My Mavic flew off today in the NV wilderness

[utahlasvegas]

Hi, I've had my Mavic for about a week now and was flying this evening at a beautiful little spot north of Lake Mead. I had it out almost a mile away while sunset was lighting up these red rock formations. Then, the app lit up and said that my battery was getting cold, so I hit the return to home button, and it vanished. I got a little lost trying to find it because it became dark, & it took me 3 hours to find my truck.

I don't think I'm going to be able to find the drone. I bought Dji Care, but I don't think it covers lost drones, right? I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go back and look for it again tomorrow.

Any suggestions? I guess I should have thought about putting a tracking device on it.


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[FPVJunkie]

I think @msinger might hopefully be able to help you out. There is a way to extract some data from either your RC or phone (can't remember which), but I know he is the man to contact.

Hopefully you find it!

 

[FPVJunkie]

Check out this post: Lost Mavic :-( .....NOW FOUND! :-)

It may help you get started with getting the files ready.

 

[utahlasvegas]

Thanks! I'm not sure how to access the flight log, but I did watch the video on my phone and can see where it was last recording. Hopefully it's not crashed on the top of a big and steep rock that I know I can't climb.


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[FPVJunkie]

Check out this website: DJI Mavic Accessories & Tips - Mavic Help (it's actually MSingers) and scroll pretty much down to the bottom where it says Logs - Retrieve DJI GO Flight Logs from X device.

 

[utahlasvegas]

Thanks! I'm camping in the back of my truck in the freezing cold and am going to go back tomorrow morning to look for it. There's a picture on the map that's not where I lost contact. I have a handheld gps, and I'll turn it on this time so I don't get lost. The footage on my phone looks really pretty. Hopefully I can find it.


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[BD0G]

Good luck with the search. If I was nearby I would offer to fly my Mavic Pro and help with reconnaissance. Perhaps post in the Regional Forum section here for the area that you are in and see if any other drone pilots can assist with an aerial search of the area where it was last seen. You can cover more ground that way.

If its on top of a steep cliff then drone with a hook time.

Handheld GPS is a good start.

I have StateFarm and it insures every aspect of the Mavic Pro. 60 a year.

Keep us posted as we all like recovery stories.

 

[utahlasvegas]

This is a dumb question, but when I watch a replay of the flight and map on the dji go app, are those numbers the latitude and longitude? If so, it looks like I should try entering them into my little Garmin for the last known location.


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[utahlasvegas]

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[FPVJunkie]

I would definitely try entering it into the Garmin and trying it out! Hopefully it's generally in that same area as on your picture.

I crashed one of my race quads and spent like 3hrs climbing up and down this mountain, I finally found it after I was so tempted to give up, my Hero4 was attached to it, so I was determined to find it.

 

[BD0G]

If it landed/ crashed slightly off to the right then negotiating that big crevasse is going to be dicey.

 

[utahlasvegas]

I know! It looks like there might be a way up about halfway down, but it might end up as a trophy for the desert.


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[FPVJunkie]

I'm going on a scavenger hunt when i get back in town.... hahaha

 

[BD0G]

I'm going on a scavenger hunt when i get back in town.... hahaha

LOL. I know if you find it you will let utahlasvegas know right? Too bad someone was not close to your location and could do some searching with another drone.

 

[Skydog]

I believe you need to hook up the phone to iTunes (assuming it's an iPhone, I don't know about others) then in the app section, then under documents, click on the Go app and you can get access to the flight records. I believe you want the txt file. If you upload to healthy drones you probably can get its last position. Good luck.


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[msinger]

utahlasvegas, if you need help locating your Mavic, please upload your flight log here and post a link back here. If you're using an Apple device, you'll need to upload your flight log from a computer where iTunes is installed.

 

[chippie]

Another one where O/A has stopped it dead in it's tracks no doubt. If you are that far away you really need to set a good RTH height and make sure that you turn off O/A at least until DJI tweak it to account for sun-flare (if they can at all)

 

[Grey Wolf]

Hi, I've had my Mavic for about a week now and was flying this evening at a beautiful little spot north of Lake Mead. I had it out almost a mile away while sunset was lighting up these red rock formations. Then, the app lit up and said that my battery was getting cold, so I hit the return to home button, and it vanished. I got a little lost trying to find it because it became dark, & it took me 3 hours to find my truck.

I don't think I'm going to be able to find the drone. I bought Dji Care, but I don't think it covers lost drones, right? I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go back and look for it again tomorrow.

Any suggestions? I guess I should have thought about putting a tracking device on it.


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Why were you flying it a mile away? FAA regulations say you must fly within vlos at all times.
If you were flying around Red Rocks then you were doing so illegally as it is a National Park. I tried a few years ago and the Ranger stopped me.
Hopefully, you will learn from this and never fly beyond vlos!

 

[Kilrah]

What's wrong with people always hitting the RTH button at the first message they receive? RTH is your best option in one and only case, if you've lost complete contact as in no more in sight AND no more video feed. In any other case you'll always do a better job flying it yourself.

 

[utahlasvegas]

I'm not at Red Rock. I'm at a BLM wilderness site north of Lake Mead. I am a total noob tho... only been flying for a week.


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