Mavic air 2 crash in seA
- Thread starter newasusi
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spsphotos
Well-Known Member
If you were trying to go up. but were pushing down the drone probably thought you were landing...so the sensors would have said...ok..if you say so.
The IR sensor at the bottom is capable of detecting water surface as can be seen on my M2P here. The VPS figure at the bottom of the screen is the height above water surface detected by the sensor. When the figure turns red, it means the drone does not feel safe descending further and will ignore throttle-down input. If the pilot insists by holding the throttle stick all the way down for more than 2 sec, it will go into the water as commanded. I think that's what has happened in the OP's incident.
Super clear water with mirror-like surface may be an exception but the OP was flying over the sea so it was unlikely to be this kind of special situation.
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hiflyer201
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I'm really sorry that you lost your drone. We all know how that feels and it sucks.
I wish you had sought out this forum earlier. There are so many learning experiences that are posted to help the next guy.
I hope it's some consolation that your experience will help someone new.
I wish you had sought out this forum earlier. There are so many learning experiences that are posted to help the next guy.
I hope it's some consolation that your experience will help someone new.
mattbixby
Member
Wow, what a thread.
O.P. loses drone to Davey Jones locker due to pilot error and recovery discussions pop up.
Of all the accessories a drone pilot needs to have at their disposal, three contacts come to mind on the emergency call list.
1) An Arborist to get it from the tree.
2) A rock climber that has ropes and stuff to get it from the ledge.
3) A scuba diver for those pesky water rescues.
Keep an eye on the drone, not your phone.
Fly safe.
I, too, am fascinated by this thread. Of course, I'm also experiencing my stomach twisting in knots as I read the posts about lost drones.
I think I'm an equal-opportunity chicken. I'm equally terrified of crashing my drone in lakes, rivers, and oceans... as well as trees, power lines, and buildings. And I'm also squeamish about potential angry citizens thinking I'm spying on them, or disrupting their tranquility so I stay as far away as possible.
So far, my flying style might be best described as slow, steady, and safe... I've had my MA2 in sport mode for approximately 15 seconds. My worry is that my video style will be described as "dull as dishwater". I tend to fly around 250-300 feet up. And I tend to stay away from anything "interesting" due to the fears I shared above.
Right now our local weather is generally cruddy so my flight options are limited. But hopefully with time I'll be able to get over my fears and contribute some solid material.
I appreciate all of you!
Matt
Meta slightly off topic but with all your experience, can you tell me if flying off aluminium boat is likely to mess with compass calibration. I have a friend who wants some pics of his boat in the water and thinking it might be less risky to have him drop me on a jetty and fly from there.
got close to doing the same once ..was thinking drone was going up when it was on the way down .... panic'd and just took my hands off the controls .... relaxed and did a few small movements with the stick to re-oriente myself (years of using controllers on xbox with inverted Y axis is hard to break) ..
Assume you have cached video on your phone and thus the flight logs ?
Assume you have cached video on your phone and thus the flight logs ?
tbh I'd fly from the jetty - RTH wont change ... try to get your drone back when you are on a moving boat....good luck...
OldLeatherneck
Member
Hello newasusi,
My condolences for losing your drone. If it's any consolation, many of us new drone pilots have crashed our drones doing exactly the same thing you did, although for us it's usually trees or houses. In my case, my experience as a light plane pilot ingrained in me that when you want to climb you must pull back on the stick, and it took me a while to get that reaction out of my brain. Meantime, yeah, I ate several trees and was lucky to get it back intact.
JMC3
Well-Known Member
I am amazed at the number of people that risk high tech equipment doing things only experienced flyers can do.
I have a good deal of beginners fear epically considering the cost associated with our hobby. when I flew rc sailplanes 3 m and higher wing span I was constantly shocked at the guys that spent up to $$4000 on a carbon fiber sailplane and went cheap on the electric motor. I really dont get the "range test" thing what value has it if it fails the test. YouTube has many guys range testing over a mile or more.
I have a good deal of beginners fear epically considering the cost associated with our hobby. when I flew rc sailplanes 3 m and higher wing span I was constantly shocked at the guys that spent up to $$4000 on a carbon fiber sailplane and went cheap on the electric motor. I really dont get the "range test" thing what value has it if it fails the test. YouTube has many guys range testing over a mile or more.
The value is to test if the radio part of the craft / controller is OK. If the wind is low and you do not exceed the battery's capacity, failing will just result in RTH.
I fly over the ocean a lot that's why I went with state farm insurance I don't need the drone to get a new one even if its my fault I'm covered that doesn't mean I want to loose my drone in the water. Just a little peace of mind every time I fly over water I'm taking a risk it's definitely safer flying over land than water just my opinion sorry about you're loss
I live near the Gulf of Mexico, and fly over water almost always. I've had some close calls, my Spark, Mini, and MA2 seem to drop altitude at some point, almost like a magnet pulling them down. You just have to be extra cautious!
Hopefully you’ll get a new one and be more confident now you know how easy it is for it to go wrong! Drone insurance is around £80 a year in U.K. (coverdrone) . Covering drone and everything (third party) except you and anything you own personally . Still not flown after a year of droning over water . MA1. Will try ASAP now knowing it won’t be a total loss if (Mod Removed Language)happens! Good luck ?
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mattbixby
Member
I'm noticing this when I fly low over flat ground. It seems to drop a few feet of altitude as the aircraft flies away from me. The sensors do their jobs and keep me safe, but I shudder to think of doing this over water. Extra cautious is exactly right!!!
Aluminium has no effect on any compass.
But if you haven't flying from a boat introduces several complications that are hard to imagine if you haven't done it.
Working from shore would be a lot easier if that is an option.
Unlikely. I lost my Mavic Air 2 in the drink , 3 months old full refresh policy . Begged them to sell me a refurb (just the drone) as this was the second drone i had bought in a 12 month period (still had my mavic air) . They told me sorry no can do.
Perhaps they thought you were asking for the refresh price. They have done it, though usually it was for a warranty claim where it was undetermined if it was pilot error or warranty covered fault.
That is such a bad experience and I had one as well and lost mine - BUT I had insurance! Suggestion - learn from this and do not repeat as I do not think any sensors are reliable over water!
SOOOOO TRUE! I just recovered one on ranch that had been in a tree for a year and two climbers had tried to find it - and we knew the 50' tree it was in! Prefer tree landing over water now that I have experienced BOTH!It's not complicated, the issue is psychological, not actual.
I also conscious of al the reports of flyers that have crashed or lost drones flying over land.
Flying above water you won't encounter any risks you don't encounter over land.
And those risks won't act any different to the way they do above land.
Difficulty of recovery is a different matter and unrelated to the risks of flying.
But if you think you can recover on land, I guess you don't fly over trees anywhere.
It only takes one tree or high roof and recovery can be as unlikely as at sea.
I am fairly new and this still happens to me a lot. I am a regular pilot and in a plane when you want to go up you pull back on the stick and when you want to go down you push forward. It is hard to train myself to do the opposite with the left stick of the drone, especially when you're trying to react quickly.
p.s. I know you can customize the controls, but I figure in the long run I'm better off getting myself trained to fly a standard configuration in case I want to fly somebody else's drone or somebody else wants to fly mine.
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