My drone exploded in mid air

[LewisJones]

@LewisJones were you in sports mode at the time ? if so thats put quite a current draw on the battery ,especially if you were videoing ,and had the obstacle avoidance active as well
another issue with the mini 3 pro, is it gets quite hot anyway during flight ,and in sunny conditions just hovering it can overheat
DJI have packed so much into such a small package, and therefor no internal fan, to save weight ,it only has the limited airflow as it is moving to help dissipate heat build up
none of this excuses the fact that the battery somehow went into a thermal runaway ,hope you can get a replacement ,sorry for your drone loss

I was in normal mode when it exploded. About 3 minutes prior however I was in sports mode which is how I got to that height and distance

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I’m working to get the logs but I think it’s corrupted. I need more than just the arm and gimbal for photos

You will not be able to read the log directly, you must upload it to the likes of
DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
and download the csv or post the log's URL here.
Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones works too but the csv isn't as good.

 

[MS Coast]

Mini 3's are well known to overheat when flown hard, and particularly with the larger heavier plus battery, and in all cases reported so far they have, in the worst cases, shut down mid flight and fell out of the sky but thats very rare.

Considering the summer climate here, I'm curious about documented cases of Mini 3 Pros overheating and crashing. I did a quick Youtube search and and search of the Mini 3 forum and found not crash reports from overheating. I found one discussion based on a case with flight logs in which the drone overheated and force landed. I did find a several reports of people routinely flying in high-temperature environments (>100F) without problems.

I didn't do an exhaustive search, but it doesn't appear that overheating and forced landing is common and crashes due to overheating are even less common.

I've not heard of a mid-flight battery explosion, either. But I can believe that it could happen. I hope the OP will post the flight log.

 

[msinger]

I've not heard of a mid-flight battery explosion, either

Me neither. I haven't heard of drones exploding on the ground either due to batteries overheating.

 

[umanbean]

I’m working to get the logs but I think it’s corrupted.

If the log for that flight is corrupt that would truly be an amazing coincidence.

Drone explodes midair, log spontaneously self-destructs.

Speaking of long shots - to hit a drone at that distance mid-air with a shotgun firing slugs would also be truly amazing, considering 90-plus percent of shotguns do not have sights - my wild turkey shotgun does - and slugs don't have a very high muzzle velocity, are very heavy, and therefore drop like a rock as soon as it leaves the barrel.

 

[LewisJones]

If the log for that flight is corrupt that would truly be an amazing coincidence.

Drone explodes midair, log spontaneously self-destructs.

Speaking of long shots - to hit a drone at that distance mid-air with a shotgun firing slugs would also be truly amazing, considering 90-plus percent of shotguns do not have sights - my wild turkey shotgun does - and slugs don't have a very high muzzle velocity, are very heavy, and therefore drop like a rock as soon as it leaves the barrel.

You’re welcome to think what you want and if you don’t believe it then just go away so people can actually help who care. Ill upload photos later I’m doing another search for parts with my mate in a bit

 

[Cafguy]

I have seen a battery swell to the point that you couldn't remove it from the drone, but I haven't seen an EXPLOSION. Runaways I can see, BUT you would still have a big mass of melted plastic and electronics (and tears) - not bits and pieces.
I am not saying it didn't happen at all, BUT I wanna see
It still sounds like somebody took out the drone( for it to turn into splinters before their eyes). Runaway you are gonna see a bunch of smoke and then FLASH! it all goes in a ball of fire.

 

[GFields]

This is the first case of a drone explosion that I've read. First, I'm sorry for your loss. Secondly, I hope you are able to recover the missing parts and flight logs so everyone can look into this. Finally, have you talked to DJI about this? Do you have DJI refresh or any coverage on the drone?

Good luck to you and I hope you get it all sorted out.

 

[Meta4]

I’m working to get the logs but I think it’s corrupted. I need more than just the arm and gimbal for photos

It might look corrupted, but that's because it's encrypted.
Just post it.

To get the flight data
There are a couple of options ...

1. Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report on the flight data.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides and someone might be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.
or
2. Just post the .txt file here
or
3. If you use Airdata, you can view the flight data on Airdata and post a link for the Airdata report

And ignore the folks who want to suggest it was shot.
Drones don't give off high temperature warnings before or after being shot.

But the high temp warning is very likely to be the "smoking gun".
Battery temp is included in the flight data as will be any warning messages.
:

 

[umanbean]

You’re welcome to think what you want and if you don’t believe it then just go away so people can actually help who care. Ill upload photos later I’m doing another search for parts with my mate in a bit

I never said I didn't believe it, and did not intend for my post to be taken that way... but I WILL go away. Thank you

 

[RodPad]

Wow.
Welcome to the Forum!

I hate seeing this crash stuff on the first post.
Follow this guys leads on getting your data posted they are number #1.

If you get stuck members will help.

What are you using for a mobile device?

Rod ..

 

[tubemkr]

Subscribed to this thread. Should be interesting from a forensic perspective. I’m very curious to see what turns up as I have a Mini 3 Pro that I often put into sport mode and fly like I stole it. It’s been between 100° and 105° here in Oklahoma all week till today, so I’ve left mine grounded.
Definitely post the flight logs please. There are several folks here who are very good at understanding those logs and can cypher out your drones last moments of life as well as offer a probable cause for its demise.

 

[RodPad]

"I often put into sport mode and fly like I stole it."
Love that, that is great .

I will be quiet on this thread for now.

Rod ..

 

[Cafguy]

The Event just Doesn't hold water when you do the MATH. O.K. lets say runaway Battery surge- WELL the drone would smoke like a 72 pickup on pennzoil and then the flames would start But IF the gases were "Trapped in the battery- Then the gas "Exploded" thru the case, The worst it could do is maybe crack your drone at a weak point around the battery.
The drone is made of plastic and sort of Brittle Plastic at that. If it were made of metal and was sealed tight THEN I could see a Violent Explosion. But A DJI drone you would just see a flash of fire and then (possibly) the fire it causes on the ground.
When you find it( or the fireman brings it to you ) it would be in probably one or two melted hunks. Not Bits no way.
NOTE:
I'm no Structural Engineer but I did play one in our 6th grade production of A Towering Inferno.)
BUT I can halfway do the math and, Well if there WAS an Explosion The Drone didn't do it.

 

[LewisJones]

Well here’s the body

 

[Meta4]

Well here’s the body

Any data to help understanding the incident?

 

[FLDave]

So, based on the inspection, could you describe your analysis of the events? Was this intact as you found it?
And, where is the TXT file flight log?

 

[LewisJones]

Any data to help understanding the incident?

It seems to be corrupted. I followed the steps on the recovery guide opened the CSV and it’s empty. To be honest it probably would’ve just stopped showing anything after it exploded

 

[LewisJones]

So, based on the inspection, could you describe your analysis of the events? Was this intact as you found it?
And, where is the TXT file flight log?

Well I said what happened in the original post really. It was hovering for a minute or so and then just exploded. I think it was the battery because I got temperature warnings. If I can’t get the data to work I’ll have to guess it’s that. I’m going to contact DJI for a replacement as I wasn’t using after market components

 

[Meta4]

It seems to be corrupted. I followed the steps on the recovery guide opened the CSV and it’s empty. To be honest it probably would’ve just stopped showing anything after it exploded

Can you post the .txt file?
Upload to Google Drive or similar and post a link.
It will have lots of data right up to the fatal moment, including full data on battery temperature right through the flight.