I didn't see this mentioned, but loss of signal or controller or tablet/phone failure will be a disaster. There are two things the drone will do depending on what you previously setup before takeoff:
1. Stop and hover until the battery runs out then tries to land immediately.
2. Initiate Return To Home (RTH) which means the GPS location where it took off.
Number 1 could be over a lake, over trees, over buildings and without a signal, you may not know where it landed. Also, hover in place will only guess when it must land before the battery runs out. High altitude along with winds may not estimate correctly and the drone could shutoff in the air.
Number 2 starts by rising to the RTH altitude you set previously, or the default which is about 100ft (30 meters). Once at or above that altitude, it will head directly back to the takeoff location. It will not retrace the path you took to get there. Any buildings, power lines, trees, bridges, towers, etc will be a big problem. If it detects an obstacle, depending on the model, it may try to go up or around or hover in place. Tree branches, towers and powerlines are too small to avoid.
Moving your controller position, whether on land or on a boat can be hazardous to your drone's life.
mavicpilots.com
