Mavic 2 Pro Crash (unknown cause)

[DrewP]

Hello everyone. I’m brand new here, and to flying my Mavic as well. I recently took my Mavic 2 Pro for its first flight (very short, only to a low altitude and back with just a couple side-to-side maneuvers to get a feel for it). I was very slowly descending and all of a sudden the drone flipped a couple of times and then promptly crashed into the side of a house. Needless to say it was heartbreaking since I was trying to be extremely cautious during my first flight. I have tried to get DJI to analyze the data, but it has already been about a week with no word so far. I was hoping someone here could possible give me some insight as to what happened. I am going to attempt to attach the flight log data to this post.

 

[bigswifty]

I'm not remotely an expert (I'm sure one will be along soon to help you properly), but there sure are a lot of compass error warnings in that log file.

 

[Meta4]

I was very slowly descending and all of a sudden the drone flipped a couple of times and then promptly crashed into the side of a house.

Here's a summary report of that flight data to show you what it looks like:

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

The data does show a number of error messages but the data ends with the drone in a stable position, still 20 feet higher than the launch point.
The data doesn't show any indication of the drone colliding with anything or flipping.

Flipping isn't something that DJI drones usually do in flight.
Can you describe what you meant by the drone flipped a couple of times?
Could it have happened after it hit the house?

 

[DrewP]

Thanks for the response. Any idea what causes that? And could that cause a crash even if manually piloting it?

 

[Meta4]

Thanks for the response. Any idea what causes that? And could that cause a crash even if manually piloting it?

I'm sorry but the data doesn't show any crash, so I can't really see what caused it.
It does look like you were flying very close to a house and that's not a good idea, particularly for your first flights.
It's a good idea to learn to fly in a large, open area well away from trees, buildings or other obstacles.

I'm curious about the magnetic interference errors.
Compass errors can cause the drone to wander or wobble a little.
How close was the drone to the house?
What kind of roof and walls does the house have?

 

[DrewP]

Here's a summary report of that flight data to show you what it looks like:

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

The data does show a number of error messages but the data ends with the drone in a stable position, still 20 feet higher than the launch point.
The data doesn't show any indication of the drone colliding with anything or flipping.

Flipping isn't something that DJI drones usually do in flight.
Can you describe what you meant by the drone flipped a couple of times?
Could it have happened after it hit the house?

No, it definitely happened prior to it hitting the house as it is what caused it to crash. It flipped over end-over-end at least once, I think twice. It scared the life out of me. Just happened all of a sudden on its very slow descent.

 

[DrewP]

I'm sorry but the data doesn't show any crash, so I can't really see what caused it.
It does look like you were flying very close to a house and that's not a good idea, particularly for your first flights.
It's a good idea to learn to fly in a large, open area well away from trees, buildings or other obstacles.

I'm curious about the magnetic interference errors.
Compass errors can cause the drone to wander or wobble a little.
How close was the drone to the house?
What kind of roof and walls does the house have?

The house is a regular shingle roof and vinyl siding. It was never closer than 6ft from the house before it went crazy.

 

[DrewP]

Any idea why the log wouldn’t show the descent and crash? Does it often not contain everything that happened?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Were all the prop on the crashed drone ?
Losing a prop will often cause violent aerial maneuvers.

Also, was the battery still in the M2 ?

I take it you were close and watching it ?
If so, you probably would have seen a battery disconnect or prop come off ?

If you can get the DAT off the mobile device too and post that up.
It should show motor data, which could indicate any problem there or props.

How to get DAT here . . .

Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide

With the introduction of the Mavic Mini there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of posts requesting help with lost or crashed aircraft. While there is plenty of help and advice available on this forum, and detailed guidance and options on several other websites, I thought that perhaps a...

mavicpilots.com

 

[Meta4]

No, it definitely happened prior to it hitting the house as it is what caused it to crash. It flipped over end-over-end at least once, I think twice. Just happened all of a sudden on its very slow descent.

I've never seen or heard of a DJI drone doing that and there is no data to support it, so that leaves me wondering if your recollection is accurate.

The house is a regular shingle roof and vinyl siding. It was never closer than 6ft from the house before it went crazy.

The magnetic interference warnings suggest that the drone was close to something made of steel.
Can you think of any steel items that might have been within a few feet of the drone?

Any idea why the log wouldn’t show the descent and crash? Does it often not contain everything that happened?

If the drone suddenly lost power or the signal was lost, that would explain the data stopping.

Did the drone fall to the ground?

 

[DrewP]

I've never seen or heard of a DJI drone doing that and there is no data to support it, so that leaves me wondering if your recollection is accurate.

The magnetic interference warnings suggest that the drone was close to something made of steel.
Can you think of any steel items that might have been within a few feet of the drone?

If the drone suddenly lost power or the signal was lost, that would explain the data stopping.

Did the drone fall to the ground?

honestly, I couldn’t believe what I saw either. I asked two other people that were with me what they saw happen, and without me saying anything about it they both said they saw it flip over and over and into the wall. One of them even asked if I was flipping it to show off. There wasn’t anything metal remotely close to it that I’m aware of and it was definitely running when it hit the house and the ground. The motors didn’t stop until it was already on the ground. The battery was securely in place when I picked it up and all rotors were attached. One half of one was broken when it hit the house, but I saw it come off at impact, not before. I will attempt to follow the instructions and upload the dat files as soon as I get a chance.

 

[DrewP]

Well, I guess when I synced the data in the app (per DJI instructions) it got rid of it because the MCDatFlightRecords folder is empty.

 

[DrewP]

And when I say it flipped, it didn’t stay inverted or anything, more like barrel-rolled into the house. That’s the best I think I can describe it. It was very rapid and erratic movement.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

A mystery flight, not to mention a short flight.
Be interesting to see if DJI let you know what they find.
They can be a bit vague, but hopefully it will be some sort of equipment fault, and it'll be replaced.

 

[DrewP]

A mystery flight, not to mention a short flight.
Be interesting to see if DJI let you know what they find.
They can be a bit vague, but hopefully it will be some sort of equipment fault, and it'll be replaced.

I’ll let you guys know what they say when I hear back. Hopefully they have access to the DAT files and more information so I can finally find out what happened.

 

[peterc4]

Good luck mate, just waiting for my second reply of dji, mine lost power last week at 500 foot and half a mile out never to be seen again.

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[HoozierDroneDaddy]

When checking for metal, were you over concrete, or were there any concrete walls or other concrete items nearby? Are there any satellite towers nearby?

 

[Woodie_07]

Definitely looks like an issue with the compass not matching with the IMU, most likely due to magnetic interference. This is caused by magnetic interference near the takeoff point. Did you take off from concrete? If so, it could have been reinforced concrete that has metal in it that can mess with the compass.

 

[DrewP]

Definitely looks like an issue with the compass not matching with the IMU, most likely due to magnetic interference. This is caused by magnetic interference near the takeoff point. Did you take off from concrete? If so, it could have been reinforced concrete that has metal in it that can mess with the compass.

I took off from a piece of plywood in the middle of a grass yard. Not sure what could have been interfering.

 

[Woodie_07]

I took off from a piece of plywood in the middle of a grass yard. Not sure what could have been interfering.

That shouldn't cause any problems. Did you calibrate your compass near metal? That could cause similar behaviour. The drone should detect any interference when calibrating but it may detect none if the interference isn't strong enough to show the warning.