Mavic Air took off by itself ascended to 400m and then crashed - no input

[Sarge201]

Any updates on what the final outcome was?

 

[Phil Collins]

Any updates on what the final outcome was?

Hey Sarge - Thanks for circling. DJI have gone silent on me - especially after I detailed the KML files and the GPS showed the flight went from Australia to China to Africa and then back to Australia.

They refuse to acknowledge that the drone ever took flight at all - even though there's a clear image from the flight itself (the auto photo) and the log corresponds with the EXIF data from the photo.

Attached are some additional pieces I sent their way. It's been over 10 days with no response and I did follow up late last week. I will do so again in the coming day or two. Is it possible the current unrest in Hong Kong is attributed to their lack of response??

I'm completely floored that they are denying this and am going to pursue this until they issue a full replacement.

Oh! Please enjoy the "Air Data Overview" image - as it seems I have broken multiple world records with this particular flight. Surely, I need a special forum flair for that type of achievement. Or maybe... just maybe, there's a glitch in this particular drones software...

 

[sar104]

I'm rather baffled by their stance on this one - how far up the chain has this been escalated?

 

[Phil Collins]

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I'm rather baffled by their stance on this one - how far up the chain has this been escalated?

I don't think it has gotten that far up honestly. I had a supervisor call at one point. But I've consistently asked for escalation and received no significant response. Any recommends on position title I should ask for?

 

[sar104]

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I don't think it has gotten that far up honestly. I had a supervisor call at one point. But I've consistently asked for escalation and received no significant response. Any recommends on position title I should ask for?

I've never had to deal with them myself, so I'm not sure about titles. The other approach that has yielded results is to ask for help on the DJI forum. You won't get much useful flight analysis but, if you explain the situation and point to what's already been established from the log files, you may be able to get one of the staff there to push the case.

 

[Sarge201]

sar104 is the man when it comes to looking at data, if he is baffled than I can bet dji is also. I do agree with him though that you should try to post on the dji forums and I would definitely be pushing the issue with this. Btw...off topic but your user name also belongs to one of my favorite drummers of all time. sar, do you think this could be some kind of weird gps issue? Same as when my phone tell's me I'm in Seattle when I'm actually in Portland.

 

[Phil Collins]

Thanks guys - heading to the DJI forum now to get that ball rolling.

Just received another response flatly denying my clear data and photo evidence as clear proof of flight during that simulator mode issue.

I fear I will have to take this down a legal path I would prefer not to - all over a $1300 drone. Incredibly frustrating.

And Sarge201 - yes - my username is all about him. He's a swell fella.

 

[Phil Collins]

Cross Post - Mavic Air took off in Simulator mode, crash, no inputs

Hi all - It was recommended that I post about this here in the hopes it might get some traction and attention. For a full run-down and detail of the history - feel free to read the original thread here...

forum.dji.com

Let's see how we go.

 

[sar104]

sar104 is the man when it comes to looking at data, if he is baffled than I can bet dji is also. I do agree with him though that you should try to post on the dji forums and I would definitely be pushing the issue with this. Btw...off topic but your user name also belongs to one of my favorite drummers of all time. sar, do you think this could be some kind of weird gps issue? Same as when my phone tell's me I'm in Seattle when I'm actually in Portland.

I think that @BudWalker summed it up in post #23. It's an unusual case but the direct cause of the crash seems clear - the FC confused simulator mode with flight mode. I don't see any GPS problem - the GPS data all look fine.

 

[Phil Collins]

I think that @BudWalker summed it up in post #23. It's an unusual case but the direct cause of the crash seems clear - the FC confused simulator mode with flight mode. I don't see any GPS problem - the GPS data all look fine.

Any reason you think the GPS shows coordinates: N 22º 32' 15", E 114º 57' 13" in the log? Along with others that place it near Africa etc...? Any thoughts on why the KML data shows the wild trip from Brisbane to China?

Or am I missing something here?

 

[sar104]

Any reason you think the GPS shows coordinates: N 22º 32' 15", E 114º 57' 13" in the log? Along with others that place it near Africa etc...? Any thoughts on why the KML data shows the wild trip from Brisbane to China?

Or am I missing something here?

Those data are presumably from the simulator. The GPS data in the DAT file are fine.

 

[CloFan]

Wow, what a read! I hope you get this resolved. If you have social media accounts, you may post there and @ the DJI username to get their attention. When bad press goes public, they may be more likely to respond.

 

[Phil Collins]

Update:

I have been able to come to a resolution with DJI and a replacement is being sent in the coming days - of which I am incredibly grateful.

We still did not come to a wider conclusion on the situation and there are still plenty of questions as to why this occurred. While this matter is closed, I am still curious as to why this happened and hope DJI continue to look into it.

 

[firstbase]

Good for you. The fact that you had to go to the lengths you did is very disappointing. Bad DJI, bad.

 

[sar104]

Update:

I have been able to come to a resolution with DJI and a replacement is being sent in the coming days - of which I am incredibly grateful.

We still did not come to a wider conclusion on the situation and there are still plenty of questions as to why this occurred. While this matter is closed, I am still curious as to why this happened and hope DJI continue to look into it.

So they are replacing it free of charge - yes?

 

[Phil Collins]

So they are replacing it free of charge - yes?

Yes, they are. Which is what I initially asked for - now... what's the overall cost that I've expended with my time on this? It'd likely be comparable to paying for repair - but it was the principle of the matter with this clear glitch.

I'm just hoping they will truly review and determine the issue, rather than insisting the AC never even took off.

 

[sar104]

Yes, they are. Which is what I initially asked for - now... what's the overall cost that I've expended with my time on this? It'd likely be comparable to paying for repair - but it was the principle of the matter with this clear glitch.

I'm just hoping they will truly review and determine the issue, rather than insisting the AC never even took off.

At least they finally accepted the obvious. I've no idea why it took them so long - it's not as if it was a difficult conclusion to arrive at.

 

[7thstring]

Yes, they are. Which is what I initially asked for - now... what's the overall cost that I've expended with my time on this? It'd likely be comparable to paying for repair - but it was the principle of the matter with this clear glitch.

I'm just hoping they will truly review and determine the issue, rather than insisting the AC never even took off.

Glad they eventually came to the conclusion it was their fault. Amazing it took them so long, as they anticipated they would remove the useless flight simulator recently, meaning they might have already come to the conclusion that it was buggy (or buggier than the rest of their software).
However, as I first started reading the first post, the first thing that came to my mind is that the app should have told you not to start the drone simulation with propellers on... that doesn't justify the drone doing its thing, but it wasn't a good idea.

 

[Sarge201]

Update:

I have been able to come to a resolution with DJI and a replacement is being sent in the coming days - of which I am incredibly grateful.

We still did not come to a wider conclusion on the situation and there are still plenty of questions as to why this occurred. While this matter is closed, I am still curious as to why this happened and hope DJI continue to look into it.

Outstanding!!! That is great news!! I do agree that a definitive outcome on what caused it would be nice to get also.

 

[Mavic Pro Platinum]

Bad DJI, bad.

Lol!