Mavic Pro Battery drain and crashed into the ocean - lost

[ChipDjipro]

Stop making excuses dude. Pilot error plain and simple.

Usually is.

 

[BerndM]

Sorry for your loss but I have to ask
What was so interesting out there that you would risk the Mavic by flying 16670.1 feet (3.15 miles) out into the ocean??
To me this is simply asking for a disaster to happen.
When you took off heading OUT were you flying into the wind or with the wind direction?
If your return back direction was INTO the wind, you were doomed.
For safety reasons, your return to home direction should always be downwind to help you get back before your battery dies.

 

[Wipster]

Hello forum!

I was flying my mavic pro over the water (ocean) yesterday and it was around 1km from "home" with more then 30% battery. I've pressed the "return home" option and suddenly the percentage started dropping 1-2% every 10 seconds. The drone became unresponsive, I couldn't control it anymore and it started landing automatically on the water. Now I'm "stuck" with a lost drone, lost footage (I was working on a project with some deadlines). Also, I'm stuck with one controller, two batteries and a lot of accessories, but no drone. All of this because of a faulty battery that started draining for no reason at all. It's a shame something like this happends.

At 50% I’m always headed home but I have a gettrback I use over water.

 

[3Thumbflyer]

I wonder why someone would admit on a forum like this to breaking the law? Does he really not know that you are illegal if your drone is out of your vision? The FAA says that VLOS, (visual line of sight), means you have to be able to see it. Here is a quote copied and pasted from the report about the Phantom which collided with the military helicopter.

"The sUAS pilot was operating the aircraft recreationally and did not hold a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Remote Pilot certificate. Hobby and recreational pilots are expected to operate their aircraft in accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 101, which includes maintaining visual contact with the aircraft at all times and not interfering with any manned aircraft. There are no training or certification requirements for model aircraft pilots.

Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident to be:
the failure of the sUAS pilot to see and avoid the helicopter due to his intentional flight beyond visual line of sight. Contributing to the incident was the sUAS pilot’s incomplete knowledge of the regulations and safe operating practices."

How are we going to educate all the "Big Box" drone buyers that there are laws they need to follow before they mess it all up for the rest of us?

 

[BerndM]

You realize, don't you, that he was flying in Spain.............

 

[3Thumbflyer]

You realize, don't you, that he was flying in Spain.............

No I did not. But I've seen so many reports just like this one from folks on this side of the pond.

 

[ChipDjipro]

I can guarantee you most people that have these drones fly them Out of line of sight.

 

[Huge Bama Fan]

I can guarantee you most people that have these drones fly them Out of line of sight.

What he said.. If everyone flew strictly LOS there wouldn't be a need for a range extender.

 

[ChipDjipro]

What he said.. If everyone flew strictly LOS there wouldn't be a need for a range extender.

 

[Huge Bama Fan]

I like i had the wind surfer on my Phantom and the installed the ARGTEK. My point was that if we all flew strictly LOS we wouldn't need range extender. I have trouub me finding mine in the sky a few hundred feet out sometimes.But on a side note how do you like those on the mavic

 

[ChipDjipro]

I like i had the wind surfer on my Phantom and the installed the ARGTEK. My point was that if we all flew strictly LOS we wouldn't need range extender. I have trouub me finding mine in the sky a few hundred feet out sometimes.But on a side note how do you like those on the mavic

I only use them on my Inspire. The will double your range.

 

[3Thumbflyer]

What he said.. If everyone flew strictly LOS there wouldn't be a need for a range extender.

Range extenders aren't what I'm worried about. I'm worried about having to strap on transponders which will cut battery life and then we'll have to have a trunk load of batteries to do one job.

 

[Turn11]

I'm worried about having to strap on transponders

Or radar reflectors.

 

[jaysrmc]

I wonder why someone would admit on a forum like this to breaking the law? Does he really not know that you are illegal if your drone is out of your vision? The FAA says that VLOS, (visual line of sight), means you have to be able to see it. Here is a quote copied and pasted from the report about the Phantom which collided with the military helicopter.

"The sUAS pilot was operating the aircraft recreationally and did not hold a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Remote Pilot certificate. Hobby and recreational pilots are expected to operate their aircraft in accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 101, which includes maintaining visual contact with the aircraft at all times and not interfering with any manned aircraft. There are no training or certification requirements for model aircraft pilots.

Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident to be:
the failure of the sUAS pilot to see and avoid the helicopter due to his intentional flight beyond visual line of sight. Contributing to the incident was the sUAS pilot’s incomplete knowledge of the regulations and safe operating practices."

How are we going to educate all the "Big Box" drone buyers that there are laws they need to follow before they mess it all up for the rest of us?

Ahhh... Again with the international drone police... The United States is not the only country in the world. When I am in another country I don't care what the FAA says. In addition to that it doesn't help with the situation by saying he broke the law. How many of us speed? I bet you have broken a law before. One thing for sure, the guy screwed up and lost his drone. No need to rub it in, man.

 

[jaysrmc]

I like i had the wind surfer on my Phantom and the installed the ARGTEK. My point was that if we all flew strictly LOS we wouldn't need range extender. I have trouub me finding mine in the sky a few hundred feet out sometimes.But on a side note how do you like those on the mavic

I use mine in the neighborhood.. when I am out in the wild, I don't seem to get anything other than a stable connection, in my book this is a win for 5$

 

[Tacyon]

It looks like it was just too windy for it to make it back to the home point in time. It's not going to be easy to retrieve (unless you know a diver). According to your log, it should be close to 37.94856796, -8.86959244.

.. Ah guys .. if you go to sat view, I think I can see it!! (jk)