Lost my DJI mini 4 pro

[maart85]

Hi all,

(Throw-away account because of location/privacy information)

Two days ago I lost my DJI mini 4 pro.

It was 31/12 around 23:00 (PM) so quite dark and windy. (I know, very very very stupid)

After a couple of minutes flying, I pressed ‘return to home’, but it could not Fly back on its own (I think because of the hard wind).

After a couple of minutes it landed on its own because of low/dead battery.

I looked up the GPS-coördinates of the last-position known (and also its last recorded images) but I could not find it over there. I looked around for more than 30 minutes on last position.

Also, the GPS-positions are really strange, and the last images from the landing are strange too (it skips large positions within 1 sec).

Do you please have more tips to trace back more efficiëntly the drone?

Here is the download link of the flight data:

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I really, really hope somebody can help me out!

Best regards!

Martino

 

[RodPad]

Whats with the "(Throw-away account because of location/privacy information)?

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Rod ..

 

[maart85]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply!
Already a lot more information than I first had.

I also posted this thread on Reddit. And because you can see my home-adress, I used a new account.

The latest (landing) GPS location is more or less the same as where I looked. Latest altitude is 0, I see. Does this mean the drone cannot has landed in a high tree or on a roof? And it has to have landed on the ground?

And is the GPS-position really accurate?
The last images stored/captured are from a position/angle which is from a position, not recorded on the GPS-data

 

[Cafguy]

Sorry for your lost Drone. The link above is just the page for the software?? can you post the last location info maybe even a pic?
Tip. Because of the low visibility at night RTH is not recommended.

Does this mean the drone cannot has landed in a high tree or on a roof?

It could very well be in a tree or on a roof that altitude is from the takeoff point so not really useful to you.If you didnt see it on the ground it probably is in a nearby tree or roof.

 

[maart85]

Thanks for your quick and kind reply! I previously did not know RTH did not work well in the dark hard lesson learned.

I started my flight from my balcony. So if last (relative) altitude is 0, It should be 3 meters above ground I think.

I have a short video while landing (in the search my drone tab), but it is from two different places, 100 meters apart! Very strange!

I cant find a way do download the movie from my RC, but will post back asap when it succeeded

 

[hansenn]

The wind was brisk that evening, and certainly close to the coast. Too hard for a DJI mini. Going into the air with only 65% battery charge was also not very wise. After less than 6 minutes of flight time, you already got a low battery level notification.

Looking at the latest data, your drone landed at about 15m altitude, assuming the visual systems were not working in the dark. So I'm guessing it's hanging in a tree somewhere for Koediefslaan 97.

 

[maart85]

The wind was brisk that evening, and certainly close to the coast. Too hard for a DJI mini. Going into the air with only 65% battery charge was also not very wise. After less than 6 minutes of flight time, you already got a low battery level notification.

Looking at the latest data, your drone landed at about 15m altitude, assuming the visual systems were not working in the dark. So I'm guessing it's hanging in a tree somewhere for Koediefslaan 97.

Thanks for your response.

Yes it was a very stupid move in more than one way.

Is there a possibility to extract the latest cached video files from the RC controller?

And if so, what is the file path?

I connected the RC controller to my win11 laptop, but really a lot of maps!

 

[hansenn]

I don't know if low-res recordings are automatically cached to your controller or if you have to adjust your settings for this first. You do have an sd card in your controller?

I would just open all the maps until you find a video file of the flight in question.

Btw, did you go back there in daylight?

 

[maart85]

I have a large SD-card in the controller. Do you know what kind of file format the files get stored? Mpg, mpeg, avi, mkv, or another filetype? I’m now just randomly checking all folders.

I went back 3 times in daylight, searched with the neighbour from Koediefslaan 97 in his garden, and left 35 flyers

 

[hansenn]

I,m not sure but I guess it's the same format as your original files on the drone. .mov or .mp4.
Btw, if you use Flyshare, you can download recorded files from your controller to your cellphone. Just open your latest recorded video, go to the upper right corner and click the flyshare symbol. Then follow the instructions.

It is also very possible that someone found your drone that evening and took it with him. Did you have your address or phone number on it?

 

[maart85]

I will go back tomorrow to check the tree and the roof of the house.

There was a lot of rain and wind last day, so indeed also a chance it fell out of the tree on the ground and somebody picked it up and took it with him/her.

I didnt put contact information on the drone unfortunately also very stupid.

I registered the drone for the flyaway aircraft report! Within 72 hours DJI will contact me, but i doubt there is something they can do for me.

This is the only video I can see for now

 

[maart85]

This is a video of the last video.
Still cant find a normal way to extract this, so suboptimal quality.

Easyupload.io - Upload Files and Share Them Easily

Uplaod files easily and share them with your friends and colleagues. File upload solution for everyone. Upload big files and get a link to share effortlesly.

easyupload.io

 

[hansenn]

Strange though, the location suddenly shifting. But I still guess it's somewhere on the roof or maybe in the gutter at number 97. You can also see that the horizon lingers at about 45 degrees.

In any case, I wish you good luck in your search.

 

[maart85]

The pink marking is the point of the first video (I searched over there in the garden, and my view from that point, exactly matched the view of the drone). The green/yellow X is the position of the last video, next to the house, and it looks like the drone is still shifting east I think

 

[maart85]

And thanks again! I will update asap

 

[msinger]

Based on your flight log, the drone appears to have crash-landed at this location: 52.35750995, 4.616557112



If this location is accurate (it should be close), your drone is likely stuck in that tree or on top of that roof.

The wind conditions during the flight were quite challenging, with gusts reaching up to 42 MPH. Here's an overview of the wind speed throughout the flight:




The recorded OSD.pitch, OSD.roll, and OSD.yaw values indicate that the landing was not smooth, suggesting the drone either made an impact or tipped over. This is evident in the data shown here:

 

[msinger]

I registered the drone for the flyaway aircraft report!

It doesn’t seem that the drone flew away, as that’s an exceptionally rare occurrence. The Mini 4 Pro is rated for a maximum wind resistance of 23.9 MPH (10.7 m/s). However, the wind speeds recorded in your flight log exceeded that limit for much of the drone's attempt to return to the home point.

 

[Meta4]

It was 31/12 around 23:00 (PM) so quite dark and windy. (I know, very very very stupid)

Yes, your problems included a strong wind.
Other factors that contributed were launching with a battery at 65%.
You flew downwind rather than upwind and let the drone get too far away before making any real attempt to bring it back.
And you flew high.
Once you realised the wind was going to be an issue, you should have brought the drone down as low as possible ... just 20 or even 10 metres above the trees and your drone would have been exposed to much less wind.
The location that your drone landed was 52.35751 4.61656.

 

[Bad Santa]

Well, this is too late to help but if you had gotten there fast enough, there's an app in the controller to make the drone flash and emit a tone.
That's how I found mine.
Of course mine didn't have a dead battery but you probably had enough battery left to blink the lights and emit the sound for a few minutes.

For all who read this, I have a sticker on my drone with my phone number and a "Reward if found" notation. It's a good idea for anyone who might lose their drone, which includes, literally, everyone.

 

[dave canada]

hope you find I,ve been there , locators with a battery that lasts give me a peace of mind