Mavic Air 2 died in the air, damaged what to do next?

[KristofferR]

I have a Mavic Air 2.

50km flight total and 425 minutes.

Really enjoy flying it both shooting photo and LOS. Yesterday did a shoot of a family event and when I was done “tripodding” I went to sport mode and went around to make a pass by in front of everyone. The drone just stopped working mid air and went down, or rather veered left and down. Since it turned it hit the tile roof of the neighbors house and bounced to the ground and got damaged quite a lot. No damage to property or people thankfully.

In retrospect I did things right, not flying over or towards people and lining up the pass to be at a safe distance and angled slightly away from the people and happy with that.

Seeing it happen my best guess was the LF motor got stuck because the way it went down and it has no apparent damage but cannot be moved properly. Prop gone though.

i was hoping the log would confirm that but it shows ok; everything looks fine and then it ends before the crash so it was dead in the air before hitting the roof. The last entry is image signal error and connection error.

Damage is to gimbal, two motors, battery case dented, card corrupted. It starts up still.

So what next? I don’t think I want to try and repair it, sell it on eBay as parts and do something else, try to find another used 2 , upgrade to 2s or 3 or downgrade to a Mini?

Suggestions and thoughts welcome

(BTW I’m located in Sweden but I know most users here are in the US)

 

[Meta4]

So what next?

If you are interested to find out what might have caused the incident, post the recorded flight data.

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 on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
Just post the .txt file here

 

[KristofferR]

I checked the log but it does not make much sense; grateful for any insights!

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Was the prop entirely missing?
Did the drone tumble or descend in a controlled manner?
How quickly did it descend?
Was the battery IN the drone when you found it?
Is the disconnection point shown by PH correct? If so, which roof did the drone hit?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I would have to check other logs but I find it interesting that the last error message includes
"Aircraft not connected to RC." AND "RC not connected to mobile device."

Without checking other logs that leaves me wondering if there was a controller or phone problem, not that that would necessarily explain the crash.

 

[KristofferR]

The disconnect point matches well.

No tumbling, no prop movement. It appeared to just drop, dead in the air, falling nose down forward, no prop movement or propeller sound. I was adjusting to go right to clear the house and pass on the right side to cross the yard but maybe my own reaction did not pick up it wasn’t responding.

Front props were off and broken and battery separated and damaged but it hit the roof first, bounced and then the ground, so lots of pieces…. its the roof it just passed over.

Replaying the log this message showed up in the turn before the disconnect. Power load?
Plausible reason.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Although we have not seen the issue reported in awhile, check your battery to see if there as any swelling that might have occurred ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[hagman23]

Although we have not seen the issue reported in awhile, check your battery to see if there as any swelling that might have occurred ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

I was thinking the exact same thing. If his battery was older and swollen before flight, as it heats up during use, it’s possible the battery popped out of the drone due to the swelling, which would’ve caused this exact issue. I just had to replace 3 batteries for my Air 2S for that reason.

 

[Yaros]

Replaying the log this message showed up in the turn before the disconnect. Power load?
Plausible reason.

I had this message many times when flying at higher altitudes or in wind, but it shouldn't have caused this.

I see that there wasn't much wind as it wasn't tilting much while hovering. However, the voltage when you're doing the back and away shot at 1m 45 sec is very low, about 3.3V average at 50% battery is not normal. Something was up with the battery from the very start of the flight. If the battery was abnormal already, it might have shut down during flight, or rather popped off if it was swollen.

I would highly recommend getting rid of that battery safely, bring it to a recycling center somewhere, because LiPos are pretty dangerous, especially if swollen or deformed in any way, can cause a random fire, even if not in use, which you obviously don't want.

 

[Meta4]

The drone just stopped working mid air and went down, or rather veered left and down. Since it turned it hit the tile roof of the neighbors house and bounced to the ground and got damaged quite a lot.

I'm having trouble matching your description and the data.

Can you point out where the drone "veered left and down" and the roof that it hit?
Does the veer left show in this map or did it happen after losing power?

The data ends before any crash, with the drone flying fast and 16 metres higher than the launch point.
Was the drone well clear above those trees or down close to them?

 

[KristofferR]

My position is the red dot. I started on the yard next to the barn . The buildings are on a hill so noticeably higher than the surrounding trees, where I stand the treetops are eye level so 17 m meant plenty of clearance to the trees.

Green arrows are showing the direction and the dotted is my intended path, yellow the real. I was aiming to go over the house and then drop to pass over the yard.

I fly model planes a lot so this was LOS 100% something I think the Mavic does well and is good at (flown P2, mini2, inspire).

It is very possible that the veering was percieved by me and caused by the drone not following my stick movements and me not able to pick it up fast enough. The trajectory when it stops communication matches the point where it hit the roof…

Good advice regarding safety - I put the battery in a LiPO bag inside a metal box, agree to take no chances.

No swelling visible whatsoever so I unscrewed the case and the battery is absolutely flat and hard to the touch so no typical puffing or swelling.

But yes, the cell voltage is crazy low, it does not match 50% there… Firmware thing?

 

[Meta4]

Green arrows are showing the direction and the dotted is my intended path, yellow the real. I was aiming to go over the house and then drop to pass over the yard.
....
It is very possible that the veering was percieved by me and caused by the drone not following my stick movements and me not able to pick it up fast enough.

The green track is what was recorded by GPS with 141 recorded position points along the track line in the 14 seconds from where the flight made a hard right angle turn until the data finishes.
GPS reception was perfect, so I'm inclined to believe the green line is the actual path the drone took.

You had already descended 20 feet from the time the drone made the U-turn and flew towards teh house

But yes, the cell voltage is crazy low, it does not match 50% there… Firmware thing?

You started with a battery that appears to have been sitting around discharging.
The % indicator is only reliable if you start with a battery that has been recently charged.
At the end of the flight, cell voltages were less than they would be for a genuine 48%, but not low enough to cause the drone to fall from the air.

 

[Deleted member 173459]

I have a Mavic Air 2.

50km flight total and 425 minutes.

Really enjoy flying it both shooting photo and LOS. Yesterday did a shoot of a family event and when I was done “tripodding” I went to sport mode and went around to make a pass by in front of everyone. The drone just stopped working mid air and went down, or rather veered left and down. Since it turned it hit the tile roof of the neighbors house and bounced to the ground and got damaged quite a lot. No damage to property or people thankfully.

In retrospect I did things right, not flying over or towards people and lining up the pass to be at a safe distance and angled slightly away from the people and happy with that.

Seeing it happen my best guess was the LF motor got stuck because the way it went down and it has no apparent damage but cannot be moved properly. Prop gone though.

i was hoping the log would confirm that but it shows ok; everything looks fine and then it ends before the crash so it was dead in the air before hitting the roof. The last entry is image signal error and connection error.

Damage is to gimbal, two motors, battery case dented, card corrupted. It starts up still.

So what next? I don’t think I want to try and repair it, sell it on eBay as parts and do something else, try to find another used 2 , upgrade to 2s or 3 or downgrade to a Mini?

Suggestions and thoughts welcome

(BTW I’m located in Sweden but I know most users here are in the US)

Why don’t you let DJI send your an estimate for repairs? I have read that most of the time, they switch out your drone with a refurbished one. I also hear that their prices can be cheap at times.

 

[KristofferR]

Why don’t you let DJI send your an estimate for repairs? I have read that most of the time, they switch out your drone with a refurbished one. I also hear that their prices can be cheap at times.

I have contacted DJI and also an established company that sells and does repairs and asked for their advice. Not expecting much though. If I was in the US it might be different.

 

[Alejandro Villegas]

I have a Mavic Air 2.

50km flight total and 425 minutes.

Really enjoy flying it both shooting photo and LOS. Yesterday did a shoot of a family event and when I was done “tripodding” I went to sport mode and went around to make a pass by in front of everyone. The drone just stopped working mid air and went down, or rather veered left and down. Since it turned it hit the tile roof of the neighbors house and bounced to the ground and got damaged quite a lot. No damage to property or people thankfully.

In retrospect I did things right, not flying over or towards people and lining up the pass to be at a safe distance and angled slightly away from the people and happy with that.

Seeing it happen my best guess was the LF motor got stuck because the way it went down and it has no apparent damage but cannot be moved properly. Prop gone though.

i was hoping the log would confirm that but it shows ok; everything looks fine and then it ends before the crash so it was dead in the air before hitting the roof. The last entry is image signal error and connection error.

Damage is to gimbal, two motors, battery case dented, card corrupted. It starts up still.

So what next? I don’t think I want to try and repair it, sell it on eBay as parts and do something else, try to find another used 2 , upgrade to 2s or 3 or downgrade to a Mini?

Suggestions and thoughts welcome

(BTW I’m located in Sweden but I know most users here are in the US)

Time to sell it for parts, and move on to an Air 2S or Mini 3 if you are in a tight under a grand budget. If you have dinero:
Choice
1- Mavic 3 Pro
2-Mavic 3 preown
3- Mavic 3 Classic