any luck with the logs?
Any response to "Is it an optical illusion or does the drone have some coloured blades installed i.e. after market blades? If so were they installed in their presumed pairs?"?

 

[old man mavic]

the OP states it was a mini 3 pro, and it was using what appears to be MAS coloured props (or some other make maybe)
the Mini 3 pro has a very tiny screw that is there just to keep the prop ,from coming off the pivot post,that is part of the motor housing ,there was an issue a while back ,with some aftermarket props screws, breaking during use ,because of the way they were produced
i believe that issue has now been addressed

 

[Torque]

Such a failure would I think detach the head of the screw and leave the screw's threaded bit in the boss/screw-hole. If the entire screw is missing then I would suspect that the screw has come undone.

This is what happened to my mini 3 Pro - the head of the screw snapped off in mid flight, taking the prop with it.
This was a MAS prop and their first run had shoddy screws. They beefed up their screws and I've not had a problem since. MAS also reimbursed me for the cost of repairs to the drone.

 

[Torque]

the OP states it was a mini 3 pro, and it was using what appears to be MAS coloured props (or some other make maybe)
the Mini 3 pro has a very tiny screw that is there just to keep the prop ,from coming off the pivot post,that is part of the motor housing ,there was an issue a while back ,with some aftermarket props screws, breaking during use ,because of the way they were produced
i believe that issue has now been addressed

LOL, just saw this post, you may have been referring to my experience with the first batch of MAS props for the Mini 3.
See my post immediately before this one. MAS has new screws with those props now.

One day not long ago 2 pair of MAS props for my DJI FPV showed up in the mail. I was very confused - couldn't remember ordering them. Then an email from MAS explained; they "might" have an issue with a batch of the FPV props, I had purchased two of the sets from that batch months before, and these were replacements. I was flying with the ones that "might" have a problem but I hadn't had any issues. I followed their advice, tossed both pairs of the "might" be faulty ones and installed one set of replacements. IMO, Master Airscrew is a great company that really takes care of their customers.

 

[old man mavic]

@Torque hi fellow flyer ,i do remember your posts about the MAS props screws, and several others as well, with the same issue
i was not having a dig at you or anyone else ,for using other than OEM props on their DJI drones
but personally, i do not see any real benefit from doing so ,genuine DJI props on all the drones i have owned from them ,have always done the job they were intended for ,without failure and other issues with balance,and vibration
I can only speak from my experience using OEM props

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

, and it was using what appears to be MAS coloured props (or some other make maybe)

ah just found their mention of after market props but I also take note of their saying

When I brought the drone home i screwed on a new propeller and tested it.

in the same post. To me that implies they replaced ONLY the lost blade and leads me to wonder if the after market props are NOT supplied in weight matched pairs. If so is the manufacturer's production control so much better than DJI's that they are always weight matched?

 

[msinger]

DJI have gone to considerable trouble to produce the props that they supply with their drones,and i have only ever used OEM props on all the DJI drones i have owned

Agreed. And OEM DJI props rarely fail, so there really is no good reason to experiment with 3rd party props.

 

[rjwmorrell]

i am probably going to be hated ,by all those people who decide to use after market props on their DJI drones,regardless of which drone in the line up they own
the reason i say this is because, DJI have gone to considerable trouble to produce the props that they supply with their drones,and i have only ever used OEM props on all the DJI drones i have owned, ( i did try some MAS orange coloured props on my MPP for a few flights many moons ago ) of course its entirely up to individual owners ,if they choose to use none OEM props ,but personally for me, the fact they have pretty colours ,or supposedly better sound, and flight times, is not enough to warrant their use

I'm with you. Pretty colours and different noise is not enough to get me to risk my aircraft with aftermarket props. Even the added flight time, I mean, I have a Mini 3, it's already got better flight time than the Pro, and if I put the extended range battery, it's nearly an hour of flight time. I have three batteries, I have a hard enough time filling that time with shots already when I'm out doing a shoot.

There are things I'd consider for aftermarket: strobes, ND filters, etc, things that are not required for safely sustaining flight. Props are not one of those things.

 

[Torque]

FWIW I've been using Master Airscrew Props on my drones since 2013, used them since the 1980's on my RC planes (they were known as Windsor Prop Inc at that time.) Thousands of hours of flights between drones and RC fixed wings with their product and the only issue I've ever had was the thin necked screws on those mine 3 Props. The company immediately rectified that issue once the realized it.
DJI had never rectified their crappy screws and included screwdriver...
I'd never use any Ebay or other props, only OEM or MAS. And those pretty colors have helped me find my drone many times, much faster than if I was just trying to find black and grey in the shadows of nature.

Has it been determined that this crash was caused by a MAS prop?

 

[msinger]

Has it been determined that this crash was caused by a MAS prop?

No. But, the OP was using some type of aftermarket props and it's likely a prop was ejected from the aircraft mid-flight.

 

[Torque]

No. But, the OP was using some type of aftermarket props and it's likely a prop was ejected from the aircraft mid-flight.

Yes, it sounds like only one prop was changed though, and as mentioned, that can cause all sorts of issues, different weights, balance, vibrations, etc.

 

[msinger]

Yes, it sounds like only one prop was changed though

According to the OP, all props were changed to aftermarket props a few months ago. Post crash, the OP replaced the missing prop and tested the aircraft for stability indoors.

 

[Torque]

According to the OP, all props were changed to aftermarket props a few months ago. Post crash, the OP replaced the missing prop and tested the aircraft for stability indoors.

Ahh, I understand post #12 now. I thought he'd given up replacing the other 3 props because the screws were problematic, and only one set was changed.

It would be interesting to know if these were MAS props and if so was it from that early batch with bad screws.

 

[old man mavic]

@Torque in reply to your post #31above
can it be just me ,with both my original MM, and my Mini 3 pro ,i must have had ,the only good screws and screwdrivers, that came supplied with both drones
both of them were pre ordered before release date ,from the DJI store ,maybe they had special screwdrivers,screws, supplied ? who knows ,but i have never had an issue changing any of the props ,on both those drones ,using the supplied screws and screwdriver,and i am pretty sure many many others have had the same success as well ,with regards to MAS props that you use ,that's your personal choice, and i am happy that they have served you well ,over the years,
at no point in these exchanges ,have i made derogatory remarks about MAS props ,so i am somewhat disappointed ,that you felt the need to do so ,about the screws and screwdrivers in your post ,i suppose it boils down to the fact that here on the forum ,we only hear the negative experiences ,about a product most of the time

 

[RS6_Pilot]

Is it an optical illusion or does the drone have some coloured blades installed i.e. after market blades? If so were they installed in their presumed pairs?

Yes aftermarket were installed correctly with their pairs. However, the last set of propellers I couldn't remove because the screws were stripped. So my drone has 6 blue blades and 2 black blades.

 

[RS6_Pilot]

Ahh, I understand post #12 now. I thought he'd given up replacing the other 3 props because the screws were problematic, and only one set was changed.

It would be interesting to know if these were MAS props and if so was it from that early batch with bad screws.

Sorry I should have been more specific from the get-go but I was still a bit hyped up from almost losing my drone.

First is the blade and screw that came out was on the front right.

I changed out my propellers earlier in the year. However I had difficulty removing the factory screws. At first I used the factory screw driver and I thought that was the problem. So I purchased a quality set of mini screw drivers and that marginally helped. I removed a total of 6 blades. 2 of the 6 gave me trouble. When I got to the last pair there was one screw that I just couldn't remove. So I just gave up and left the original two factory blades (rear left) with the 6 new ones (Master Airscrew)

I did check all the new screws for proper tightness without over tightening. But I never rechecked them since. This drone got put away for most of the year because I bought the DJI Mavic 3 Pro and fell in love with it. However that drone had a factory defect and is being sent back to DJI so that is why the mini came back out.




LAST NOTES FOR TROUBLESHOOTING:

1. I didn't think of at first because I thought it was a bird strike.......is a small crash at about a foot off the ground into the side of the house. It was at slow almost hovering speed and it happened in slow motion. I should have checked the screws at that point. But the drone looked so unaffected I just ignored it and flew it again. Between that event and the drone crash it flew for about 120 minutes of air time.

2. In those 120 minutes of airtime, twice, the drone lost contact and started a RTH. I cancelled those RTH but when I watched the video I noticed the RTH didn't do the normal sequence. Usually it will rotate and the fly straight up to the pre set altitude. In this case it quickly turned and then started flying the opposite direction from home. Hmmm. Maybe some interference or something I thought so who knows. Just putting it out there in case it matters or not.

3. Before the crash I didn't have any complaints with the drone or the new blades. The MAS replacements were great and I've flown as usual. Many of my flights go over the ocean, at least a mile in and very near the water.

 

[rjwmorrell]

Just answering the RTH behaviour, I believe in most cases the drone will not ascend to its preprogrammed RTH height if it is less than 50m from the control station, or its already higher than that height.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

2. In those 120 minutes of airtime, twice, the drone lost contact and started a RTH. I cancelled those RTH but when I watched the video I noticed the RTH didn't do the normal sequence. Usually it will rotate and the fly straight up to the pre set altitude. In this case it quickly turned and then started flying the opposite direction from home. Hmmm. Maybe some interference or something I thought so who knows. Just putting it out there in case it matters or not.

From page 17 of the Mini 3 pro manual .

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/DJI_Mini_3_Pro/UM/20230328/DJI_Mini_3_Pro_User_Manual_v1.6_EN.pdf

"If the aircraft is more than 50 m from the Home Point when the remote controller signal is lost, it will fly backwards for 50 m on its original flight route, and then enter Straight Line RTH. The aircraft will enter or remain in Straight Line RTH if the remote controller signal is restored during RTH.
After flying backward on the original route for 50 m:
1. If the aircraft is 50 m or less than 50 m from the Home Point, it will fly back to the Home Point at its
current altitude.
2. If the aircraft is further than 50 m from the Home Point and the current altitude is higher than the
preset RTH altitude, it will fly back to the Home Point at its current altitude.
3. If the aircraft is further than 50 m from the Home Point and the current altitude is lower than the
preset RTH altitude, it will ascend to the preset RTH altitude and then fly back to the Home Point"