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Mavic submerged for 6 minutes and LIVES!!!

CX15

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Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
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Age
45
Everyone kept telling me it's not whether you'll crash your drone or not, but simply a matter of when...
So 3 months in and it finally happened...

I won't go into details of the crash - I got over confident, put the drone in a tight space, and although obstacle avoidance activated, it was too late. 100% pilot error; very embarrassing!

This post however is about the aftermath:

The drone clipped a rock at about 5ft above a raging river. (I'm currently on holiday in Iceland).
I was only a few yards away, but didn't see the crash. I could hear it though, and I immediately went cold!

I ran over, thinking it's probably deep in the water and on its way to the sea.
But it was lying upside down on a small ledge about 1 foot below the surface.
It's lights was still on.

I remember a "Critical Error" on the RC, but this was never recorded in the log file.

Video of the crash was recorded on the Mavic's SD card and it kept recording for around 4 minutes under water (no, it did not record any fish swimming past).
The recording stopped before I reached it though.

It took me about 6 minutes to get my kit off, get down into the river and safely get to it. The lights were still on when I pulled it out and the gimbal was working.

I powered down the battery immediately and pulled it out.

Naturally I was gutted. This was day 2 of a 3 week holiday in Iceland and I was very much looking forward to capturing the amazing sights from up high. Now my poor Mavic was dripping water from every hole possible...

With Care Refresh I know I can get it replaced when I get home, but I figured I might as well try to revive it.
Here's what I did next:

1. Immediately: Props off (only one broken). SD card out and both covers open.

2. Next 10 minutes: Gently shook as much water out of the drone as possible. Had to hold it at many different angles to get it out.
(might add that the river water is crystal clear with no sediment)

3. Dried the drone with a towel.

4. Dried the battery and marked it with a pen. I will never try to use it again and will dispose of it safely.
Also, I kept it in sight for a few hours in case it started misbehaving.

4. Next 5 hours: Kept the drone in the car's passenger seat footwell with lukewarm air at full blast blowing over it.

5. First night: Sealed it in a large ziplock bag with a dozen silica gel bags.

6. Next two days it was alternating between warm air in the car during the day and silica gel at night.
I also spent two evenings blowing cold air from a hairdryer straight into the front vents for about a hour.

7. At some point I gave it a really good physical check:
- obvious dents/scratches (none, soft water landing i guess)
- antennas/ldg gear attached properly
- folding mechanisms and wires
- gimbal movement
- gimbal attachment points
- gimbal ribbon
- camera lenses
- motors: movement and alignment
- moisture buildup inside cameras, lights, etc
- battery contact points clear and undamaged

---

On day 4 after the crash I popped in a new battery and 4 fresh props and powered up.
Gimbal initialization looked normal and the all familiar DJI jingle was music to my ears!
Connection to the RC was normal.
Status page showed everything normal.

I entered simulation mode and "flew around" for a while - no problems.

Found a nice open field with grass and then fired up the motors and checked/listened for any abnormal sounds.

Finally, I took off and hovered at 3ft.
It then complained about the forward vision sensors needing calibration.
I landed and completed the calibration.

Took off again and this time no complaints. All sensor state indications normal.

I then went through a slow methodical check of every system. Everything was fine. Different modes, RTH, obstacle avoidance, sonic and downward vision seemed fine, battery warnings, auto land, etc - all good!
I couldn't beleive it!! This drone is definately tougher than I thought!!

---

It's now a week later, and I've flown it every day since on multiple flights.
Here are my final thoughts:

- It seems that GPS acquisition is a bit slower than normal. Perhaps it's to do with the high latitude in Iceland (66°North), but I can't be sure.
We have had spotty GPS with car navigation as well.

- I have had one flight where the drone had a compass error and GPS loss and entered ATTI mode for about 2 minutes.
I was flying near a very high cliff face, and I'm wondering if there was actually serious interference. .
The drone recovered though, and all subsequent flights were normal.
(if anyone wants to analyse the log file, let me know).
Difficult to say if this event is related to the crash.

- I'll be returning home in a week and will face the decision of using Care Refresh to exchange the Mavic or keep the current bird.

On one hand, I fully understand that there might be future corrosion inside and new problems might pop up later.

On the other hand, who knows what wreck they might send me as replacement - I've heard some horror stories...

- I have yet to view all videos and photos taken after the crash on a proper size monitor to see if there are any quality issues with the camera. I can only do that when I get home. I have checked the SD footage on an iPad Mini and it seems OK.

---

Sorry for the long story, but thought I'd share the amazing resilience of the Mavic here; it truly can come back to life!!

If any issues comes up in the next few weeks I'll be sure to update here.

I'll also be interested to hear about any happy/sad stories of people using Care Refresh to exchange crashed drones. Was the replacement worth it?

And also, I'll be happy to answer any questions

Regards
CX
 
I bet you the drone is fine. It's not water that messes up electronics, it's the salt and other impurities in the water that do.
I'd disassemble the drone and wipe everything with alcohol. If you do decide to open it up, make sure you put thermal paste back on to the chips which had it.
 
I bet you the drone is fine. It's not water that messes up electronics, it's the salt and other impurities in the water that do.
I'd disassemble the drone and wipe everything with alcohol. If you do decide to open it up, make sure you put thermal paste back on to the chips which had it.


I thought about doing this, but worried that I would void warranty if I open it.
Does opening the MP void Care Refresh?
 
Glad you had a good outcome.

I crashed a professional octo, complete with DSLR into a lake a couple years back. 5 days later I finally fished it out from the bottom.

It was a disastrous muddy slimy mess, the camera a total loss.

Long story short: Complete disassembly, cleaning and drying out, and it flies to this day!

Fresh water is generally not a problem and you treated it properly. Continue to watch for abnormalities, but based on what you've told us so far, you should be fine.
 
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