Mavic Air 2 crash, can an expert check my logs?

[dan_man_2020]

Situation:

• I'm a new drone pilot, fourth flight, foggy conditions, no wind. (I should have known better than to fly it in fog).
• 3min into flight, motor error 30163 "Check Propellers". Condensation from the fog was probably entering the system,
• 7min, I manually put it into RTH, drone turns around then stops, it's in RTH mode but doesn't return. Confused I take it to 170ft thinking maybe a tree was in the way (it climbed the last 20ft on it's own. It seemed confused too). Still not returning, it begins to lose altitude.
• at 7:43, still 110ft in the air, motor quits, drone hits the ground at 40mph, snapping an arm, breaking the gimbal, clay packed in a rear motor and probably more. I assume DJI will want $500 to fix, or maybe some super glue...
• After some cleaning and some temporary duct tape, props are spinning free and I'm ready to test the electronics. Props do their little flicker startup thing, seem fine but ESC Error, 30085. Time to download some low level diagnostic software from DJI.com, check POST, test each motor individually, etc. Boy was I in for a surprise...

Why I'm here: After spending a night getting familiar with the logs, I think I'm seeing that the right front motor went plooey mid-air, maybe the ECS board too, idk. My next move is to replace that arm and maybe it'll clear the error. I was wondering if someone with more experience could take a look at my logs and see if they agree that I'm on the right track with replacing the RH front motor.

Or maybe just forget about the whole thing and just use this one for parts. What do you think?

 

[dan_man_2020]

BTW, thanks

I one more log of the flight, 112mb, it was giving me trouble uploading it so I figured I wouldn't upload it unless you needed it. Hopefully these 3 have what you need, if not the big one should.

Thanks again!

 

[Kilrah]

The usual prop icing. What was the ambient temp?

 

[boblui]

May I know the version of FLY APP you used ?

 

[dan_man_2020]

The usual prop icing. What was the ambient temp?

View attachment 121921

PROP ICING?????? WHAT????? I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!!!!

Weather history says it was around 37 degrees, so sure, you're probably right on the money.

How would one go about testing which motor died or if the ECS board?

 

[dan_man_2020]

May I know the version of FLY APP you used ?

Sure thing. 1.2.1

 

[dan_man_2020]

The usual prop icing. What was the ambient temp?

View attachment 121921

This app looks great. What is it?

So wait... going by the chart... is this saying that the ESC locked up and was trying to burn the motors out after the crash?

 

[boblui]

I concur that prop icing was the likely cause. After 340 seconds into the flight, the craft was just hovering but the current taken by the motors started to increase gradually with the exception of the left-back motor. The biggest increase occurred on the right-front motor. The motors were affected by something in common. Prop icing is a sensible explanation.

 

[Kilrah]

This app looks great. What is it?

CsvView Downloads

 

[StantonZ]

This is good information...even thought the outcome wasn't.
I have been very cautious (not) flying in (very) cold conditions.

 

[dan_man_2020]

Thank you everyone. I never would have thought of icing on my own.

I've ordered a right front arm to replace the one that broke in the crash, but with no diagnostic equipment, clearing that code may prove challenging. The right hand front and rear motors feel gummy, nothing i think would be out of spec,but we'll see.

What do you think? Is it fixable or am I pissing money down a hole trying to work on a drone that impacted the ground at 40mph?

I'll post some pics later when i get the chance. The camera was running for the crash. i have the video.

 

[Lastrexking]

This is good information...even thought the outcome wasn't.
I have been very cautious (not) flying in (very) cold conditions.

Add fog to that. The moisture causing the fog freezes on the drone when the tempera true is low enough, which then results in an issue like this. That’s why the manuals tell you not to fly in fog.

 

[Kilrah]

What do you think? Is it fixable or am I pissing money down a hole trying to work on a drone that impacted the ground at 40mph?

Post the pics, but based on the description if it was me I'd replace it entirely.
You didn't buy DJI Care I guess?

 

[dan_man_2020]

Post the pics, but based on the description if it was me I'd replace it entirely.
You didn't buy DJI Care I guess?

The drone was a gift. I didn't even know about DJI Care. Trust me, when I found out, I had a fit.

 

[dan_man_2020]

No pics. I did better. I made you guys a video. It was the least I could do to say thanks for your help.

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[DDS]

No pics. I did better. I made you guys a video. It was the least I could do to say thanks for your help.

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hows the gimbal?

 

[Camino Ken]

I thought it was very ironic it crashed into a graveyard. Hope it isn’t an omen. Sorry for your loss.

 

[eaglesurfing]

This is not the first post that this have happen.
Maybe a warning in the app could help but they thought we wouldn't be flying in the fog when it is close to freezing.

 

[Daytona500]

That was a great video hope you get it flying again

 

[dan_man_2020]

Hey guys, I'm going to make a Part 2 of that video but I wanted to let you know the good news in the meantime. To my surprise, it only needed that broken arm replaced and good to go. I've done 2 test flights so far and other than the gimble being off a few degrees from horizontal, (I superglued it), the drone seems 100%, even still running the same set of blades! I'm going to do a bunch more test flights before I trust it to any altitude though.


My 8 year old son told me I need to get prop heaters. I started laughing until... "not a bad idea kid"...