My bird strike

[BudWalker]

Yesterday I had an incident that must have been a bird strike. The left front landing leg was folded back

and the underside of the right front prop had some streak marks that look kinda greasy.


Looking at the .DAT file the eventLog stream shows this

147.537 : 10017 [L-FDI][CTRL]: fault on , impact_in_air
147.557 : 10018 [L-RC]craft ctrl failed!!!
147.676 : 10024 [L-FDI][CTRL]: fault off, impact_in_air
:
:
148.992 : 10090 [L-FDI]NS(0) GPS(0): fault on , conformity
:
:
149.571 : 10119 [L-RC]craft ctrl failed!!!

The M2P was hovering at about 44 meter height when the accelerometer data shows it was hit from below and from the left

The attitude data shows that it pitched up and rolled right
.txt file

The pitch data shows that it tumbled end over end a few times before righting itself.

Too bad I wasn't recording the video stream. I was using the DJI Goggles and recall that the when the incident occurred that 1) the gimbal seemed to be stuck pointing at the left prop, 2) erratic hard to control flight, and 3) there was some kind of Gimbal error. The .txt log shows this "Gimbal Roll Reached Movement Limit". After a few secs it got easier to control but the gimbal was stuck at roughly 70° CW tilt. Finally, the gimbal righted itself as I was flying it back.

Logs are here.
DAT file
.txt file

 

[kilomikebravo]

**** sorry about the midair, Bud. I hope you can get it repaired quickly.

KB

 

[Eugenious99]

is it full arm replacement or just that tiny leg ? Just curious .

 

[BudWalker]

is it full arm replacement or just that tiny leg ? Just curious .

Just the leg

 

[Former Member]

Glad the bird didnt take out your Mavic.

 

[DanMan32]

So you were able to regain control and land safely? So the bird itself broke the landing leg?

 

[BudWalker]

So you were able to regain control and land safely? So the bird itself broke the landing leg?

Yes, I flew two more flights after this. I didn't realize there had been an impact until I tried to fold the M2 to put it back in it's case.

The actual tumbling and uncontrolled flight lasted about 7 secs. Since there was a gimbal motor error of some kind I assumed that what I was seeing in the Goggles was just a Gimbal gone haywire. After the image righted itself from the 70° tilt the rest of the flight was uneventful.

 

[DanMan32]

Wow, that must have been some bird to do that kind of damage.

 

[BudWalker]

Wow, that must have been some bird to do that kind of damage.

I didn't actually see the strike but it was probably a turkey vulture. That's a pretty big bird. There are a lot of them around here where I fly. I've noticed that sometimes when I'm flying there will be more in the air than usual. Just flying around in the vicinity. But, they have never come at the Mavic 1 or Mavic 2.

 

[John MacAulay]

WOW, seven seconds of uncontrolled flight and tumbling in the sky. I would have had a heart attack. I'm usually shaking by the time my MP or PHA come back into view from their adventures, 90% of the time over our Nova Scotia craggy coast line and salt water.
Glad your aircraft made it back. I've seen lots of those turkey vultures when visiting Cuba. Big, heavy and none too bright are how I would describe those brutes.

 

[Mavic-Markie93]

I didn't actually see the strike but it was probably a turkey vulture. That's a pretty big bird.

Probably the ugliest bird in North America --- has a head that looks too small for it's body and the whole thing dipped in battery acid --- I used to call them "zombie turkeys" when I was kid because they looked like creepy undead birds from Hades

 

[gnirtS]

Im impressed the drone managed to right itself after that.

 

[BudWalker]

I think I was really lucky that the strike appears to have hit just the leg. If it was a bit higher it would have been into the left front prop. As I mentioned the underside of the right front prop has some greasy looking streaks.

 

[Turn11]

I think I was really lucky

We have them over here in Arizona and if it was one, it probably didn't even feel the contact.
Hijack, kinda
The MP/MPP motors will shutoff at approximately 70°. It appears to be undocumented or at least I can't find it. Apparently the M2 does not respond the same way based on some reports. Do you know or have any other information/thoughts?

 

[BudWalker]

....
The MP/MPP motors will shutoff at approximately 70°. It appears to be undocumented or at least I can't find it. Apparently the M2 does not respond the same way based on some reports. Do you know or have any other information/thoughts?

If I get a chance I'll test the 70° cut off. Just to be clear it was the gimbal that was at a 70° tilt for about 5 secs on the way back. At that point the M2 was flying normally.

 

[macoman]

Whatever hit the drone was probably very small to the point that the Mavic is too powerful and didn't even affected the flight.

 

[Turn11]

to be clear it was the gimbal

Apologies, I didn't read and comprehend properly.
Hijack over.

 

[kilomikebravo]

I think I was really lucky

No doubt about THAT, Bud! Definitely a close one but like everyone else who flies these things and who know what it's like to have a similar event occur, I'm sure we're all glad that the damage was minimal.

KB

 

[BerndM]

I believe the leg is simply a support that also houses one of the antennas. I would consider simply super gluing it back in place since it looks in your picture that it wasn't totally separated. Verify the antenna cable is not torn or damaged before gluing though.

 

[BudWalker]

I believe the leg is simply a support that also houses one of the antennas. I would consider simply super gluing it back in place since it looks in your picture that it wasn't totally separated. Verify the antenna cable is not torn or damaged before gluing though.

It's not apparent from the photo but the leg is bent at the base. You can see the discoloration where it bent here.


It won't bend back to it's original shape and leaves a gap


But, it's good enough to fly until I get the replacement part.