Mavic Pro crashes in river due to drone malfunction. Can I get a replacement Mavic Pro?

[Matthew Adams]

On June 6, 2017 I flew my drone over a river. The app crashed on my phone. I couldn't tell by sight which was the drone was facing so when I attempted to fly forward it hit tree branches, shut down and splashed into the river. I searched for 3 hours but could not find the drone. I knew I could not make a claim without it.
Why didn't the obstacle avoidance work?
Fast forward to April 2, 2019. After the worst drought in 100 years I revisited the river which had dropped by 2 metres. Lo and behold, in the wet mud I found my drone. Not only that but I recovered the card and my computer could read the video which shows the drone crashing into the tree leaves proving the obstacle avoidance didn't work.
How do I go about making a claim for a new one? Can I do it after all this time even though I only now have been able to recover it?
Thanks for your advice!

 

[Simmo]

You will have to provide your flight logs to see what went wrong.
Follow these instructions, then post the link back here.

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

I would say, even if you had Care Refresh back then, DJI wouldn't honour it now??
Maybe a slim chance, if the video and logs show the date of the crash??

 

[Thomas B]

Still it’s worth a try. Go for it and see what happens. Since they always want the hulk of the drone you can contend that you just found it using the story you relate. Be ready for questions about VLOS of your drone.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Matt, welcome to the forums.
Many new members come here after a crash, such a pity as there is so much info to be gleaned here to avoid the pitfalls . . . and there are many.

If you read around here, or look through YouTube crash vids, you will probably find loads of posts about obstacle avoidance not always picking up tree foliage, usually thin, leaf free branches (twig like) or even fine leaves.
It's just not dense enough sometimes.

It is possible you weren't aware of wireless and LOS, devices can drop out if signal is poor, but you can still fly it . . . if you can understand the readings like alt, countdown distance to get direction home, etc etc.

If you lost vision, possibly a better idea would have been to simply fly straight up unitl you were well above any surrounding trees, if you were over a river and the chances are less that something would be above you.
Or just pause button, and try and reconnect viewing device.

Anyway . . .

Best to get our flight data / logs, and post them up, not sure if you would still have them on the device though ???
There are plenty of good people here that can usually tell exactly what happened and the likelihood of a possible claim.
That's a long break between crash and finding it, probably too long for a claim perhaps but hey, it doesn't hurt to ask if you can get the info.

Are you in 'straya by chance ?
I ask because you mentioned the extended drought.

Full on miracle you found it after 1-3/4 years, you should get a replacement just because you managed that !!

 

[Meta4]

How do I go about making a claim for a new one? Can I do it after all this time even though I only now have been able to recover it?

It's unlikely a claim would be considered due to the drone being well past12 months old and you probably can't prove it was a DJI fault that was responsible.

Obstacle avoidance can be handy but is subject to limitations and is not foolproof.
That's just the chance you take flying in a situation where tree branches are present and recovery is difficult.

 

[Marko9219]

It's interesting that you lead with the title suggesting a "drone malfunction". An app crashing on your phone, then you flying into a tree is hardly a "drone malfunction." Without a running app, why would you even consider flying forward if there are trees at or above your flight altitude? Why wouldn't you climb to a safe altitude then attempt to relaunch the app? Any movement while blind is risky, but straight up is by far the least risky.

 

[Meta4]

but straight up is by far the least risky.

Unless you've flown your drone under the overhanging canopy of riverbank trees.

 

[Matthew Adams]

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I do have video of the crash - incredibly, after nearly 2 years in the river the card still worked! Btw yes, I do live in Australia! The crash happened in western NSW.
I've uploaded the flight record of the crash. If you can discern anything I would be most grateful.
Also, while I could see the drone, I couldn't tell how close it was to the trees, so was hesitant to go up for fear of hitting overhead branches. I was also unsure of which way the drone was facing so it was a 50/50 shot as to whether it was facing the trees or facing away. I picked the wrong 50.
Thanks again!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Btw yes, I do live in Australia! The crash happened in western NSW.

Hmm, ok, good game !!
So was it the Darling River ?

 

[Simmo]

Isnt it called Darling Creek now??

 

[Matthew Adams]

Hmm, ok, good game !!
So was it the Darling River ?

No, the Bogan River (no, really!)

 

[Matthew Adams]

Isnt it called Darling Creek now??

I think it's called the Darling Pond now.

 

[jeplane]

I was also unsure of which way the drone was facing so it was a 50/50 shot as to whether it was facing the trees or facing away. I picked the wrong 50.
Thanks again!

Perhaps consider installing strobes in the back legs.
If you don’t see them, the aircraft is facing you.
I put mine in the back to not have any reflections toward the camera.

 

[Meta4]

I've uploaded the flight record of the crash. If you can discern anything I would be most grateful.

If you'd followed the instructions in post #2 it should have given you a detailed report which would have shown things in an easy to see format.
You could have posted a link to that report here.
However the data shows you flying along at 17 mph heading south and going hands-off the joysticks at 5:49.3.
The drone slowed down to 8.5 mph at 5:50.3 when changes in the pitch, roll and yaw tells us that the drone has tangled with tree branches
The drone quickly rolls upside-down at 5:51 and by 5:52.2 it has tumbled into the water.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

No, the Bogan River (no, really!)

Didn't know of it Matt but hey it does flow into the Darling !!
I do the Darling River run sometimes if I go that way to or from Brisbane, camp Horses and Coaches in Parnoo - Darling NP.
Mostly now I go Newell Hwy though.

Are you on a property down there ?
Pretty remote.

Isnt it called Darling Creek now??

I think it's called the Darling Pond now.

Yes, sad isn't it ?
The drought of course has the most effect on this, but many properties up river take water, the cotton station Cubby Ck often gets most of the blame, but a lot of water gets taken from it along the journey.

Anyway Matt, try and upload more info as per the link someone posted, I think sadly it was simply operator error.
So many make simple mistakes they are unaware to be wary of, I know I have but my one and only crash was minor, minimal damage / cost, and a good learning curve.

The main thing to remember with these advanced drones is you aren't flying them, the computer is, and you just tell the computer what to do.
Computers are only as good as what they are fed from the onboard systems and the operator, and they can both be prone to error, sensors in the system, panic in the human !