Help. Did a bird hit my drone? Crash(?) Analysis Please. (w/ video)

[gershee]

During a flight I had a very strange thing happen. Suddenly drone rocks and gimbal goes awry. Thought I crashed into a building but I spun around and nothing was around me close enough. Looking back it seems like the drone was struck with something.
Can anyone help shed some light on what happened here?



Here is the video that was recording during the "incident".. (@ 17 seconds)

2019_12_17_13_34_51(17seconds in).mp4

drive.google.com

Here is the Flight Log.. (@ 15m 30s I think)

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

Thanks in advance.

 

[Meta4]

During a flight I had a very strange thing happen. Suddenly drone rocks and gimbal goes awry. Thought I crashed into a building but I spun around and nothing was around me close enough. Looking back it seems like the drone was struck with something.
Can anyone help shed some light on what happened here?

If it was just a glitch with the gimbal being caught by wind, we wouldn't see anything much in the flight data.
But at 15:25.5, the data for pitch, roll and yaw suddenly changes significantly.
The drone tips back 66° and rolled 107° over on one side and spun to the right about 250°.
Within 0.4 seconds the drone had recovered and by around 15:28 it had stabilised.
At 15:28.2 you spun the drone around to check the surroundings.

The best explanation for what the data shows would be being hit by a bird or some other object.

 

[Ben B]

I'm pretty impressed it recovered from that

 

[Peter Hughes]

At the risk of being sarcastic to the rest of the aviation world, why not report it as a drone strike? That’s all they ever do ? after all birds or other objects never impact aircraft do they?

 

[BudWalker]

During a flight I had a very strange thing happen. Suddenly drone rocks and gimbal goes awry. Thought I crashed into a building but I spun around and nothing was around me close enough. Looking back it seems like the drone was struck with something.
Can anyone help shed some light on what happened here?



Here is the video that was recording during the "incident".. (@ 17 seconds)

2019_12_17_13_34_51(17seconds in).mp4

drive.google.com

Here is the Flight Log.. (@ 15m 30s I think)

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

Thanks in advance.

I agree with @Meta4. Looks like a mid air strike. I also had what must've been a bird strike on my M2

My bird strike

If you want to know more you'll need to retrieve the .DAT. Look here to see how to do that.

How to retrieve a V3.DAT from the tablet

 

[Mavic Air Head]

Clear case of hit and run. Messed up a nice clear shot you were getting.

 

[hiflyer201]

Usually you will see birds earlier in the video but you must have hit a lone eagle..so to speak. Birds usually leave a few fuzzy like feathers or at least a smear of something. I managed to hit a Yucca tree (pretty stout) in sports mode that I hadn't observed until watching the video and it looked just like that. I think my drone did a complete roll.

 

[Mavic Mac]

Probably the same thing that hit the news helicopter in California and then slowly ricocheted across the sky, collided with your drone and vaporized on impact - unless of course it was an alien spaceship ?

 

[gershee]

I agree with @Meta4. Looks like a mid air strike. I also had what must've been a bird strike on my M2

My bird strike

If you want to know more you'll need to retrieve the .DAT. Look here to see how to do that.

How to retrieve a V3.DAT from the tablet

Would like to know more still.
Here is the dat file.

19-12-17-01-19-30_FLY007.DAT

drive.google.com

Thanks everyone for the help.
Still scratching my head on this one.

 

[Fly Dawg]

@gershee Yes, agreed with the above. A bird strike is most likely. It looks like an impact on the left rear. Fortunately the props remained in tact and the aircraft recovered.

 

[Meta4]

Would like to know more still.

Still scratching my head on this one.

Given the location and the nature of the impact, it might have been a peregrine falcon making a diving attack from behind the drone.

 

[BudWalker]

Would like to know more still.
Here is the dat file.

19-12-17-01-19-30_FLY007.DAT

drive.google.com

Thanks everyone for the help.
Still scratching my head on this one.

Which leg needs replacing?

 

[gershee]

Which leg needs replacing?

Front right leg(fpv view, front right). (This is unrelated to this actual incident just need that piece from a previous incident). Just the landing big with the 3 screws. Not the whole arm.
Would love to find the piece but everyone sells the whole arm assembly for $35+.. just need the little plastic piece. I even tried the Mavic part but it doesn't fit right.

 

[hiflyer201]

Given the location and the nature of the impact, it might have been a peregrine falcon making a diving attack from behind the drone.

that sure sounds right to me. They nest in some of the high buildings in Los Angeles. The old First Interstate Bank building (62 storys) is one that Know of and dive on pigeons.....I guess we know one that will think twice before his next sortie

 

[Skywalker]

...unless of course it was an alien spaceship ?

Yep.

 

[Bob1956]

At the risk of being sarcastic to the rest of the aviation world, why not report it as a drone strike? That’s all they ever do ? after all birds or other objects never impact aircraft do they?

Probably another Yunnecc plummeting to Earth

 

[BanditsRoost]

During a flight I had a very strange thing happen. Suddenly drone rocks and gimbal goes awry. Thought I crashed into a building but I spun around and nothing was around me close enough. Looking back it seems like the drone was struck with something.
Can anyone help shed some light on what happened here?



Here is the video that was recording during the "incident".. (@ 17 seconds)

2019_12_17_13_34_51(17seconds in).mp4

drive.google.com

Here is the Flight Log.. (@ 15m 30s I think)

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

Thanks in advance.

Some one in/on one of the buildings thru their

During a flight I had a very strange thing happen. Suddenly drone rocks and gimbal goes awry. Thought I crashed into a building but I spun around and nothing was around me close enough. Looking back it seems like the drone was struck with something.
Can anyone help shed some light on what happened here?



Here is the video that was recording during the "incident".. (@ 17 seconds)

2019_12_17_13_34_51(17seconds in).mp4

drive.google.com

Here is the Flight Log.. (@ 15m 30s I think)

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

Thanks in advance.

Someone in/on one of the buildings thru their shoe at the flying demon...
(Tongue planted firmly in cheek) ?

 

[gershee]

funny responses.. professional responses..
thanks to everyone!