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Mavic 2 pro crash doing first commercial work

Algebruh_m8

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Joined
Oct 21, 2019
Messages
28
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Age
21
Location
Katy, TX, USA
Had my Mavic 2 pro since 2019 and have never replaced a propeller or ever crashed it. Today as I'm doing my first gig it ran into a
a branch of a tree top and did multiple flips coming down the sidewalk. Still tried to fly although the front two arms were folded inwards. Replaced the 2 right side propellers and flew to continue my mission after making sure it was safe to fly. The main camera lens came off upon impact of the ground and cracked, and the right side Front Obstacle camera lens cracked along with that sides module. Would it be best to replace those individual parts or have DJI get a look at it. I do have DJI care refresh+... That ended October 14, talk about being unlucky :(. Here are some photos to better see the damages
 
I'd be inclined to get DJI to look at it. For one thing, if you do repairs yourself you might invalidate your DJI care and not have it if you crash again.
 
I'd be inclined to get DJI to look at it. For one thing, if you do repairs yourself you might invalidate your DJI care and not have it if you crash again.
DJI care as in the basic care you get? Because sadly my DJI care refresh ended yesterday... I did make a repair ticket and added the drones serial number and it said my service plan status was unavailable meaning it ended.
 
When I crashed my Zoom, the obvious damage was a crumpled nose, then a front sensor warning, (nose and sensors replaced £5 & £60?). Then I spotted that the front left arm was drooping, that turned out to be a bent spigot on the actual pivot mechanism, I straightened that but if it had been badly bent replacement would be better £8??.
The next test flight revealed shaking and the left rear arm lifting when throttled up. That turned out to be a broken off lug/travel-limiter/stop in the inner end of the arm's pivot. I replaced the arm and pivot £40?. Oh and 1 or 2 props £11.
The moral is, the obvious damage need not be all the damage, check the drone very carefully.
In truth it was all fairly easy to repair but a soldering iron is needed if the arms are changed.
If you do try a DIY repair be careful when prising apart the shell, do not let the tools go in too deep. I may have caused the front sensor problem by catching a ribbon cable with the spudger, I keep meaning to check the log of a flight made immediately after the crash but keep forgetting lol.
 
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You must have been heart broken doing your first Paid Gig and to have this happen,

You cannot really afford to fly a fixer upper if you want to continue with getting jobs.
You need to have a solid drone , however I would get this one fixed and keep it as a back up,

Doing Gigs requires that you have a back up drone so you can complete the mission.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain an Capture the Storm
 
DJI care as in the basic care you get? Because sadly my DJI care refresh ended yesterday... I did make a repair ticket and added the drones serial number and it said my service plan status was unavailable meaning it ended.
I missed the bit about your care plan ending.

I'd take it in to my local repair shop and get an estimate, but I'm not that handy and have an excellent repair shop so for me that's a better option. You will have to decide what's best for your.

I'll note that if you are doing commercial work you need a reliable drone, as well as a backup. I've never known a professional photographer who didn't have a spare body in case of problems…
 
You must have been heart broken doing your first Paid Gig and to have this happen,

You cannot really afford to fly a fixer upper if you want to continue with getting jobs.
You need to have a solid drone , however I would get this one fixed and keep it as a back up,

Doing Gigs requires that you have a back up drone so you can complete the mission.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain an Capture the Storm
Yeah like mentioned had I not have the 2 extra propellors DJI gives us, I would've had to cancel the job right then and there. The reason I don't carry a backup drone is because I hadn't really thought of it plus the money for a new one. I don't get these gigs frequently so i can get away with having my drone repaired before the next one comes in.
 
Unless the Inspire is required, I go to every job with at least my Mavic Pro, Phantom 3 4K, and Spark - all with extra everything; props, 4 or 5 charged batteries, spare media cards, etc. (Yeah, I'm a geezer who's not always ready to jump on "the latest & greatest". If it ain't broke, don't fix it.)
There have been jobs where the Phantom saved the day and even shoots like PIP clips or social media videos where HD was just fine and the Spark came to the rescue. Usually, this is when I'm on a really remote location without power and have depleted all of my Mavic batteries. I have a 120V inverter in my van for recharging where possible.
The Phantom is larger and louder, but if I am not near mic'd talent - especially after sunset - the Phantom is often my go-to drone for B-roll and BTS takes. I have even edited Spark HD footage digitally zoomed on a 4K timeline seamlessly for projects not destined for 'The Big Screen'.
Any of my drones can fly the same waypoints mission so recovery can be seamless - except for the different camera's relative focal length. Just tell them: "That's not a bug but a bonus!"
You NEVER want the Producer, Director, or Show Runner who's losing the light, waiting for your takes and ready to break the set and change locations to say;
"Really? All your eggs in one basket? - now what?"
 
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Yeah like mentioned had I not have the 2 extra propellors DJI gives us, I would've had to cancel the job right then and there. The reason I don't carry a backup drone is because I hadn't really thought of it plus the money for a new one. I don't get these gigs frequently so i can get away with having my drone repaired before the next one comes in.
One of the things that stops a lot of gigs is just not really having the confidence to do the job. Once you do have the back up drone you will much more in a position to get the job done as well as charge more .

I remember the post about the guy selling his yacht , hired a drone pilot to film him on the open water going very fast and well the drone sank with all the footage, the drone operator was like oh well it happens.

The problem was that it cost the Boater thousand of dollars in gas to get the yacht out to the open water to be filmed going as fast as it could as they did many angles . So back ups can be a life saver as well as my Rescue Jackets lol.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.
 
Had my Mavic 2 pro since 2019 and have never replaced a propeller or ever crashed it. Today as I'm doing my first gig it ran into a
a branch of a tree top and did multiple flips coming down the sidewalk. Still tried to fly although the front two arms were folded inwards. Replaced the 2 right side propellers and flew to continue my mission after making sure it was safe to fly. The main camera lens came off upon impact of the ground and cracked, and the right side Front Obstacle camera lens cracked along with that sides module. Would it be best to replace those individual parts or have DJI get a look at it. I do have DJI care refresh+... That ended October 14, talk about being unlucky :(. Here are some photos to better see the damages
Dude....Drones have no mind of their own...they are totally controlled by the pilot. The way to describe your crash is to say "I flew it into a tree and damaged it"....I fly the very same drone and have hit a tree also. I did not blame it on the drone, I blamed my poor understanding of the side obstacle avoidance sensors when flying sideways, as they don't work in all flight regimes.
 
Dude....Drones have no mind of their own...they are totally controlled by the pilot. The way to describe your crash is to say "I flew it into a tree and damaged it"....I fly the very same drone and have hit a tree also. I did not blame it on the drone, I blamed my poor understanding of the side obstacle avoidance sensors when flying sideways, as they don't work in all flight regimes.
Ahh sorry I did word it wrong I did mean that I ran it into a tree. I'm surprised no one else caught that. I was actually under the tree it collided with and yea it was 100% pilot error as I did know what the area of the drone was, but I still managed to hit it into a branch means I didn't know the entire environment it was in. And I don't blame the sensors at all for telling me. I take them more as warning signals when they work but I have never fully relied on them to help me navigate my drone around environments. I trust side obstacle sensors even less. They only seem to work when the object is bright and large like a wall, other than that, my eyes are better for navigating around obstacles from the sides than relying on the sensors. I'm hoping DJI can help with the repair and that it won't be costly. I'm still mad that this crash happened a day after my care refresh that I NEVER used, ended.
 
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