Mavic 2 Pro crash - iced props and fog contributing factors ?

[yousaidthat]

Hi,

New member here with a crash analysis request please.

I think low temps, fog (low visibility) and props iced up and/or autolanding because of fog
contributed to crash.

Was flying up through mist to get some pano shots above the fog and then descended back down through fog.
On the downwards path auto-landing message was received at 7m 2.2s at IMU height of 122 feet.

Couldn't recover after this.

"Motor current error. Check your propellers and fly with caution." was also received which I suspect
is because of icing on the props?

Please don't be too hard on me ;-)

Flight log text dropbox link supplied as well as picture of iced prop and damaged leg.

And Phantom log viewer output CSV file output here.

After drying off and testing gets PRO gives 'ESC status' error on power up.

 

[The Editor]

Hi,

New member here with a crash analysis request please.

I think low temps, fog (low visibility) and props iced up and/or autolanding because of fog
contributed to crash.

Was flying up through mist to get some pano shots above the fog and then descended back down through fog.
On the downwards path auto-landing message was received at 7m 2.2s at IMU height of 122 feet.

Couldn't recover after this.

"Motor current error. Check your propellers and fly with caution." was also received which I suspect
is because of icing on the props?

Please don't be too hard on me ;-)

Flight log dropbox link supplied as well as picture of iced prop and damaged leg.

After drying off and testing gets PRO gives 'ESC status' error on power up.

Yes - many people do not realise ice can form on the blades at above freezing temperatures.
Flying in highly saturated air (fog) means the difference in pressure between the upper and lower surfaces of the blades causes a rapid decrease in temperature and thus freezing/ice to form on the props.

Additionally, I believe the FAA requires a minimum visibility of 3 miles when flying - which was probably not the case if there was fog present.

 

[Meta4]

New member here with a crash analysis request please.

Finding ice all over the prop of the crashed drone is a bit of a smoking gun since even a thin layer of ice changes the aerodynamic properties of the prop for the worse.