Noob mistake resulting in crash

[KD2SSP]

With only 10 flights under my belt, I stupidly set the home point under a hemlock tree. During take off I even had to maneuver around the overhead branch which was about 40' high (should've been my first clue).

After a short flight I hit RTH, while it was descending I realized what was about to happen...I frantically tried to cancel RTH but my right palm accidentally touched the media icon on the RC which takes 1-2 seconds for it to load. By the time I got back to the control screen it was too late. It hit the branch and got wedged in good. I got the replace props warning. *CRINGE*

Recovery took about 1 hour. First I put an old foam mattress directly beneath. I used a 28ft extension ladder to get as close as I could. Then I used a fiskars extendable pole pruner to grab it to try and gently lower it but I cut a front arm almost clean off. I had no choice but to cut the branches so it fell about 40' and bounced off the mattress and onto the ground.

I didn't have care refresh but my saving grace was DJI repair was fast and only cost me $159 for 2 broken arms and propellers, amazingly the camera and gimbal survived the fall.

Moral of the story is basically don't set the home point under a tree like I did. From now on I'm more inclined to just land manually when conditions allow.

Thanks for reading!

 

[GFields]

You can use the sticks to adjust the location of the drone's landing spot without cancelling RTH

 

[KD2SSP]

You can use the sticks to adjust the location of the drone's landing spot without cancelling RTH

I realize that but the panic of the moment plus my inexperience didn't help. I wonder if during RTH decent had I just pushed full stick up the aircraft would have just hovered in place?

 

[GFields]

I realize that but the panic of the moment plus my inexperience didn't help. I wonder if during RTM decent had I just pushed full stick up the aircraft would have just hovered in place?

It would ascend until you released the left stick up

 

[KD2SSP]

It would ascend until you released the left stick up

Understood I'll remember now that stick input will override RTH!

 

[GFields]

Understood I'll remember now that stick input will override RTH!

RTH is an excellent feature, but caution must be used with it. I crashed a Mavic Zoom because I had taken my eye off it and hit RTH and the drone was under a power line. Yup, flew up into it and crashed. The only damage was one broken prop.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

With only 10 flights under my belt, I stupidly set the home point under a hemlock tree. During take off I even had to maneuver around the overhead branch which was about 40' high (should've been my first clue).

After a short flight I hit RTH, while it was descending I realized what was about to happen...I frantically tried to cancel RTH but my right palm accidentally touched the media icon on the RC which takes 1-2 seconds for it to load. By the time I got back to the control screen it was too late. It hit the branch and got wedged in good. I got the replace props warning. *CRINGE*

Recovery took about 1 hour. First I put an old foam mattress directly beneath. I used a 28ft extension ladder to get as close as I could. Then I used a fiskars extendable pole pruner to grab it to try and gently lower it but I cut a front arm almost clean off. I had no choice but to cut the branches so it fell about 40' and bounced off the mattress and onto the ground.

I didn't have care refresh but my saving grace was DJI repair was fast and only cost me $159 for 2 broken arms and propellers, amazingly the camera and gimbal survived the fall.

Moral of the story is basically don't set the home point under a tree like I did. From now on I'm more inclined to just land manually when conditions allow.

Thanks for reading!

Couple more thoughts… if you choose to fly under a canopy of trees, you should turn off auto RTH if signal is lost. The saving grace is that if you are purposely under a canopy, you probably are very close to the AC and unlikely to lose signal.

Also, be careful when using Waypoint mission. If you set the end of the mission to “Hover”, and “Continue the Mission “ if signal is lost, your drone will end in a catch 22 unable to return if signal is lost. The only solution to break the standoff is to chase after the drone to gain signal. For missions which may result in questionable signal, use RTH at the end of the mission.

 

[KD2SSP]

Couple more thoughts… if you choose to fly under a canopy of trees, you should turn off auto RTH if signal is lost. The saving grace is that if you are purposely under a canopy, you probably are very close to the AC and unlikely to lose signal.

Also, be careful when using Waypoint mission. If you set the end of the mission to “Hover”, and “Continue the Mission “ if signal is lost, your drone will end in a catch 22 unable to return if signal is lost. The only solution to break the standoff is to chase after the drone to gain signal. For missions which may result in questionable signal, use RTH at the end of the mission.

Good point. Since signal interference can happen unexpectedly in areas with heavy WiFi 2.4ghz/5ghz congestion. Another scenario could be if one let their RC/phone/tablet die during flight, it would give me time to relaunch the app.

I've had to cancel the auto RTH a couple times because my RC dropped signal for a split second then came right back, even when nearby. Outdoor AP might be the culprit.

I haven't used waypoints yet but I'll keep that in mind when I do. Thank You!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Understood I'll remember now that stick input will override RTH!

I would suggest that you read the drone's manual. It probably tells you, in the small print, what stick commands are available during the various phases of the RTH and alternative methods of cancelling an on going RTH e.g. pressing the RTH button on the controller.

 

[Talldiver]

Couple more thoughts… if you choose to fly under a canopy of trees, you should turn off auto RTH if signal is lost. The saving grace is that if you are purposely under a canopy, you probably are very close to the AC and unlikely to lose signal.

Also, be careful when using Waypoint mission. If you set the end of the mission to “Hover”, and “Continue the Mission “ if signal is lost, your drone will end in a catch 22 unable to return if signal is lost. The only solution to break the standoff is to chase after the drone to gain signal. For missions which may result in questionable signal, use RTH at the end of the mission.

Good tip. I always use hover.

 

[Don Testme]

Couple more thoughts… if you choose to fly under a canopy of trees, you should turn off auto RTH if signal is lost. The saving grace is that if you are purposely under a canopy, you probably are very close to the AC and unlikely to lose signal.

Also, be careful when using Waypoint mission. If you set the end of the mission to “Hover”, and “Continue the Mission “ if signal is lost, your drone will end in a catch 22 unable to return if signal is lost. The only solution to break the standoff is to chase after the drone to gain signal. For missions which may result in questionable signal, use RTH at the end of the mission.

I just did a way mission with a mav 3. I had the altitude set so low I lost r/c and drone comms completely. The drone just continued flying its mission. But, thinking ahead, I had the RTH set to 350 ft. So after the last way point, the drone rose up and communications were restablished. It flew back without a problem with RTH. Beep Beep Beep Beep

 

[solidhouse]

Couple more thoughts… if you choose to fly under a canopy of trees, you should turn off auto RTH if signal is lost. The saving grace is that if you are purposely under a canopy, you probably are very close to the AC and unlikely to lose signal.

Also, be careful when using Waypoint mission. If you set the end of the mission to “Hover”, and “Continue the Mission “ if signal is lost, your drone will end in a catch 22 unable to return if signal is lost. The only solution to break the standoff is to chase after the drone to gain signal. For missions which may result in questionable signal, use RTH at the end of the mission.

On the waypoint mission, I’m fairly certain if “continue” is chosen upon signal loss and “hover” is chosen at the end of mission, the low battery RTH will kick in and the drone with RTH anyways. This is for the Mavic 3.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

With only 10 flights under my belt, I stupidly set the home point under a hemlock tree. During take off I even had to maneuver around the overhead branch which was about 40' high (should've been my first clue).

After a short flight I hit RTH, while it was descending I realized what was about to happen...I frantically tried to cancel RTH but my right palm accidentally touched the media icon on the RC which takes 1-2 seconds for it to load. By the time I got back to the control screen it was too late. It hit the branch and got wedged in good. I got the replace props warning. *CRINGE*

Recovery took about 1 hour. First I put an old foam mattress directly beneath. I used a 28ft extension ladder to get as close as I could. Then I used a fiskars extendable pole pruner to grab it to try and gently lower it but I cut a front arm almost clean off. I had no choice but to cut the branches so it fell about 40' and bounced off the mattress and onto the ground.

I didn't have care refresh but my saving grace was DJI repair was fast and only cost me $159 for 2 broken arms and propellers, amazingly the camera and gimbal survived the fall.

Moral of the story is basically don't set the home point under a tree like I did. From now on I'm more inclined to just land manually when conditions allow.

Thanks for reading!

My son is permanently storing one of his drones about 150 feet up in a fir tree nearby. The RTH altitude was not set high enough to rise above the trees and when the battery ran down and it tried to return to home, there was a forest in the way.

 

[SethB]

It seems like many people who post routinely use RTH for landing. For some reason that has never appealed to me; I guess I’ve never wanted to trust it. There are so many things Obstacle Avoidance doesn’t see, I’ve always thought of OA as an unreliable failsafe, RTH as well.

One of these days I’ll have to give RTH a workout and get better acquainted. Been pretty happy taking off and landing with sticks for years…

 

[jimlips]

I'm with @SethB above. DO NOT routinely use RTH to bring the craft back. RTH is more of an emergency thing. As you've seen (and learned), it can be costly.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I would suggest it is sensible to work one's way through all the RTH behaviours in a safe place BEFORE experiencing them for real in a proper flight.

 

[SethB]

I would suggest it is sensible to work one's way through all the RTH behaviours in a safe place BEFORE experiencing them for real in a proper flight.

That seems a really good idea, but also may be the last thing in the plans of someone new to flying. Meaning, if I was new to this, and without coaching in those early experiences, I too would probably think that the automation functions of DJI Go4 and Fly were just the thing to reduce my stress.

I do remember the stress of my early flying experiences, and was fortunate to receive a lot of in-person coaching and support.

Perhaps off topic:
The consumer/prosumer market for drones adds to confusion. “Why would I need coaching on flying a toy?” When the “toy” costs in the low thousands of USD only some people can easily write off the cost of an RTH crash to experience.

On the other hand, the OP got off luckier than that with a $159 USD repair bill. Some folks aren’t so lucky in their early experiences.

 

[Don Testme]

On the waypoint mission, I’m fairly certain if “continue” is chosen upon signal loss and “hover” is chosen at the end of mission, the low battery RTH will kick in and the drone with RTH anyways. This is for the Mavic 3.

That's good to know.

 

[Deleted member 162835]

I've had my Mavic 3 going on a year now, flown 152 flights, and never once hit RTH. I always fly my drone back and land it myself. Other than letting the software do the work for you, any real benefit to using the RTH feature?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

That seems a really good idea, but also may be the last thing in the plans of someone new to flying. Meaning, if I was new to this, and without coaching in those early experiences, I too would probably think that the automation functions of DJI Go4 and Fly were just the thing to reduce my stress.

I do remember the stress of my early flying experiences, and was fortunate to receive a lot of in-person coaching and support.

Perhaps off topic:
The consumer/prosumer market for drones adds to confusion. “Why would I need coaching on flying a toy?” When the “toy” costs in the low thousands of USD only some people can easily write off the cost of an RTH crash to experience.

On the other hand, the OP got off luckier than that with a $159 USD repair bill. Some folks aren’t so lucky in their early experiences.

If the OP is sensible they have the opportunity to learn from the experience of others..... which I think is a major facet of these forums. With the exception of the FPV every model of DJI drone that I have owned has caught me out with some aspect of RTH behaviour that I had either missed or misunderstood. The M2P/Z have done it twice. This is why I suggested that working one's way through the RTH behaviours is a good idea, plus it likely prevents "oh 'sugar', what's it going to do now" moments.