Mavic air crashes into sea (salt water), ‘Motor obstructed’ error. Pls advise.. TIA (CLOSED)

[ac0j]

your video looks like a prop came off, you hit a branch or wire, or maybe got hit by a bird.

Those pesky birds drop a lot of drones.

@sar104 posted instructions on how to upload your flight logs earlier, do that!

 

[Air_Joe]

your video looks like a prop came off, you hit a branch or wire, or maybe got hit by a bird.

Those pesky birds drop a lot of drones.

@sar104 posted instructions on how to upload your flight logs earlier, do that!

Where my drone was hovering towards the end, it was nothing above it bro. Clear sky, no wire no cable etc.
Props was attached since day 1 i bought it, never had it taken off.

Yeah bro, all instructions mentions it need a pc, which i dnt own one.

Thats y i do it on youtube. Still able to see it ,crashed was the last part..

If you can see , i totally didnt touch any movement of the drone, furthermore it has been hovering for 30-50secs without any issue. ( guess i was doing the settings for the photo at that time)
Then out of a sudden, it went into a spin, and flew into the water below. Thanks goodness was just at the coastline, i immediately run over and jumped into the water to retrieve it. All 4 prop was still secured.

 

[ac0j]

Where my drone was hovering towards the end, it was nothing above it bro. Clear sky, no wire no cable etc.
Props was attached since day 1 i bought it, never had it taken off.

Yeah bro, all instructions mentions it need a pc, which i dnt own one.

Thats y i do it on youtube. Still able to see, it crashed was the last part

That is probably not enough to get DJI to admit a defect and help you. But I would try it.
If you did not purchase the optional DJI care refresh, you are probably screwed.
DJI may still offer 30% off of an aircraft only, but that really isnt a deal, because the remote and extras they take out of the box are worth as much as the 30% or more.

 

[Tota]

Hi, Let me tell you about my experience here in Malaysia, with my MA 1 month ago. It looks the same as yours. My MA crashed into the Andman sea as i was taking photos of the moon. Unfortunately i could not retrieve it except after 6 hours in sea water. I put it in rice and this was the biggest mistake ever! I contacted DJI Live chat directly at the same night and they told me that salt water means dead drone! They asked me however to send them the flight log and they guided me how to upload the flight records. It was my mistake that i accidentally cancelled the RTH when the battery became low. Later they did thorough flight analysis and they gave full report which was really amazing. They are very good. They offered me a replacement Drone with 15% discount, only the drone, no batteries, nothing. I was not convinced so i called the dealer here in Malaysia that i bought the drone from and he told me that it cannot be repaired , finished with no discussion. As i saw my drone everyday i could not believe that this is it, it is gone so i decided to tear it down to see what happened and if i can save it. I got this YouTube video and i tear it down piece by piece and i was shocked from what i saw, the salt ate the electronic boards and the connectors and the GPS module, they were all correct it is unrepairable at that point, i sent DJI my acceptance for their offer and i just got my new drone yesterday. The first thing i did then is to get the DJI care plan .
I hope this help
Good luck.

 

[Air_Joe]

That is probably not enough to get DJI to admit a defect and help you. But I would try it.
If you did not purchase the optional DJI care refresh, you are probably screwed.
DJI may still offer 30% off of an aircraft only, but that really isnt a deal, because the remote and extras they take out of the box are worth as much as the 30% or more.

Seriously i cant think of anything other than a manufacturer defect. I checked again, was hovering for more than a min, while i was doing the settings for the photo shot.

Anyway bro, you have been a great help. Thks!

Had already synced my logs, dji mentioned once i synced , they will be able to access it.
Eagerly waiting for their investigation results.

By the way bro, how much would it be after a 30% off for the drone in your country.

Im preparing for the worst case senerio .

 

[FLPilotshark]

Great explanation pal!
Too bad , its already all too late now.
Im still keeping it in rice.
Hoping and praying something positive comes out from dji investigation, as in why drone crashed suddenly.
Thks for your detailed comment pal! As least i learn something here

I FEEL FOR YOU, but we are not talking about a cell phone HERE WE are talking about a very complexed system.
Mate, you can pray until your Blue in the face, but ones your integrated circuits and the Memory chips get any sort of moisture in the or around the circuits, it is not going to fly!
Dexter is 100% correct! Trust me! Since the drone will never fly again, if I WERE you I would take the sUAS apart and you will see what me Dexter and I are talking about in regards to all of the integrated circuits and semiconductors. If by some miracle it does fly it would never pass an FAA exception! I am sure you realize there are Moisture sensitive semiconductors that are inside of your sUAS that are level 3 moisture! That means if they get any sort of moisture what so ever, they can not work properly and even short out on you which you dont want when your bird is in the air b/c you could really do some major damage to someone or something.

I know it sucks but your going to have to suck it up and go out and buy a new one. That's what I did.
You have to understand, I think every sUAS pilot has wrecked there 1st drone. It kind of comes with the territory.

 

[Air_Joe]

Hi, Let me tell you about my experience here in Malaysia, with my MA 1 month ago. It looks the same as yours. My MA crashed into the Andman sea as i was taking photos of the moon. Unfortunately i could not retrieve it except after 6 hours in sea water. I put it in rice and this was the biggest mistake ever! I contacted DJI Live chat directly at the same night and they told me that salt water means dead drone! They asked me however to send them the flight log and they guided me how to upload the flight records. It was my mistake that i accidentally cancelled the RTH when the battery became low. Later they did thorough flight analysis and they gave full report which was really amazing. They are very good. They offered me a replacement Drone with 15% discount, only the drone, no batteries, nothing. I was not convinced so i called the dealer here in Malaysia that i bought the drone from and he told me that it cannot be repaired , finished with no discussion. As i saw my drone everyday i could not believe that this is it, it is gone so i decided to tear it down to see what happened and if i can save it. I got this YouTube video and i tear it down piece by piece and i was shocked from what i saw, the salt ate the electronic boards and the connectors and the GPS module, they were all correct it is unrepairable at that point, i sent DJI my acceptance for their offer and i just got my new drone yesterday. The first thing i did then is to get the DJI care plan .
I hope this help
Good luck.

My heart sank when i read u said, drone dead in salt water bro.

Firstly bro, i was adjusting the setting when the drone spin and deop into the sea, i didnt even have anytime to press rth button.

2, do u mind revealing how much is 15% off u have to pay?

3. Guess my batt is gone too, when i press the button, no more lights .

4. How long did the whole process took, from the moment u contacted dji?
How long it took for them to give u the report?

5. Whats your link to your video bro?
By the way im from sg, neighbours.

If your case is similiar to mine, i guess other than a defect i really cant think of otherwise.
No room for nego with dji?

 

[Air_Joe]

I FEEL FOR YOU, but we are not talking about a cell phone HERE WE are talking about a very complexed system.
Mate, you can pray until your Blue in the face, but ones your integrated circuits and the Memory chips get any sort of moisture in the or around the circuits, it is not going to fly!
Dexter is 100% correct! Trust me! Since the drone will never fly again, if I WERE you I would take the sUAS apart and you will see what me Dexter and I are talking about in regards to all of the integrated circuits and semiconductors. If by some miracle it does fly it would never pass an FAA exception! I am sure you realize there are Moisture sensitive semiconductors that are inside of your sUAS that are level 3 moisture! That means if they get any sort of moisture what so ever, they can not work properly and even short out on you which you dont want when your bird is in the air b/c you could really do some major damage to someone or something.

I know it sucks but your going to have to suck it up and go out and buy a new one. That's what I did.
You have to understand, I think every sUAS pilot has wrecked there 1st drone. It kind of comes with the territory.

Fully understand bro, i will not flew anything that is unsafe for the others.
Once everything concluded, i might open it up and post some photos here.
Afterwhich i will give it a proper burial...

Thanks for all your inputs guys.
Really appreciate so much.

All i can do now is wait for dji reports, and hope they honour your warranty if results shows its a defect fault.

 

[Tota]

My heart sank when i read u said, drone dead in salt water bro.

Firstly bro, i was adjusting the setting when the drone spin and deop into the sea, i didnt even have anytime to press rth button.

2, do u mind revealing how much is 15% off u have to pay?

3. Guess my batt is gone too, when i press the button, no more lights .

4. How long did the whole process took, from the moment u contacted dji?
How long it took for them to give u the report?

If your case is similiar to mine, i guess other than a defect i really cant think of otherwise.
No room for nego with dji?

I know this feeling of loosing the drone , but try to accept it and save your time and sadness, look forward for a new one. I contacted many dealers here in Malaysia to get the drone only since i have the Flymore combo and i do not need anything other than the drone itself. The battery is not functioning as well out of the water but i still had 2 batteries. No dealer wanted to sell me the drone only. At least you have to buy the standard package. The drone price after discount was 480 USD without the battery and free shipping DHL to Malaysia, which is the cheapest actually. There is no negotiation with DJI, if it is a technical problem they will replace for you. They are extremely good and honest people. The whole process took 3 weeks. All the best

 

[Air_Joe]

I know this feeling of loosing the drone , but try to accept it and save your time and sadness, look forward for a new one. I contacted many dealers here in Malaysia to get the drone only since i have the Flymore combo and i do not need anything other than the drone itself. The battery is not functioning as well out of the water but i still had 2 batteries. No dealer wanted to sell me the drone only. At least you have to buy the standard package. The drone price after discount was 480 USD without the battery and free shipping DHL to Malaysia, which is the cheapest actually. There is no negotiation with DJI, if it is a technical problem they will replace for you. They are extremely good and honest people. The whole process took 3 weeks. All the best

Bro saw that u hust register to reply to my post here. Greatly appreciate it man!!!
You are good man.

Got it bro, have to let it go. Sadded...


Mind sharing what was the reason your drone drop according the dji report?
Technical issue as in manufacturer defects?

I got the combo set too, so left with 2 working batt now.

 

[FLPilotshark]

I bought it from a local dealer, in Singapore.
He didnt mention anything about care package.
He did mention its under warranty for 12 months from dji. I totally didnt know such thing about care package.

Thks pal for your advices!

It does not really matter, to be honest where you bought it but the dealer should have told you about the Dji Care Package. Its good that you bought it from an official dealer, but either way, when you went to go to set up your drone on the DJI site, it tells you that you have only 48 hrs which complete bs, b/c when I first bought my Mavic Air, I got it from best buy the best buy rep told me before you fly you have to register it and buy your Dji Care pkg.

 

[Air_Joe]

It does not really matter, to be honest where you bought it but the dealer should have told you about the Dji Care Package. Its good that you bought it from an official dealer, but either way, when you went to go to set up your drone on the DJI site, it tells you that you have only 48 hrs which complete bs, b/c when I first bought my Mavic Air, I got it from best buy the best buy rep told me before you fly you have to register it and buy your Dji Care pkg.

Now that you mention, i guess i did come across it when i was setting up for flight.
Was eager to set up, i skipped everything.
Furthermore was in the impression of since its cover by warranty for another 12 minths, why should i pay extra after spending so much in the drone itself. Thats the reason i didnt read the content .
Now makes me wonder, whats the diff between the warranty and care package when it comes to defects within 12 months

 

[Mossiback]

...Now makes me wonder, whats the diff between the warranty and care package when it comes to defects within 12 months

Warranty covers manufacturing defects, Care Refresh covers accidental damage.

 

[Air_Joe]

Warranty covers manufacturing defects, Care Refresh covers accidental damage.

Thks for the explanation pal, short and sweet. Fully understand now.
Then i can only hope for reports from dji , its a manufacturing defect then.

 

[MKurr]

Hi guys, im new here. And i know there has been many thread about drone crashing into water.
But i would like to find out , what should i do as i had just crashed my MA into the sea. I was able to retrieve it, however its covered with lots of salt. Beside putting it in the rice bucket, any other good suggestion?
Your input will be deeply appreciated!

Also, i contacted dji on that. What are the chances they will do a replacement. I only got my drone for 1 month.
Incident happened like this,
I was do flying roughly 50metres from me by the coastline using tapfly. However after the cancel the mode, it was hovering there. As i was changing video to photo mode after 5-10 seconds of hovering, screen suddenly turn blank.

Immediately i run over and retrieve it.after study then flight record, it shows a ‘motor obstruction’ warning before it crashed, that is after im flying on my 2nd batt, for 12 mins or so.

Drone is in rice bucket now.
Any chances dji to do a replacement?
Understand that salt water will cause heavy corrosion. Totally devastated now.

Do you have a video...

 

[Air_Joe]

Do you have a video...

No video, only flight records.
Will dji able to retrieve any video from their data base?

 

[ac0j]

Keep the dead MA, the plastic parts might come in handy some day if you have a crash!

 

[Air_Joe]

Keep the dead MA, the plastic parts might come in handy some day if you have a crash!

I hope too bro, but i read lot of articles, mostly dji will require u to send the drone back to them, before they honour anything to you.

I wonder how are the cases when the bird is unable to retrieve?

For now all i can do is waiting for the next step from dji. Not sure how long will they take.

 

[Pete5325]

There are good drivers and bad drivers, same thing with pilots.

 

[DanMan32]

Without the AC, DJI will only send a new one if the logs show a mfr defect covered under warranty.
Sometimes the DAT files on the AC provide more details to substantiate warranty claim than the TXT log normally uploaded to their servers so they may need you to send it in.