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Mavic 2 Pro flyaway and crash (no txt log, only dat)

gpmic

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Good evening all. I recently had my first flyaway event since having a DJI drone (Mavic Pro then Mavic 2 Pro). I took off in GPS mode with almost no wind. As usual I flew straight and increased my altitude to get it in a safer area. Within seconds of the drone being in the air I received a "max altitude reached" warning even though I was only about 20ft up. I saw the video on the drone start going toward the sky as though the gimbal was being raised up and then I received the "Aircraft Disconnected" message. I actually thought it went in the water but about 30 seconds later someone told me they saw it crash nearby (about 300 ft away). Thankfully no one was hurt or property damaged but the drone is wrecked. Trying to get the flight log to investigate what happened but the latest one recorded is the flight I did 4 days prior. There is a .dat file of the the time it crash but no .txt record. I tried using Airdata and DatCon to read it but neither are working. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!
 
There is a .dat file of the the time it crash but no .txt record. I tried using Airdata and DatCon to read it but neither are working. Any recommendations?
The .txt file should be in the app on the phone or tablet you flew with.
Follow the link below and it should help you find it.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.
 
The .txt file should be in the app on the phone or tablet you flew with.
Follow the link below and it should help you find it.

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.
I was able to access the .dat file from the phone but the .txt file just doesn't exist.

For .dat files in the "FlightLogs" folder I see...

2022-07-18 15_56_06-163CG8GR0A0USD.dat
2022-07-22 19_50_41-163CG8GR0A0USD.dat (date of crash, attached)

But for the .txt files in the FlightRecords folder I see...

DJIFlightRecord_2022-07-18_[15-56-06].txt

and no record for 2022-07-22. What would be the reason for this?

Thanks again for your help!
 

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  • 2022-07-22 19_50_41-163CG8GR0A0USD.dat
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I was able to access the .dat file from the phone but the .txt file just doesn't exist.
What would be the reason for this?
It would be most unusual if the record isn't there.
When you look at all the listing of flight records in the app, do you see the flight listed here?
i-f9svx9Q-M.png


If it's there, the .txt fileis in:
DJI\dji.go.v4\FlightRecord
 
It would be most unusual if the record isn't there.
When you look at all the listing of flight records in the app, do you see the flight listed here?
i-f9svx9Q-M.png


If it's there, the .txt fileis in:
DJI\dji.go.v4\FlightRecord
No, it's not listed in the app either. The crash happened about 30 seconds after takeoff but I was surprised it wasn't listed.
 
Without data, there isn't much to go by, but you mentioned one thing that could be a clue....
Within seconds of the drone being in the air I received a "max altitude reached" warning even though I was only about 20ft up.
If you launch without GPS, your altitude is limited.
This from the manual explains:
Height is restricted to 16 ft (5 m) when the GPS signal is weak and Downward Vision System is activated.
That would explain the max altitude reached message.
 
Without data, there isn't much to go by, but you mentioned one thing that could be a clue....

If you launch without GPS, your altitude is limited.
This from the manual explains:
Height is restricted to 16 ft (5 m) when the GPS signal is weak and Downward Vision System is activated.
That would explain the max altitude reached message.
Although I'm pretty sure I took off in GPS Mode, it is possible it was ATTI Mode and that would explain the maximum height reached message. Would only flying in ATTI mode prevent a flight log from being recorded? Does anyone know another way to reach the above .dat file besides Airdata or DatCon? Neither seemed to work for me.
 
Although I'm pretty sure I took off in GPS Mode, it is possible it was ATTI Mode and that would explain the maximum height reached message. Would only flying in ATTI mode prevent a flight log from being recorded? Does anyone know another way to reach the above .dat file besides Airdata or DatCon? Neither seemed to work for me.
The .dat files you referenced aren't the right .DAT log files. The correct .DAT can be found in the FlightRecords/MCDatFlightRecords and has a capital D-A-T extension. They may not exist if the synch with DJI servers option is turned on.

There is an additional mode labelled something like OptiGPS that isn't ATTI or GPS. It uses the vision system to determine position and velocities. Typically, this mode is in effect while satellites are being obtained and before the FC has found a location solution. From your description it seems possible that this was the mode at launch.

Too bad you can't find a log file.
 
Last edited:
The .dat files you referenced aren't the right .DAT log files. The correct .DAT can be found in the FlightLogs/MCDatFlightRecords and has a capital D-A-T extension. They may not exist if the synch with DJI servers option is turned on.

There is an additional mode labelled something like OptiGPS that isn't ATTI or GPS. It uses the vision system to determine position and velocities. Typically, this mode is in effect while satellites are being obtained and before the FC has found a location solution. From your description it seems possible that this was the mode at launch.

Too bad you can't find a log file.
The only folder I can see containing an "MCDatFlightRecords" folder is in FlightRecords, nothing in FlightLogs. In the MCDatFlightRecords folder I have, there are only about 10 flights listed, with the latest being in 2019. Is there another location I should be looking?

I did find a .log file under the "Logs" directory on my iPhone, would that be of any use?
 
The only folder I can see containing an "MCDatFlightRecords" folder is in FlightRecords, nothing in FlightLogs. In the MCDatFlightRecords folder I have, there are only about 10 flights listed, with the latest being in 2019. Is there another location I should be looking?

I did find a .log file under the "Logs" directory on my iPhone, would that be of any use?
Sorry, I meant the FlightRecords directory. I edited the post to reflect that.

AFAIK, the FlightRecords and FlightRecords/MCDatFlightRecords directories are the only locations that contain useable log files.
 
Sorry, I meant the FlightRecords directory. I edited the post to reflect that.

AFAIK, the FlightRecords and FlightRecords/MCDatFlightRecords directories are the only locations that contain useable log files.
Yeah it looks like I'm out of luck. Thanks for everyone's help!!
 
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