Mavic Pro gone...need feedback

[lisadoc]

That gives a range of possible distances as shown by the green, red and orange segments below:


Had it managed much over 3 m/s it should have got home, but my guess is in the 1 - 2 m/s range, in which case it may be on land.

Out of curiosity, if it had made it back to the area you denote by the orange or red line sections, wouldn't it have (likely) re-established contact with the RC, thereby providing more telemetry? Granted... the altitude going out was 500 feet higher than a return altitude would have been, but at 650 feet, it still should have had a decent height for signal clearance.

Since it doesn't appear to ever have re-established a signal after the last disconnection, wouldn't that suggest that it is more likely somewhere in the green section (i.e. in the water), than somewhere on land?

 

[sar104]

Out of curiosity, if it had made it back to the area you denote by the orange or red line sections, wouldn't it have (likely) re-established contact with the RC, thereby providing more telemetry? Granted... the altitude going out was 500 feet higher than a return altitude would have been, but at 650 feet, it still should have had a decent height for signal clearance.

Since it doesn't appear to ever have re-established a signal after the last disconnection, wouldn't that suggest that it is more likely somewhere in the green section (i.e. in the water), than somewhere on land?

Agreed - if the RC and app were still running it would eventually reconnect so that does suggest that it remained more distant.

 

[Arnold]

Agreed - if the RC and app were still running it would eventually reconnect so that does suggest that it remained more distant.

Once again, thanks guys for all your help. All the information was definitely helpful. I took some kayaks out today and searched the area up and down the possible RTH route in the body of water it may possibly have landed in but I didn’t have any luck. It was worth a try since the mavic did have a getter backer installed. So now it’s off to searching the land part of the route. I do agree with both sar104 and Maviccf. I looked at the second log more closely, but not entirely sure. Does it look like the Mavic was in RTH cruise and still drifting at 8mph into the NE? If that’s the case it would be further northeast of last known point. But if based on very last moments the drone was returning though very slow at 1-2 mph then it may be found SW along the RTH path. At least we know that it’s not in the water. Will be attempting a search based on both your estimates tomorrow. Let’s see. You guys probably want me to find it as much as I do and your work actually paid off. Fingers crossed.

 

[sar104]

Once again, thanks guys for all your help. All the information was definitely helpful. I took some kayaks out today and searched the area up and down the possible RTH route in the body of water it may possibly have landed in but I didn’t have any luck. It was worth a try since the mavic did have a getter backer installed. So now it’s off to searching the land part of the route. I do agree with both sar104 and Maviccf. I looked at the second log more closely, but not entirely sure. Does it look like the Mavic was in RTH cruise and still drifting at 8mph into the NE? If that’s the case it would be further northeast of last known point. But if based on very last moments the drone was returning though very slow at 1-2 mph then it may be found SW along the RTH path. At least we know that it’s not in the water. Will be attempting a search based on both your estimates tomorrow. Let’s see. You guys probably want me to find it as much as I do and your work actually paid off. Fingers crossed.

At the end it was making slow headway to the SW (1.3 m/s). Previously it had been drifting NE, so it's clear that the wind was somewhat variable, at least with altitude. So what happened next is largely guesswork - but it should have ended up close to that line or its extension to the NE.

 

[Arnold]

At the end it was making slow headway to the SW (1.3 m/s). Previously it had been drifting NE, so it's clear that the wind was somewhat variable, at least with altitude. So what happened next is largely guesswork - but it should have ended up close to that line or its extension to the NE.

sar104,
I've posted the flightrecord video from GO4. i think it's simpler to see what's happenig. You will see RTH engage towards the end of this record. When it does you will notice the drone slow down from 7-8mph to about 1-2 mph but still moving backward. The mavic does a little hook move and right before it cuts out you see it speed up but I believe that may be a glitch?

Dropbox - ScreenRecording_04-09-2018 20-51-40.MP4

 

[RayOZ]

Does the drone hold GPS position on forced auto land on critical battery, or it'll just decrease throttle to descend? Lets say it was RTH, at 2mph, when battery level reaches 10%, it might stop trying to move forward. So if it tries to hold position while auto landing, it'll be close to where sar suggested. But if it was only trying to descend, then the wind might be blowing it backwards. As we don't know the wind speed at different altitudes, it'll be hard to pinpoint how far it might have blown backwards.

 

[sar104]

sar104,
I've posted the flightrecord video from GO4. i think it's simpler to see what's happenig. You will see RTH engage towards the end of this record. When it does you will notice the drone slow down from 7-8mph to about 1-2 mph but still moving backward. The mavic does a little hook move and right before it cuts out you see it speed up but I believe that may be a glitch?

Dropbox - ScreenRecording_04-09-2018 20-51-40.MP4

It doesn't matter what the screen shows - the log data in post #37 are definitive. The aircraft was last recorded on a course of -123° at 1.3 m/s - that is towards the SW. Also you will note that the distance to homepoint is decreasing.

 

[Arnold]

It doesn't matter what the screen shows - the log data in post #37 are definitive. The aircraft was last recorded on a course of -123° at 1.3 m/s - that is towards the SW. Also you will note that the distance to homepoint is decreasing.

You're the man! I will begin searching SW of the RTH path first and see what I can find. It's vast areas of large properties with a single house on them. Some of these properties are so big that even if the drone landed there, nobody really walks around there so the chance of someone stumbling on it is tiny. So my contact information on it will be worthless.

 

[sar104]

You're the man! I will begin searching SW of the RTH path first and see what I can find. It's vast areas of large properties with a single house on them. Some of these properties are so big that even if the drone landed there, nobody really walks around there so the chance of someone stumbling on it is tiny. So my contact information on it will be worthless.

It does look like a needle in a haystack problem, but good luck.

 

[RayOZ]

That's when you wish you had rubbed your dirty sock all over your mavic, and trained your dog to seek (if you had a dog).

 

[Arnold]

That's when you wish you had rubbed your dirty sock all over your mavic, and trained your dog to seek (if you had a dog).

That, or I wish I had an additional GPS transponder attached. We did a little searching north of last known position but no luck. Somehow I feel confident that if we look SE we might have a better chance of finding it. My baby is sitting out there in the dark, all alone waiting for me to find her. Slim chance, but I won't give up that easily.

 

[J3ffrey]

just fyi - there are LOTS of planes that fly right down the coast of CT.. I'd be very careful going to 6000 feet there. Watch any jetblue flight out of FLL to HPN or any cape air flight flying into HPN...

That said, got any cool videos of Darien/Stamford/Norwalk?? If it's already done, would love to see them!

 

[AAPhoto]

I hope you learned some important lessons here:

- Don't fly that high (hopefully there isn't a dead body found next to your drone)
-Wind speeds at ground level are NOT the same as winds above (this is taught in grammar school)
-Fly within line sight at all times

Some tips to help out in these situations:

Ventusky is good app to check wind speeds at altitude.

Learning how to read a METAR is also very helpful (they teach this as party of the Part 107 courses)

As for the Mavic Pro itself, if the sensors are on, the max speed is limited, even in sport mode. By disabling the sensors, you can get extra speed to combat stronger winds. I'm not saying it would have been able to fight 40mph sustained winds, but this trick has helped others return their drone home between stronger winds gusts.

Please fly responsibly.

 

[jedburgh01]

Hi guys,

It's been a great run...1 year and i've finally lost the drone. I've always been careful but I guess not careful enough. Was by the beach yesterday (zero wind at ground level) and wanted to take some pics of the sunset. Got a little too confident and took the bird up to 1600 feet. Was not paying attention to the map and within minutes my drone had drifted 6000 feet at 12 mph without any stick input. At 1600 feet the drift is not as apparent unless you're paying attention to the map, which of course I have not. Then I started losing signal to the mavic and had sporadic reconnections and was able to initiate RTH before I finally lost connection entirely. At first I thought that the drone was not moving because of connection issues, but I did have video and the picture didn't seem to be moving forward when I pushed the drone forward. But it did respond to my left and right turns. When I lost connection for good I had about 44% battery left and had managed to descend to 650 feet. The last information that I can see is that the drone seemed to be heading back to home point at 2 mph.

So what I would like to ask anyone who can is to comfirm pilot error based on the flight data below and recommend their best guess on where the drone might have landed/crashed. I did have a getter backer installed on the MP for water landings and I do still have two months on my care refresh. Any help would be appreciated.There are 2 flight records bacause I restarted the remote while trying to reestablish a connection.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Sorry to hear about that. I had a similar scare with my MP
Wind taking it whilst I was hands off checking something on the screen.
It occurred to me that it should be possible for a simple algorithm to issue a warning to the pilot that if the Mavic is moving away from the pilot and there are no stick inputs.
I even contacted the DJI GO app people with the request, but didn't really get any help.

 

[Jake37]

That, or I wish I had an additional GPS transponder attached. We did a little searching north of last known position but no luck. Somehow I feel confident that if we look SE we might have a better chance of finding it. My baby is sitting out there in the dark, all alone waiting for me to find her. Slim chance, but I won't give up that easily.

If you had a Trackimo GPS with 3G attached you would know exactly where it is, the battery will last up to 6 days sending back a signal to your account online web app. then as you get close to the area 50 feet or so you can use bluetooth on your phone or tablet to find it with the trackimo app. I use the Trackimo Universal 3GPS>>> Trackimo® 3G GPS Tracker + 1 Year GSM + Free US Shipping

 

[Plainview]

Look at the winds aloft. They were as high as 40 mph out of the SW, blowing it directly away from you.

Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones

In that kind of wind field there is no realistic chance of it making much headway. It will have eventually auto landed due to low battery not far from its last recorded location over Scott Cove.

Yes it’s so important to check upper winds if your going that high. I just checked my app, wi do on ground 15 and at 5000 they are over 50. So not much chance when Mavic is so far away. My advice is get a good wind app!

 

[Clockman]

Hi guys,

It's been a great run...1 year and i've finally lost the drone. I've always been careful but I guess not careful enough. Was by the beach yesterday (zero wind at ground level) and wanted to take some pics of the sunset. Got a little too confident and took the bird up to 1600 feet. Was not paying attention to the map and within minutes my drone had drifted 6000 feet at 12 mph without any stick input. At 1600 feet the drift is not as apparent unless you're paying attention to the map, which of course I have not. Then I started losing signal to the mavic and had sporadic reconnections and was able to initiate RTH before I finally lost connection entirely. At first I thought that the drone was not moving because of connection issues, but I did have video and the picture didn't seem to be moving forward when I pushed the drone forward. But it did respond to my left and right turns. When I lost connection for good I had about 44% battery left and had managed to descend to 650 feet. The last information that I can see is that the drone seemed to be heading back to home point at 2 mph.

So what I would like to ask anyone who can is to comfirm pilot error based on the flight data below and recommend their best guess on where the drone might have landed/crashed. I did have a getter backer installed on the MP for water landings and I do still have two months on my care refresh. Any help would be appreciated.There are 2 flight records bacause I restarted the remote while trying to reestablish a connection.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

As soon as you said 1600 ft I stopped reading right there. Sorry for your loss but this was your fault. Way to high of an altitude and their is no way you could maintain visual contact. The winds can be very different and stronger at those altitudes. Your drone probably couldn't fight the wind and just blew away.

 

[erkme73]

As soon as you said 1600 ft I stopped reading right there. Sorry for your loss but this was your fault. Way to high of an altitude and their is no way you could maintain visual contact...

That's what you get for going up to altitudes that you shouldn't have been at. I have no remorse for people that suffer the consequences of very stupid actions.

These are the kinds of posts that really kill the joy of participating at this forum. About the only time I return to the forum is with the Saturday summary of popular posts. Even then, I am reluctant to click through to request for help, because I know there will be plenty of drone police, who, instead of helping, feel the incessant need to deride, ridicule, insult and trash someone who needs help.

I sure hope @Just_nick and @Clockman feel tough and proud. Because that's probably the only thing good that comes of his post. Little people have to feel tough on the internet. I guess that's inevitable.

To the OP, I'm sorry you've lost your Mavic. I've had mine for over a year. I've had close calls, and have been very fortunate up to this point. Each time I take it out, I get butterflies and feel the anxiety of "what ifs".

Ultimately, it looks like you lost her due to inattention. Whether that happened at 200', 400', or 1600' is absolutely irrelevant. The winds aloft were faster than the MP could compensate for, and ultimately it was unable to return to you.

 

[Rudolf Bacher]

Was not paying attention to the map and within minutes my drone had drifted 6000 feet at 12 mph without any stick input.

My opinion may be wrong but I guess this has nothing to do with wind condition. If you fly heading directly to the sun you may get the warning, since the sun will be misinterpreted as being an obstacle. In this case turn the bird 180degrees and fly backwards.

 

[sar104]

My opinion may be wrong but I guess this has nothing to do with wind condition. If you fly heading directly to the sun you may get the warning, since the sun will be misinterpreted as being an obstacle. In this case turn the bird 180degrees and fly backwards.

I recommend reading the entire thread. There is no ambiguity about the cause here; it was high winds blowing the aircraft towards the NE.