Lost M2P- Adelaide South Australia

[simonr23]

imoortamt info. Approx 7:45pm, quad flying NNW to NW from onkapringa river mouth towards Reynella area, in Adelaide South Australia.

Second battery for the evening, being reponsible and flying with controller and quad only(remove the option of flying betond LOS) and I lost signal after about 10-15 seconds and couldn’t get it back. To my eye it flew in a straight line, but was ascending too... as that was the last command I was inputting. Full forwards and about 1/2 up.

Had a look around the areas I could legally access, but no joy.

Depending on what happened after I lost sight of it, it could be anywhere from port noarunga to Reynella.

So, if by random chance other Mavic pilots of Adelaide hear of someone acquiring a Mavic 2 pro in the Adelaide southern suburbs, please let me know. I have DJI care, so if it’s found- even damaged, I can claim(I hope)

It really sucks. Maybe it’s a balance of karma for my good luck on some of my long distance flights?

 

[Meta4]

imoortamt info. ...

If you want help, the most important info is the recorded flight data.
Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides.

 

[Meta4]

This was phoneless flying. Does the remote save data?

Without data, you're on your own.
But you'd have to wonder why it didn't return when connection was lost.
The two most popular reasons are:
Flying in a wind that was too strong .. or
Stuck in a tree or crashed into an obstacle on the return path.

 

[John MacAulay]

One would have assumed that after loss of connection with the RC it would have simply turned around and returned to home.
The flight data would certainly be interesting to see.

 

[JosephAir]

I don’t understand why it didn’t come RTH. I have tested it a few times and mine always came home... might have to test it again since the new firmware update. hmmm sad mate

 

[kndll]

did you take off quickly , sounds like home point not recorded

 

[msinger]

I don’t understand why it didn’t come RTH

We will probably never know since it seems the OP was not using a mobile device. Without a flight log, it's not likely the OP will be able to track it down.

 

[JosephAir]

We will probably never know since it seems the OP was not using a mobile device. Without a flight log, it's not likely the OP will be able to track it down.

I tested RTH without phone attached to controller, turned controller off and it came home. I made sure the GPS had 4 to 5 bars. Also tested RTH with controller button and that worked too.
I think the OP didn’t wait for GPS lock or some other error occurred.

 

[JosephAir]

Using the controller without phone limited the high to 30meters, is that correct? RTH worked with button and disconnect though.

 

[Meta4]

did you take off quickly , sounds like home point not recorded

I think the OP didn’t wait for GPS lock or some other error occurred.

You have to be very impatient to launch before GPS is acquired.
But even if you do, the Mavic is still going to record a home point as soon as it does get GPS and that's likely to be fairly close to the launch point.

The OP needs to think about how high the RTH level was set and what winds were like at the time.
He also needs to consider what obstacles might have been on the return path and their heights, together with the terrain height.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

To my eye it flew in a straight line, but was ascending too... as that was the last command I was inputting. Full forwards and about 1/2 up.

If signal was lost, even if for some reason RTH did not kick in, shouldn't the drone have stopped moving ??
Ie. it would just hover, unless caught in strong wind that may overpower hover ?

Ok . . .

simonr23 said:
This was phoneless flying. Does the remote save data?

Without data, you're on your own.

I read his post a few times, and sure couldn't find this . . . maybe it was edited out.
If I'm understanding the situation right, why fly without a screen if going out of VLOS ?

I did read "flying with controller and quad only", the other quote above may hve been deleted for some reason.

@simonr23 if somehow people here can get some info off you and give you an approx location, message me if you'd like a hand doing a search for a couple of hours.
I'm at Happy Valley so not far away.
Here until the 22nd then away a month so be quick about flight data if it can be found somehow.

 

[Meta4]

If I'm understanding the situation right, why fly without a screen if going out of VLOS ?

From the manual ....
For increased safety, flight is restricted to a height of 98.4 ft (30 m) and range of 164 ft (50 m) when not connected or logged into the app during flight.

if somehow people here can get some info off you and give you an approx location, message me if you'd like a hand doing a search for a couple of hours.
I'm at Happy Valley so not far away.
Here until the 22nd then away a month so be quick about flight data if it can be found somehow.

There is no data to find.
It's the app that records flight data.
No app = no data.