Lost a blade at 100 feet up...

[Chirp]

I had just changed the blades the night before and I rechecked them at a job site before I took off.

One didn't feel right so I took it off and replaced it. My hands were stiff from the cold and weren't working very well so maybe that was the problem.

I even did a test flight to verify that they were on correctly by taking off and climbing to about 10 feet and then bringing it back down.

I needed to go to 350' for this job but when I got to a little over 100' the motor(s) sped up and you could tell by the sound the drone was spinning. It was moving so fast I couldn't see it. I did the CSC to stop the blades in case it came down on me.

So it landed upside down. There was one full blade, 2 stubs of blades and one was completely missing.
The missing blade is why I think one came off.

Since I needed it for more jobs I sent it to Thunderdrones who was able to repair the extensive damage (almost $400 worth) and get it back in the mail to me on Monday. The crash was Friday, 3 days before.

In the meantime to avoid a problem like that again I purchased another MP ($999 at Best Buy and you get a $100 gift card.) I wish they gave you the card in time to pay for the drone but they don't.

DJI GO 4 shows the problem started at around 112'. Then it started to fall straight down for a while and then it started spinning.

 

[Ian in London]

Sorry about this for you fella... I'm not sure I'd have done a CSC though; that was a suicidal move for the Pro.... And if you couldn't see it, then a controlled descent would have been safer...
But, hindsight is easy and I know more than anyone about what a little panic can make you do.
Take the cost of the second Pro on the chin; I had to do the same thing and buy a new Pro on the hop when my gimbal bioke on my USA trip last year. Always godo to have a back up

Cheers
Ian in London

 

[Chirp]

Sorry about this for you fella... I'm not sure I'd have done a CSC though; that was a suicidal move for the Pro.... And if you couldn't see it, then a controlled descent would have been safer...
But, hindsight is easy and I know more than anyone about what a little panic can make you do.
Take the cost of the second Pro on the chin; I had to do the same thing and buy a new Pro on the hop when my gimbal bioke on my USA trip last year. Always godo to have a back up

Cheers
Ian in London

Keep in mind I had about 2 seconds to react. I'm pretty sure that with a 6-blader you can have some control if you lose a blade but I don't know if that is possible with the Mavic. At least that's what I had heard and it definitely sounded bad as it was spinning down. It would have been nice though and saved me over $400 by the time I paid the rush postage. It's a good idea but I honestly don't think I could have regained control with a blade missing.

 

[Kilrah]

I'm not sure I'd have done a CSC though; that was a suicidal move for the Pro.... And if you couldn't see it, then a controlled descent would have been safer...

Well, once a prop is off it's game over anyway.

 

[Ian in London]

Keep in mind I had about 2 seconds to react. I'm pretty sure that with a 6-blader you can have some control if you lose a blade but I don't know if that is possible with the Mavic. At least that's what I had heard and it definitely sounded bad as it was spinning down. It would have been nice though and saved me over $400 by the time I paid the rush postage. It's a good idea but I honestly don't think I could have regained control with a blade missing.

Well, what's done is done; no one hurt; no third party property dmagaed and you're still flying. Don't dwell; winter is on its way out... Keep smiling and look forward to summer

Ian

 

[motopokep]

I dread losing a prop, so I recheck them a few times before each flight. I wonder if future drones will have spare props attached to same motor, on the underside, with a mechanism that latches them to the motor automatically if it senses the top prop is off.

The Ehang 184 has this already, but I haven't gotten to watching the full videos on them to figure out why, my guess it's an always-engaged spare.

 

[MiniPalourde]

Keep in mind I had about 2 seconds to react. I'm pretty sure that with a 6-blader you can have some control if you lose a blade but I don't know if that is possible with the Mavic. At least that's what I had heard and it definitely sounded bad as it was spinning down. It would have been nice though and saved me over $400 by the time I paid the rush postage. It's a good idea but I honestly don't think I could have regained control with a blade missing.

By the way, why are you using MP's instead of a Phantom 4 or something similar with a bigger sensor? The Mavic must be really hard to use for construction projects and I'm guessing that portability is not that big of a perk in your situation.

 

[laurens23]

The Ehang 184 has this already, but I haven't gotten to watching the full videos on them to figure out why, my guess it's an always-engaged spare.

it is not really a spare. they use 2 motors and 2 props on each arm. Both are providing lift during normal operation. when 1 motor/prop fails the other has enough power to land safely.

they also have a Octacopter configuration with 16 motors/props

 

[Chirp]

By the way, why are you using MP's instead of a Phantom 4 or something similar with a bigger sensor? The Mavic must be really hard to use for construction projects and I'm guessing that portability is not that big of a perk in your situation.

Other than the blade coming off which was my fault I have not had one issue with the MP.
Since I do need another drone though I am looking at the P4P.
Portability is important though and I have my setup designed that I can take it out of the backpack and start turning things on, including the iPad, without having to assemble anything. On a good day I will travel to 2 or 3 sites and I've got the MP down to a science. Since my employer requires still photos 95% of the time as opposed to video, and they will be viewed on a monitor as opposed to printing them, the resolution of the MP is fine.

 

[black_magic100]

Well, once a prop is off it's game over anyway.

I've heard rumors that the mavic pro can actually fly with 3 props. Not sure how true it is, but it would make sense.

 

[Kilrah]

Not true at all.

 

[MiniPalourde]

I've heard rumors that the mavic pro can actually fly with 3 props. Not sure how true it is, but it would make sense.

It can fly with a DAMAGED prop but not with a missing prop. Whoever told you that is spreading false information and this can lead to dangerous incidents. .

 

[black_magic100]

It can fly with a DAMAGED prop but not with a missing prop. Whoever told you that is spreading false information and this can lead to dangerous incidents. .

Obviously I'm not going to purposefully lose a prop...

 

[black_magic100]

Not true at all.

Yea I wasn't sure if it was true or not, but I could still see it being a definite possibility in the near future.

 

[Tinmania]

I did watch a video where a quad had software to allow it to fly on two (opposing) rotors. It spun quickly which presumably provided stability, and of course no yaw control, but otherwise it was controllable. It’s be nice if DJI could do that in case of a lost prop. (On the other hand if it false triggered that would be very bad.)

I have to admit when I read the OP mention his MP was spinning I thought okay maybe it can just come down spinning and it won’t be too bad. But who knows what would have happened, so killing the motors was probably the right move.



Mike

 

[MiniPalourde]

Obviously I'm not going to purposefully lose a prop...

Imagine a noob who hears this. He crashes and one of his props is damaged, but he has no replacement props. This noob doesn't want to wait for the slow shipping before flying, because "the Magic can fly with 3 props anyways". He decides to fly with said damaged prop, the prop breaks, and he crashes.

 

[Divebomber]

I've heard rumors that the mavic pro can actually fly with 3 props. Not sure how true it is, but it would make sense.

Nope. My MP lost a prop about 5 feet off the grass. Without hesitation it kamikazied into the ground. I’d like to say I saved it with cat like reactions and piloting skills that rivaled Chuck Yeager, but the reality is by sheer luck it did one full rotation and landed on its feet. But definitely MP will not fly with less than the full compliment of props.

 

[Skymax]

It sounds like you were anticipating a prop problem.
You changed the props the night before, did you have an impact/incursion requiring you to do this?
One replacement prop "didnt feel right" so why did you put it on the night before?
The prop you replaced it with the next day, was it one of the ones you removed, for some reason unexplained, the previous night?
If that prop needed replacing the previous night then why was it OK the next day?
you did not say if all or any of these props were genuine DJI.
No disrespect but I feel there may more to this account than I have read.

 

[ChipDjipro]

I've heard rumors that the mavic pro can actually fly with 3 props. Not sure how true it is, but it would make sense.

Give it a try and get back to us.

 

[black_magic100]

Imagine a noob who hears this. He crashes and one of his props is damaged, but he has no replacement props. This noob doesn't want to wait for the slow shipping before flying, because "the Magic can fly with 3 props anyways". He decides to fly with said damaged prop, the prop breaks, and he crashes.

If you are dumb enough to fly with a broken prop you 150% deserve to lose your drone and hopefully you don't have enough money to buy a new one. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should... I can't help stupidity