Less than Pro experience with MP in NFZ

[skadee]

Something interesting happened today. I was flying a pro-bono roofing inspection job (trying to keep an old friend off a high roof), and on our way to the job site, I was promoting professional services, and communicating the benefits of using a drone for such work.

The site was 2nm from an uncontrolled field, and that field was contacted prior to flight, per da rules. Airmap checked for TFRs prior to flight, per da rules. Set up a flight in Airmap, just for CYA. I've also been flying fixed-wing manned aircraft for 20 years, i know NAS and the hazards a UAS presents.

I fired up the MP, it quickly got a good sat lock, it knew where it was in the world. I hovered it at about 8ft for a good minute, no issues. Took it up to operating altitude of approx 30 ft to get over the house, no issues.

It wasn't until the MP got to the opposite side of the house (still LOS), that the controller began beeping incessantly, and the MP dropped out of LOS, WTH!

I don't take my eyes off the bird when I'm as close to a structure until I have it in a hover, so unbeknownst to me, the beeping was an NFZ warning. Great! I've flown this MP in just as near a proximity to the airfield with no such issues.

Worse yet, the drone didn't just remain in a hover and allow a safe landing, it proceeded to descend on its own, crashed in a tree (first ever crash in 3+ years), and remained 16ft off the ground. I know it was 16ft, because I have a a 7ft reach while holding a 8ft 4x4 fencepost, and it was a foot out of reach.

Thanks DJI for crashing my once perfectly good drone. You could have set the MP to maintain a fixed position and allow the actual pilot to make a safe landing.

Fortunately, no one was under the drone and hurt by this crash landing, controlled by some programmer in China?

Fortunately, the drone crashed into the tree of the homeowner at the jobsite, instead of a neighbors.

Fortunately, the drone fell on its owner while I had just turned my back, unfortunately it then fell into a decorative arbor that I'd hoped it would avoid.

Fortunately the camera appears unharmed, but unfortunately it broke off a piece of plastic, which may have jeopardized a pending sale toward an upgrade.

Fortunately, I was able to complete the job after getting my non-cel tablet onto wifi. Unfortunately, the customer was left with the impression that a safe pilot doesn't necessarily have control of his craft, and a craft with "Pro" in its name may perform less than professional stunts.

Fortunatley this uncontrolled stunt didn't take place when I was shooting a soccer game from the sidelines a year prior, just as close to the same airfield.

Fortunately, this uncontrolled stunt didn't take place in the middle of a real estate shoot a few weeks ago, where I was operating above a pond.



Beware pilots, just because you're taking all steps to fly safely, it doesn't mean that someone who thinks they know better from a world away isn't making decisions for you.

 

[PhantomFandom]

Something interesting happened today. I was flying a pro-bono roofing inspection job (trying to keep an old friend off a high roof), and on our way to the job site, I was promoting professional services, and communicating the benefits of using a drone for such work.

The site was 2nm from an uncontrolled field, and that field was contacted prior to flight, per da rules. Airmap checked for TFRs prior to flight, per da rules. Set up a flight in Airmap, just for CYA. I've also been flying fixed-wing manned aircraft for 20 years, i know NAS and the hazards a UAS presents.

I fired up the MP, it quickly got a good sat lock, it knew where it was in the world. I hovered it at about 8ft for a good minute, no issues. Took it up to operating altitude of approx 30 ft to get over the house, no issues.

It wasn't until the MP got to the opposite side of the house (still LOS), that the controller began beeping incessantly, and the MP dropped out of LOS, WTH!

I don't take my eyes off the bird when I'm as close to a structure until I have it in a hover, so unbeknownst to me, the beeping was an NFZ warning. Great! I've flown this MP in just as near a proximity to the airfield with no such issues.

Worse yet, the drone didn't just remain in a hover and allow a safe landing, it proceeded to descend on its own, crashed in a tree (first ever crash in 3+ years), and remained 16ft off the ground. I know it was 16ft, because I have a a 7ft reach while holding a 8ft 4x4 fencepost, and it was a foot out of reach.

Thanks DJI for crashing my once perfectly good drone. You could have set the MP to maintain a fixed position and allow the actual pilot to make a safe landing.

Fortunately, no one was under the drone and hurt by this crash landing, controlled by some programmer in China?

Fortunately, the drone crashed into the tree of the homeowner at the jobsite, instead of a neighbors.

Fortunately, the drone fell on its owner while I had just turned my back, unfortunately it then fell into a decorative arbor that I'd hoped it would avoid.

Fortunately the camera appears unharmed, but unfortunately it broke off a piece of plastic, which may have jeopardized a pending sale toward an upgrade.

Fortunately, I was able to complete the job after getting my non-cel tablet onto wifi. Unfortunately, the customer was left with the impression that a safe pilot doesn't necessarily have control of his craft, and a craft with "Pro" in its name may perform less than professional stunts.

Fortunatley this uncontrolled stunt didn't take place when I was shooting a soccer game from the sidelines a year prior, just as close to the same airfield.

Fortunately, this uncontrolled stunt didn't take place in the middle of a real estate shoot a few weeks ago, where I was operating above a pond.



Beware pilots, just because you're taking all steps to fly safely, it doesn't mean that someone who thinks they know better from a world away isn't making decisions for you.

Since you did not specify the exact location, we really have no reference point on which to comment about the DJI Geo Zones in the area. However, some other items are interesting and require some clarification:

• Again you didn't mention your location (or country even) but since you mentioned NAS, I am assuming you are in the USA. If that is a correct assumption then the rest of these items apply.
• There is no requirement in the USA to notify airports/airfields in the area. If you are in controlled airspace, you must obtain LAANC authorization, but otherwise there is no action required. So I do not know which rules you are referring to.
• A roofing inspection (even if done pro bono, as you mentioned), requires you to hold a FAA Part 107 license. You did not mention if you hold such license.
• AirMap is not a definitive source on controlled airspace or TFRs and NOTAMs. As a licensed manned aircraft pilot you should know that the only definitive source is the FAA. That is where checks should always be done. In this case I am assuming AirMap was correct in displaying the airspace in your area.
• AirMap has absolutely nothing to do with DJI Geo Zones and the DJI FlySafe database. You must check that separately, and if you are in a Geo Zone, obtain the unlock prior to flying. Even if you didn't check in advance, the app usually warns you well in advance even if you are near one of the zones. It seems something is off here if you got no prior warnings and it just dropped out of the sky. If you submit your flight logs here, they can be examined and see exactly what happened on this flight.
• It is always advisable to check all the necessary databases prior to a flight, and even more so when doing professional work. As you know from this experience it does not reflect well on the pilot or equipment when something like this happens in front of a client. I have done roof mappings in areas very close to controlled airspace. It all comes down to planning and checking everything in advance and communicating any limitations to the client. They appreciate the information and see that you are a professional. In this case, having checked the DJI Geo Zones may have resulted in a better outcome, but we can't really tell unless you provide the flight logs.

 

[BigAl07]

Sorry to hear about your predicament but let's break it down...


A) "Da Rules" no longer mandate contacting the field.... that was Da Old Rules . . . While I do feel like making contact is a great idea especially if you are familiar with talking to them it's no longer the requirement and does nothing to constitute "Approval".
B) Airmap, Kittyhawk etc do not show/list the DJI Restricted Flight Zones. Only the DJI Ap shows those and when you find you're NEAR to one you'll need to do an AutoUnlock for the area before you fly.
C) The programmed default for flying into a Restricted Area (regardless if it's an FAA restricted area or a DJI restricted area) is an Auto-Land process.... the process is designed to get the offending aircraft out of the NAS directly which could mean trees, water, or even a busy highway if the operator happens to be directly over such when the Restricted Area is breached.

 

[boblui]

Interesting, According to pilot reports on the internet, the behaviours of DJI drones upon entering NFZ are :

1) The drone will not enter the NFZ no matter what control is applied but the drone will not land by itself.

2) The drone will enter the NFZ but the speed will be restricted to a super-low level. There has been reports that people have flown through NFZ over prisons at such low speed.

In your case, it a combination of hitting NFZ and loss of signals so it's a bit different.