Lost my drone tonight

[JohnnyM]

Hi all. Thanks for all your help so far.

Today, I spent a couple of hours searching around site A and site B. As suggested, I searched along the projected flight path on the downwind side of point B until I reached a river that couldn't be crossed. I didn't find the drone.
I am thinking of enlisting the help of a friend with his drone to see if it can be spotted from the air. The location is quite difficult to traverse as the terrain is boggy and undulating - you need to exercise caution when walking out there. I'm confident that no person would have found it and there would be no animals there because of the boggy terrain.
I have DJI Care refresh but can I assume that the drone will not be replaced by them unless I can find this one?
Thanks again for all the help

 

[Lear55pilot]

Hi all. Thanks for all your help so far.

Today, I spent a couple of hours searching around site A and site B. As suggested, I searched along the projected flight path on the downwind side of point B until I reached a river that couldn't be crossed. I didn't find the drone.
I am thinking of enlisting the help of a friend with his drone to see if it can be spotted from the air. The location is quite difficult to traverse as the terrain is boggy and undulating - you need to exercise caution when walking out there. I'm confident that no person would have found it and there would be no animals there because of the boggy terrain.
I have DJI Care refresh but can I assume that the drone will not be replaced by them unless I can find this one?
Thanks again for all the help

Sorry for your loss and I had EXACT same experience with mine at my ranch. I forgot to set airplane mode and got a call and drone went down. DJI to their credit said to send my log for insurance claim and replacement if operator or drone error. I knew it was my fault so I just bought another drone. We searched for days and log showed location in an 80' dense tree and it could not be found for 10 months and it was found 40' from where it showed on log - so that is suspect and it was not useable due to being in weather. I went ahead and sent to DJI for repair and they sent me a new drone for cost of repair which was minimal!! TREATED ME WELL so I will be buying more from them in future. Blessings for success on your recovery before bad weather!

 

[Meta4]

I forgot to set airplane mode and got a call and drone went down.

Getting a call on your phone doesn't do anything to the drone or the connection to the controller.
Whatever happened to your drone, it had nothing at all to do with getting a call or the phone not being in airplane mode.

 

[DanMan32]

Getting a call on your phone doesn't do anything to the drone or the connection to the controller.
Whatever happened to your drone, it had nothing at all to do with getting a call or the phone not being in airplane mode.

I was also going to bring that up.
Then thought he meant he was distracted by the call and forgot he was flying. Then eventually it landed.

But on third thought, it should have come home.

 

[DanMan32]

Sorry for your loss and I had EXACT same experience with mine at my ranch. I forgot to set airplane mode and got a call and drone went down. DJI to their credit said to send my log for insurance claim and replacement if operator or drone error. I knew it was my fault so I just bought another drone. We searched for days and log showed location in an 80' dense tree and it could not be found for 10 months and it was found 40' from where it showed on log - so that is suspect and it was not useable due to being in weather. I went ahead and sent to DJI for repair and they sent me a new drone for cost of repair which was minimal!! TREATED ME WELL so I will be buying more from them in future. Blessings for success on your recovery before bad weather!

DJI also treated me very well in repair costs for crashing my P3A and backing over my M2Z with my car.
In the case of my P3, the gimbal was in several pieces and that's most of the cost of the unit. They quoted for repairs to the gimbal which was way cheaper but clearly they replaced it.

I wanted to have my M2 repaired rather than use a refresh so soon after purchasing, even if it was an extra $100 but their email and procedure in paying was confusing.
They replaced the controller but only charged me $2 for replacing the broken antenna.

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
Its good to have a PRE FLIGHT CHECK LIST.
Battery has to be 100% charged.
Ipad 100% charged
Remote control 100% charged
MicroSD: Formated and available
Visual check: Cracks in the hull.
Camera; Protection lens and Gimbal support on.(When transporting)
This is just one out of six of my check lists.
Keep the Rotors pointed up, Fly safe.

 

[JohnnyM]

Hi all. Just an update on this.
I have found the drone today - 8 days after it went missing. With the help of friends, one with a drone we searched both sites thoroughly. As we were about to give up and turning to head back to our cars, I found it in the grass. I had passed 3-4 metres from it on a previous search.

Although one of the front legs had folded in on impact, it appears to be undamaged. I have removed the props, sd card and battery. I'm assuming there is rain water inside. At the moment it is in a dry cupboard with some bags of silica gel. Any further tips on drying it and testing it out?

The last recorded coordinates broadcast by the drone were 53.680468, -9.793018. The final location where the drone was found was 53°40'51.3833"N 9°47'34.4508"W - just 30-40 metres from where the last recorded coordinates were.

Thanks again for all the help guys - very much appreciated.

 

[Tony McDrone]

Congratulations on your great outcome, glad you found your drone.

The battery will likely be garbage, but beyond that, the drone may be okay. Put a battery in it, power it up. That’s the only real way to test it.
If you had gotten to it sooner, I would’ve recommended opening it up and drying it with compressed air. Seeing how it outside in the elements for 8 days, that would be pointless now.

 

[Made2Phly]

I had an MPP which sat in misty rain for three days, and a submerged Spark. In both cases, I left them for 24 hours in a very warm, very small room. I put a space heater in the room, a tiny bathroom actually, so I don't know the exact temperature, but i am guessing about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They both are fine now.

 

[Path Finder]

I you have a lost drone, don't give up looking! Remember your GPS is only going to get you so close, make a circle keeping the location above in the center, use a rope if you need too to keep track of the search area. (I found mine in Sept after I lost it in Feb 2020. repair estimate is $300.00 so well worth your time to look!!!!)

 

[Terry777]

I'm new here and new to drones too. Around 3 or 4 months. I've had a Mavic Mini for a week or 2 and i bought a MA2 after having the Mini for just a couple of days. I only kept the Mini for an extra week to make sure the MA2 was for me. I was hooked after about 10 seconds!

This is awesome! To have guys who can do this to help new owners out is really something else. I hope i never lose my drone but to see it pinpointed and how to search properly is great! ?