Lessons learned from losing my Mavic 2 Pro over a lake

[RedBaron2]

In March, I was flying approx. 600-700 feet (not far at all) off the coast of Maui when the image froze on my Smart Controller. No visible interference over or near the Pacific Ocean. I tried to turn the M2P with nothing apparent on the screen or on the drone. At that point, I was forced to rely on M2P's auto return to home feature. Eventually the M2P returned above home at its prescribed height and tried to land on an SUV that parked on my "home departure point". Because I believed that I had a total disconnect with total loss of control, I was afraid to touch anything. At the last second however, I was forced to try using the SC controls to avoid the SUV. Bottom line: The M2P landed safely, and as programmed. Wonderful machine; don't leave home without it.

 

[Swamidoc]

What you described sounds like the battery swelled up and popped out of its connection and then it simply dropped straight down.

That happens with the Mavic Pro 2. I’ve lost 2 this way, now use a couple of large rubber bands as “suspenders”

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

cymruflyer's post rings a bell. Sounds like your battery popped out of the drone over water.
This happened to my M2Z. I was able to retrieve the drone from the bottom of the pond where both battery and drone fell from the sky. Had several witnesses. DJI replaced my M2Z after making me wait one month. Battery swell + separation is a known issue on M2P series drones.

 

[Heed]

Here is a two step "pre-flight" routine that may help many of you who lose signal, lose video, lose any comms between your smartphone and the drone.
The basic principle is this: your smartphone is a small COMPUTER. When you fly, the phone needs all the processing power it has to manage the high-data video feeds and flight commands. You want the smartphone to just be doing "drone stuff."

1). Go to AIRPLANE MODE. This shuts off cellular, Bluetooth, and WiFi (the WiFi used to comm with drone comes from remote controller anyway, not your phone.....)
2). CLOSE all OPEN APPS! These hog computer and processing power from your phone, even if app is idle. The only open app should just be the DJI one.

In my case, this made a huge difference. I had an older iPhone at the time, and these two moves solved my LOS problem. Later, when I upgraded to a more advanced version iPhone, the droning worked even better.

All good advice.

I will add that the OP and my post above are in reference to the Smart Controller (SC).

This issue was non-existent (for me) until the firmware was updated to support Air 2. Apparently it was still there in .880 a few months back.

I had contemplated upgrading since .880 said it fixed app crashes, but found on another forum folks were having the DJI GO app crash still.

I've noticed that there have been 3 more updates (Jan, Apr and June) since then. Apparently the Apr firmware crushed many SC's when looking through a DJI forum. I didn't see any more posts, so maybe the June update fixed the Apr issue.

My current SC firmware version is running just fine, so probably will continue unless I run into issues.

 

[baddog]

My outcome was relatively positive in that DJI offered me a 30% discount on the purchase of (only) the exact same model that I lost; I took them up on it, and I'm happily flying the replacement... and so much the wiser now, though a thousand poorer!

Event Details:
--Flying over a lake, in daytime and with no video recording underway (I was on a photography mission). I was maneuvering the drone for a shot of the nearby shoreline when...
--A sudden "Aircraft Disconnected" notification appeared on the Smart Controller (in clear LOS, distance about 1 mile), with no previous indications of any trouble.
--No further connection with or response from the drone, despite trying various inputs on the SC.
--I happened to be watching the drone location when I saw a big splash, and deduced that it must have hit the water. (The drone was a couple hundred feet high when it disconnected). This occurred approximately 2 minutes after disconnection and was not a case of exhausted battery. I subsequently judged there was no possibility of retrieval.

DJI Interactions:
--As a current member of DJI Care Refresh, I submitted a claim within 1 day. The response was automated, and indicated that the next step was to send in the drone for evaluation (they emailed me a shipping label).
--I realized there was no avenue on the web site for pursuing help with a lost (fly-away) drone, even though in the "description of what happened" section of my Refresh claim I did in fact explain the details of the incident.
--After pondering and researching for few days, I called DJI Support with my claim number and explained the situation to the agent. He was polite and helpful, and recommended converting my case to a fly-away incident. I asked how to do this, and he volunteered to do it during the call.
--Within about a day I got an email from DJI Support asking for my flight log (from the SC, not the drone). They evaluated it and responded with a simple statement that no malfunctions were indicated, but that they would offer a 30% discount on a replacement. Rather than argue with them--I knew from reading this forum that 30% would be their best offer under these circumstances--I chose to accept it, and the replacement process proceeded without delay, all by email.
--My communications from DJI Support after the claim got converted to a fly-away were nothing but professional, courteous, and helpful. Through them, I learned that the replacement drone would automatically be bound to my existing Care Refresh policy for the duration of its term. I gave them a very positive satisfaction rating.

Lessons:
Lots of research on this forum led me to understand a few key points that now make me a better-informed and more confident flyer:
--Flying over water is risky, and water damage and loss claims are excluded by the Care Refresh terms.
--Aircraft Disconnects happen fairly often, especially with Smart Controllers; in my own history of flying my M2P for 6 months, I've had about 6 disconnect events, and most ended benignly, except this one.
--The "Aircraft Disconnected" problem seems to be with the DJI GO 4 app, and restarting this on the SC may lead to reconnection (I haven't been able to try this yet). In any case, here is the key point: the SC seems to still maintain a link to the drone, and the drone will respond correctly to control inputs, even though there is no feedback--better hope you can see the drone! The hard RTH button on the SC will still work, so it should save the day if this feature is set up properly.
--I believe that the loss of my drone was not due to anything I did wrong, and that the loss should qualify for full replacement. However, the Care Refresh terms are clearly stated, and I agreed to them, so I chose the glass-half-full perspective on how DJI handled this particular case. I reviewed the many successful and even joyful photography flights I had made prior to losing the drone; I rediscovered all my reasons for choosing the M2P in the first place; and I decided it was worth the $1K to me to pick myself up and keep going. Some anguish along the way, but now I'm in a good state of mind about it all, and I thought it would be worth sharing my experience with other Mavic flyers.

This is why I use Getter backs, only had to use them ones but they work.

.

The worlds only underwater recovery device for Drones, Fishing rods and other Gear. The GetterBack depth activated underwater recovery device is now available!

www.getterback.com

 

[szakeetm]

Here is a two step "pre-flight" routine that may help many of you who lose signal, lose video, lose any comms between your smartphone and the drone.
The basic principle is this: your smartphone is a small COMPUTER. When you fly, the phone needs all the processing power it has to manage the high-data video feeds and flight commands. You want the smartphone to just be doing "drone stuff."

1). Go to AIRPLANE MODE. This shuts off cellular, Bluetooth, and WiFi (the WiFi used to comm with drone comes from remote controller anyway, not your phone.....)
2). CLOSE all OPEN APPS! These hog computer and processing power from your phone, even if app is idle. The only open app should just be the DJI one.

In my case, this made a huge difference. I had an older iPhone at the time, and these two moves solved my LOS problem. Later, when I upgraded to a more advanced version iPhone, the droning worked even better.

Wouldn't airplane mode turn off manned aircraft warnings?
I thought the feature uses data.

 

[Repaid1]

Wouldn't airplane mode turn off manned aircraft warnings?
I thought the feature uses data.

ADS-B uses the actual radio signal coming from the other aircraft. It is then passed through the Aircraft (DJI) to the Remotes data stream and then to your App device. It has nothing to do with your phone data or a WiFi signal, JFYI

 

[Repaid1]

This is why I use Getter backs, only had to use them ones but they work.

.

The worlds only underwater recovery device for Drones, Fishing rods and other Gear. The GetterBack depth activated underwater recovery device is now available!

www.getterback.com

GetterBacks are good when they work. Many reports over the years that they sometimes don't. Many pilots that have used them use two for redundancy. Depending on currents and aircraft orientation they may deploy and become ensnared on the aircraft or props. Floats that can support the aircraft are a better option IMHO, but even then one must have a available watercraft recover said waterlogged drone. IF getterback that might not be near as bad waiting for the recovery, but in the instance of floats, the wind can carry you along the surface way out of sight and you once again served no purpose, well luck be on your side.

 

[Montana_Flyer]

Flying over water is not a high-risk situation if you are at an altitude that is not influenced by the humidity of the water that you are flying over. If you are < 30 ft above the water, then the story could change, but you were clearly at an altitude that could not be affected by the water and its influence on altitude.

A couple of hundred feet above the water is way beyond the influence that water could contribute, and if in fact your piloting actions did not contribute to the crash, and the aircraft was covered under the refresh program, then you just were too complacent with DJI's profitable solution. They should have covered this with only the controller's log data.

My advice, get a 3rd party personal property insurance contract. If DJI refuses a claim, then you at least have a backup. BUT, be more assertive with DJI, as they should stand behind their product if their product is at fault!!

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