Mini 2 Motor blockage mid-flight…warranty or flyaway?

[E.T. DRONE HOME]

Good morning! Okay so on Saturday I had an epic flight on a glorious day that unfortunately resulted in the crash and loss of my Mini 2. Having crashed before I’d agree to the opinion that the majority of crashes are the result of pilot error, as were mine. However, on this occasion I sincerely feel there was hardware malfunction involved…and of all the places for it to happen, this time it occurred over the Kentucky River (= unretrievable)!

Below is an explanation of the flight, along with data/log files, and also a link to a video of the last minute of my flight…including footage of the incident. (FYI link is to the file in my OneDrive folder since .mp4 files can’t be uploaded in the posts).

In the video you can see that I fly forward, pivot and then return on the SAME path…ruling out the possibility of a collision with any obstacles. We also didn’t see any birds in the vicinity nor does any obstacle seem to appear around the drone when we watched the footage in slow motion.


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Flight video (last minute):

Mini 2 Motor Malfunction.mov

MOV File

1drv.ms

Flight Summary:
The conditions were perfect (clear, 38degrees, wind 6mph) and I was flying the drone in VLOS…albeit the drone was below my feet since I was flying it from the palisades overlooking the Kentucky River. At the moment of the incident I was flying straight forward at the same altitude when suddenly the following message appeared on the screen: "Motor unable to rotate. Check for objects blocking motor or contact DJI Support for assistance." Immediately afterwards the drone fell from the sky, spinning horizontally. Three seconds later it was in the River??

Luckily I do have Care Refresh but in this instance I sense DJI might rule it a fly away (=$225 to replace it). However all the data tells me it was a hardware failure that should be covered under warranty.

I don’t mean to waste anyone’s time with this but I have seen how talented some of you are at analyzing logs and such…so perhaps you can help me solve why this time “E.T. (DIDN’T) Drone Home” ?. Thx.

 

[Meta4]

You lowered the drone to -198 feet and started climbing at 950.7 seconds.
You were flying forward and climbed to -142 ft at 956.4 seconds when things went bad.
The pitch and roll data instantly showed extreme values indicating the drone rolling upside down and pitching backward and forward at higher angles than normal as the drone tumbled and lost height.

The Motor Blocked warnings started showing at 956.7 secs

You should start a warranty claim with DJI to see what they think..

 

[slup]

As of now the only means of investigation we have for the Mini 2 flown with a DJI FLY app above v1.2.1 ... is Airdata .com from which you show pictures.

If a drone is spiraling down that usually suggests a lost thrust from either of the 4 sides ... & your AC is spiraling.

By using the Airdata produced .CSV file imported into excel we can more easy see how the AC start to move & by that pinpoint which side that most probably lost thrust.

At 956,3sec into the flight the AC suddenly pitch down, quickly followed by a huge roll to the left ... & then the AC spiraling in a CW direction & lose height. (This is where the Airdata message pops up regarding "Motor is blocked" ... which necessarily doesn't have to be true).

-The pitch down suggests a lost thrust in the front (Orange graph)

-The roll to the left suggests a lost thrust on the left (Grey graph)

-The CW rotation suggests a lost thrust from a CCW torquing prop ... which is either the left front or the rear right. (Yellow graph)

All this together points to a lost thrust from the left front ... either from a motor or prop failure.

To pinpoint if it's a prop or a motor the .DAT log is needed that contains the motor data ... & only DJI have access to that, both when it comes to the .DAT in your mobile device & the one in the AC (which are somewhere in the river).

Agree with what's earlier posted ... contact DJI.

If it turns out to be a motor failure, DJI will very likely take it ... if it's a lost prop they might disappoint you.

(Click on the chart to make it larger)

-

 

[Howard70]

Good morning! Okay so on Saturday I had an epic flight on a glorious day that unfortunately resulted in the crash and loss of my Mini 2. Having crashed before I’d agree to the opinion that the majority of crashes are the result of pilot error, as were mine. However, on this occasion I sincerely feel there was hardware malfunction involved…and of all the places for it to happen, this time it occurred over the Kentucky River (= unretrievable)!

Below is an explanation of the flight, along with data/log files, and also a link to a video of the last minute of my flight…including footage of the incident. (FYI link is to the file in my OneDrive folder since .mp4 files can’t be uploaded in the posts).

In the video you can see that I fly forward, pivot and then return on the SAME path…ruling out the possibility of a collision with any obstacles. We also didn’t see any birds in the vicinity nor does any obstacle seem to appear around the drone when we watched the footage in slow motion.


——————————————
——————————————

Flight video (last minute):

Mini 2 Motor Malfunction.mov

MOV File

1drv.ms

Flight Summary:
The conditions were perfect (clear, 38degrees, wind 6mph) and I was flying the drone in VLOS…albeit the drone was below my feet since I was flying it from the palisades overlooking the Kentucky River. At the moment of the incident I was flying straight forward at the same altitude when suddenly the following message appeared on the screen: "Motor unable to rotate. Check for objects blocking motor or contact DJI Support for assistance." Immediately afterwards the drone fell from the sky, spinning horizontally. Three seconds later it was in the River??

Luckily I do have Care Refresh but in this instance I sense DJI might rule it a fly away (=$225 to replace it). However all the data tells me it was a hardware failure that should be covered under warranty.

I don’t mean to waste anyone’s time with this but I have seen how talented some of you are at analyzing logs and such…so perhaps you can help me solve why this time “E.T. (DIDN’T) Drone Home” ?. Thx.

Hello ET:

Sorry to hear of your lost drone! You mention that the drone was within VLOS when the fall occurred. Were you looking at the drone at that instant? I only ask because the view from the video, the nature of the immediate surroundings, and my naive interpretation of the flight data reported above seem consistent with a bird attack by a territorial raptor. Many species like to hang out around cliffs and bridges and will apparently appear out of nowhere, give a small drone a hard hit and then fly off.

I realize you didn’t see any birds in the area, but I nearly lost a MA2 to a raptor strike and never saw the bird. I only realized what happened when closely examining the drone upon return to home and seeing marks from the talons on its body.

Howard

 

[E.T. DRONE HOME]

You lowered the drone to -198 feet and started climbing at 950.7 seconds.
You were flying forward and climbed to -142 ft at 956.4 seconds when things went bad.
The pitch and roll data instantly showed extreme values indicating the drone rolling upside down and pitching backward and forward at higher angles than normal as the drone tumbled and lost height.

The Motor Blocked warnings started showing at 956.7 secs

You should start a warranty claim with DJI to see what they think..

Wow, it is absolutely mind boggling to me the amount of data these logs contain and how talented you are at analyzing them to be able to decipher the pitch/roll and thrust levels of each individual motor! Kudos.

I have a bitter/sweet feeling because on the one hand I’m so impressed by DJI tech that I’m usually inclined to think incidents happen due to error…but on this occasion the circumstances seemed to point towards a defect in the drone so your response is some consolation. Thx??

 

[E.T. DRONE HOME]

As of now the only means of investigation we have for the Mini 2 flown with a DJI FLY app above v1.2.1 ... is Airdata .com from which you show pictures.

If a drone is spiraling down that usually suggests a lost thrust from either of the 4 sides ... & your AC is spiraling.

By using the Airdata produced .CSV file imported into excel we can more easy see how the AC start to move & by that pinpoint which side that most probably lost thrust.

At 956,3sec into the flight the AC suddenly pitch down, quickly followed by a huge roll to the left ... & then the AC spiraling in a CW direction & lose height. (This is where the Airdata message pops up regarding "Motor is blocked" ... which necessarily doesn't have to be true).

-The pitch down suggests a lost thrust in the front (Orange graph)

-The roll to the left suggests a lost thrust on the left (Grey graph)

-The CW rotation suggests a lost thrust from a CCW torquing prop ... which is either the left front or the rear right. (Yellow graph)

All this together points to a lost thrust from the left front ... either from a motor or prop failure.

To pinpoint if it's a prop or a motor the .DAT log is needed that contains the motor data ... & only DJI have access to that, both when it comes to the .DAT in your mobile device & the one in the AC (which are somewhere in the river).

Agree with what's earlier posted ... contact DJI.

If it turns out to be a motor failure, DJI will very likely take it ... if it's a lost prop they might disappoint you.

(Click on the chart to make it larger)
View attachment 125459

Ditto my response to Meta above to you as well. Thanks so much for your input?? I’ll see what DJI says… Based on what I’ve read from others experiences with DJI in similar instances my gut feeling is that initially they’ll want me to pay the $225 replacement fee… And I get it, it’s a business, plus a surge in replacements means the price goes up for everyone. Thanks again.

 

[E.T. DRONE HOME]

Hello ET:

Sorry to hear of your lost drone! You mention that the drone was within VLOS when the fall occurred. Were you looking at the drone at that instant? I only ask because the view from the video, the nature of the immediate surroundings, and my naive interpretation of the flight data reported above seem consistent with a bird attack by a territorial raptor. Many species like to hang out around cliffs and bridges and will apparently appear out of nowhere, give a small drone a hard hit and then fly off.

I realize you didn’t see any birds in the area, but I nearly lost a MA2 to a raptor strike and never saw the bird. I only realized what happened when closely examining the drone upon return to home and seeing marks from the talons on its body.

Howard

Raptor would be a killer name for a drone!! Too bad in your case it was a drone killer?

Thanks Howard for your response.

I know on the map the aerial satellite view gives the impression that 50yrds or so of land/trees separated me from the river bank however in reality both sides of this river are flanked by pretty high cliffs and I was located at the High Bridge park on a metal scenic overlook structure like a suspended truncated bridge so I had direct view of the river below. The drone was some distance away but the white shell was easy to see against the backdrop of the muddy river water and we saw no birds in the vicinity. The Kentucky Wildcats must’ve scared them away?

We did see buzzards but they were circling above me and above the tree line…not down by the river.

On a side note I was there to video the river because of the devastating floods we had here last week. Here are a few pics so you can see how high the river was!

 

[E.T. DRONE HOME]

As of now the only means of investigation we have for the Mini 2 flown with a DJI FLY app above v1.2.1 ... is Airdata .com from which you show pictures.

If a drone is spiraling down that usually suggests a lost thrust from either of the 4 sides ... & your AC is spiraling.

By using the Airdata produced .CSV file imported into excel we can more easy see how the AC start to move & by that pinpoint which side that most probably lost thrust.

At 956,3sec into the flight the AC suddenly pitch down, quickly followed by a huge roll to the left ... & then the AC spiraling in a CW direction & lose height. (This is where the Airdata message pops up regarding "Motor is blocked" ... which necessarily doesn't have to be true).

-The pitch down suggests a lost thrust in the front (Orange graph)

-The roll to the left suggests a lost thrust on the left (Grey graph)

-The CW rotation suggests a lost thrust from a CCW torquing prop ... which is either the left front or the rear right. (Yellow graph)

All this together points to a lost thrust from the left front ... either from a motor or prop failure.

To pinpoint if it's a prop or a motor the .DAT log is needed that contains the motor data ... & only DJI have access to that, both when it comes to the .DAT in your mobile device & the one in the AC (which are somewhere in the river).

Agree with what's earlier posted ... contact DJI.

If it turns out to be a motor failure, DJI will very likely take it ... if it's a lost prop they might disappoint you.

(Click on the chart to make it larger)
View attachment 125459
-

Question: If I ask would DJI disclose to me a read out of the .DAT file they might use to analyze the motor log data?

At the time of the incident I only had the mini 2 for 32 days so both the motors and props should be covered in my mind. Hopefully profits from the FPV will have the DJI team in a generous mood!

 

[slup]

Question: If I ask would DJI disclose to me a read out of the .DAT file they might use to analyze the motor log data?

The problem with the mobile device .DAT log from a Mini 2 (you probably still have it stored in the device you flew with) ... is that it's encrypted, unlike from all other DJI models which we can read ourselves.

Doubt that DJI will decrypt it & return it to you ... you will certainly get some kind of very short explanation from them but not so much more.

The nice thing with the .DAT is that it besides the motor data also contain the raw sensor data which could make it possible for us to judge if anything (a bird..?) hit the AC just before it started to behave.

At the time of the incident I only had the mini 2 for 32 days so both the motors and props should be covered in my mind...

The thing is that it's hard to judge why a motor sizes ... can be a manufacturing fault, or dirt that have ended up in the motor from some earlier take-offs or landings ... or prop debris falling into the motor when a prop breaks... or some electrical malfunction that cuts the power to only one motor.

It's equal with the props ... it's a matter of how they have been treated. Props is a consumable, they take hits, gets handled & bent & perhaps sometimes the screws that hold them are forced in by the owner & gets cross threaded by mistake.

All this becomes even harder to judge when the craft is missing ...

You're kind of in the mercy of DJI unfortunately ...

 

[Deleted member 154384]