Missing drone, DJI service is hopeless

[ddigital]

I keep hearing about user error, can you explain what I did wrong?

Another case of user error.

what is the correct procedure when you see disconnected on the controller?

 

[JDawg]

It's not going to be a bird strike. Why does that get suggested every time? It's never a bird strike. The flight profile was simply flawed - it was far too low.

I am following along trying to learn how you do this. At 3m 40s it shows him at 100.7'. Is there something else I should be looking at?

 

[Mtwilly87]

Sounds like home point wasn’t correctly recorded in addition to flying too low.

 

[sar104]

I keep hearing about user error, can you explain what I did wrong?

You set your waypoints far too low. 16 m AGL over even medium-sized trees is not going to work.

 

[ddigital]

can anyone suggest a good gps tracker i can put onto the drone for next time?

 

[sar104]

Sounds like home point wasn’t correctly recorded in addition to flying too low.

The home point was recorded just fine.

 

[sar104]

I am following along trying to learn how you do this. At 3m 40s it shows him at 100.7'. Is there something else I should be looking at?

That's altitude above the takeoff point (home point). The ground elevation there is 986 ft so the aircraft was at 1087 ft. At the last recorded location the ground elevation is 1035 ft, and so the aircraft was only 52 ft above the ground.

 

[Meta4]

Sounds like home point wasn’t correctly recorded in addition to flying too low.

It's almost impossible not to record your home point.
If you launched before homepoint was recorded, the Mavic would record one soon after when GPS was available anyway.
As Sar104 explained, the homepoint was recorded properly in this case.

The old homepoint not properly recorded explanation is another one of those birdstrike suggestions that comes up all the time.

 

[Meta4]

That's altitude above the takeoff point (home point). The ground elevation there is 986 ft so the aircraft was at 1087 ft. At the last recorded location the ground elevation is 1035 ft, and so the aircraft was only 52 ft above the ground.

That's 52 ft above the ground ... not the trees.
What the OP needs to consider is: How tall were the trees?
And how much higher was the ground + trees where the waypoint mission took the drone?

 

[Meta4]

I keep hearing about user error, can you explain what I did wrong?

In waypoint mission incidents, the usual error is to program a mission that drives the drone into rising terrain, trees or other obstacles.
Without knowing more of the planned mission, we can't see if this was your problem. (but it looks like a distinct possibility)

what is the correct procedure when you see disconnected on the controller?

Do nothing and hope you programmed the waypoint mission and/or RTH properly for the site location and obstacles.

 

[sar104]

That's 52 ft above the ground ... not the trees.
What the OP needs to consider is: How tall were the trees?
And how much higher was the ground + trees where the waypoint mission took the drone?

If it continued in the same general direction then the ground rises gently, while the aircraft altitude was being held constant. It was just a matter of time before it found a tree. It was a Mavic 2 so it should have been able to avoid a collision, but it may not have been able to get home with an RTH height also set to 30 m, especially if it ended up under the canopy.

 

[Meta4]

That's 52 ft above the ground ... not the trees.
What the OP needs to consider is: How tall were the trees?
And how much higher was the ground + trees where the waypoint mission took the drone?

A look around at a likely route takes the drone over terrain that's 25 metres higher than the home point.
If the waypoint mission stayed at the same altitude, that's not enough to clear any trees on the path.

 

[JDawg]

That's altitude above the takeoff point (home point). The ground elevation there is 986 ft so the aircraft was at 1087 ft. At the last recorded location the ground elevation is 1035 ft, and so the aircraft was only 52 ft above the ground.

Ok so you got that from one of the other tabs from his flight log? What programs or downloads do I need to get to start deciphering all of this. I really enjoy watching you guys work.

 

[msinger]

can you explain what I did wrong?

It appears you set it off on an automated waypoint mission at an altitude that was too low for the flying area. The ground was going uphill in the direction your Mavic was headed.

 

[sar104]

Ok so you got that from one of the other tabs from his flight log? What programs or downloads do I need to get to start deciphering all of this. I really enjoy watching you guys work.

The ground elevation is not in the log - you need to get that from Google Earth or other DEM of your choice.

 

[Meta4]

Don’t waste your money, wait until they make the technology better and actually works.

DJI's problem is that no matter how good their drone technology is, they are still stuck with operators that don't know what they are doing.
Blaming DJI for your piloting errors isn't a good move.

 

[sar104]

Just so that everyone can see what we are talking about here:

 

[Meta4]

Or to show it another way (including a possible flightpath home)

 

[dylanthecat]

Thanks sar, again you are correct. Flew into trees. Good chance could be on RTH which makes the search area larger. Maybe. I retract my bird strike. No birds. flying squirrels?

 

[RayOZ]

The drone wasn't even facing forward, but facing home point. Lateral vision won't be working. Chances of hitting a tree seems quite high.
I was wondering why the OP wasn't looking at his mobile screen. He might have seen the elevation rising and increase altitude.
I guess one of the user error here is not taking into account his flight environment.