Rats! I just lost my M4P. 'Pitch angle too large'

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I've reviewed the logfile with the RC2

have a read of

DJI RC, RC 2: Uploads for US Users | Help Articles | AirData UAV

app.airdata.com

it tells you how to get the log of the RC2.
Once it is on computer either upload it to here directly, as an attachment, or upload it to the phantomhelp site of post 3 then post the resulting URL here.

 

[K7KY]

Although my flightlog file appears above 'Attach Files' after dragging it in', it's not there when published. I tried dragging the file into this text box, but that produces an error message. Maybe no matter. My wife found the drone! It has some case damage, but the camera gimble seems OK. If I send it to Repair, they'll look into the cause. If I send it to Care Express it seems they just send a replacement and it happens much faster. I would like to know what caused the pitch error, but I'd prefer to get the drone back faster. That was my 1st use of a Plus battery. I'll use the original batteries and keep the Plus for slow & very close to home.
I would like to overcome the file attachment error. Something like this may happen again & I'd appreciate your expertise in understanding flightlogs. Thanks for all the help.

​

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Although my flightlog file appears above 'Attach Files' after dragging it in', it's not there when published. I tried dragging the file into this text box, but that produces an error message. Maybe no matter. My wife found the drone! It has some case damage, but the camera gimble seems OK. If I send it to Repair, they'll look into the cause. If I send it to Care Express it seems they just send a replacement and it happens much faster. I would like to know what caused the pitch error, but I'd prefer to get the drone back faster. That was my 1st use of a Plus battery. I'll use the original batteries and keep the Plus for slow & very close to home.
I would like to overcome the file attachment error. Something like this may happen again & I'd appreciate your expertise in understanding flightlogs. Thanks for all the help.

​

below the text box is "Attach files" click on that, navigate the file and click on the file.

You will probably get better explanation of what went wrong here.
Did you look at the thread in post 16 ?
Or have a look at the longer threads in

Crash & Flyaway Assistance

mavicpilots.com

 

[Meta4]

Although my flightlog file appears above 'Attach Files' after dragging it in', it's not there when published. I tried dragging the file into this text box, but that produces an error message.

What is it that you are trying to attach? .. what kind of file?
What's the error message you are getting?

If you re-read my first post I've given you a number of ways to handle it.

I would like to know what caused the pitch error, ....
I would like to overcome the file attachment error. Something like this may happen again

​

The pitch error might just be a result of the crash and not relevant, but without the data, it's impossible to tell.
If you can post the flight data, someone will be able to explain what happened and give advice on preventing a similar incident in future.
If you can supply the data, you'll get a detailed explanation within minutes.
With dji you wait days and get a one or two line summary with little explanation.

 

[ongtoan]

以 300 英尺的反向速度飞回家中，拍摄烟花。离家很近时，我突然收到红色警告，“俯仰角太大”，之后我就无法控制了。它似乎在森林中距离家点约 200 码的地方。希望明天我能在茂密的陡峭树林中找到它。什么会导致突然的俯仰角错误？我认为我无法控制俯仰。我希望可以找到它；我应该在港口视频上看到很棒的烟花。我很感激你对可能导致俯仰角故障的原因的看法。在正常模式下运行，飞行前所有参数均正常。

me too! looking here:

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[Meta4]

me too! looking here:

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Your video isn't much help in finding the cause of your crash, but the recorded flight data would be.
If I was to guess based on the video alone, I'd say that flying backwards, you had no idea where the drone was flying and crashed it into an obstacle.
See post #3 for instructions and start a new thread if you want help.

 

[Meta4]

I'd appreciate your thoughts on what may have caused the pitch angle malfunction. All parameters were normal prior to flight, operating in Normal mode.

I get the feeling that we're not going to see the recorded data from this incident.
I don't like to guess the cause of an incident without seeing the data, but from what the OP has said it seems that the crash was due to a number of factors including:
A disoriented operator not knowing where the drone was
Flying backwards towards steep terrain and tall trees with no vision of what the drone was flying towards
Flying at night which only added to the disorientation.

In the return flight, the operator overshot the launch point and continued on to collide with trees on the slope further back from the launch point.
The message about pitch angle would have come after the crash and was not related to the cause of the crash.

When/if the flight data ever shows up, it will confirm whether this preliminary analysis is correct and add more detail.

 

[K7KY]

Sorry for long delay. Health issues intervened. I've now reviewed my flight in Log Viewer. Thanks for outlining this for me. I tried to upload my FlightLog to the forum. Although I included it, it didn't publish. Here's my flight in Log Viewer: DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

'A disoriented operator not knowing where the drone was'. Not the case. I've made this flight b4, day & night. Drone is especially easy to ID @ night.

'Flying backwards towards steep terrain and tall trees with no vision of what the drone was flying towards'. Again, not a new flight for me. Home is 385'ASL. I can see the drone even more easily @ night. Just b4 reaching Home I received RED warning, 'Pitch angle too large'. Directly after that warning, no control. I tried RTH immediately w/o effect. FlightLog shows warnings when signal was weak and after crash, but the 'Pitch' warning b4 passing home isn't reflected in FlightLog.

'Flying at night which only added to the disorientation'. Again, I had no sense of disorientation. I've been flying around my home in steep wooded terrain day & night for months. It's the only place I fly. I can see the drone a long distance from Home. Returning backward makes it easier to see @ night. I've not hit anything flying around steep terrain and dense woods. Isn't the 'Pitch warning unusual?

I'm hoping someone can address why the 'Pitch' warning isn't evident in FlightLog. With that warning, control was lost. It seems there should be a red marker very close to Home indication the 'Pitch' warning.

I appreciate all the input; I have another M4P. I'd like to understand what happened regarding Pitch b4 venturing to far with the new one

 

[Meta4]

'A disoriented operator not knowing where the drone was'. Not the case. I've made this flight b4, day & night. Drone is especially easy to ID @ night.
'Flying backwards towards steep terrain and tall trees with no vision of what the drone was flying towards'. Again, not a new flight for me. Home is 385'ASL. I can see the drone even more easily @ night. Just b4 reaching Home I received RED warning, 'Pitch angle too large'.

The recorded data paints a different picture that's hard to argue against.
You posted "Flying back home @ 300' in reverse, filming fireworks. Very near home I suddenly get red warning"
The data shows that you brought the drone back and were overhead the homepoint at 10:30, but kept flying on for 27 seconds and 1080 feet further north behind the homepoint.
It's there that the drone hit a tree where the terrain was approx 290 feet higher than the homepoint at 10:57.3 and tumbled to the ground.
The pitch, roll and yaw data shows the collision and tumble to the ground quite clearly.

Directly after that warning, no control. I tried RTH immediately w/o effect. FlightLog shows warnings when signal was weak and after crash, but the 'Pitch' warning b4 passing home isn't reflected in FlightLog.

The pitch angle warning is most likely a Gimbal Pitch Angle too high warning which would have shown at 10:57.5 when (as a result of the drone slamming into a tree and tumbling). the gimbal pitch angle rapidly went from -10.5° to -95.5°.
This was a result of the crash and had nothing to do with the flight.

'Flying at night which only added to the disorientation'. Again, I had no sense of disorientation. I've been flying around my home in steep wooded terrain day & night for months. It's the only place I fly. I can see the drone a long distance from Home. Returning backward makes it easier to see @ night. I've not hit anything flying around steep terrain and dense woods. Isn't the 'Pitch warning unusual?

No comment necessary.

 

[K7KY]

Thanks for the assessment. The warning didn't say Aircraft Pitch or Gimbal Pitch. 'Pitch angle too large' in RED is all that appeared. Drone was overhead at the time, not crashed yet. Apparently some warnings/events are reflected in the log and other are not. The drone continued past home into the hillside after control was lost. Loss of control is not shown in the FlightLog nor is my activation of RTH twice before crashing. I think it best I try to learn about the Pitch warning and why it doesn't show it the log with DJI support Thanks for your patience with a newer drone Op. There's a bit more to this event than reflected in the log. I'm guessing you've no previous experience with 'Pitch angle too large' warning. Someone suggested this could be related to my 1st use of a Plus battery.

 

[Meta4]

The warning didn't say Aircraft Pitch or Gimbal Pitch. 'Pitch angle too large' in RED is all that appeared. Drone was overhead at the time, not crashed yet.

When the drone was overhead the aircraft and gimbal pitch angles were completely normal as they were for the whole flight until the crash.

The drone continued past home into the hillside after control was lost. Loss of control is not shown in the FlightLog nor is my activation of RTH twice before crashing.

The data shows your drone under control as you passed overhead and continued under your control for 1000 feet further.
It was in perfectly normal, stable, controlled flight with a completely normal pitch angle.
Loss of control isn't shown because it never happened.
There's no record of you attempting to initiate RTH because you didn't do that until after 11:02.4 when the flight data stopped and the drone was on the ground.

I think it best I try to learn about the Pitch warning and why it doesn't show it the log with DJI support

The data clearly shows that the gimbal pitch was greater than the 90° which is the normal max value, but this happened after the crash impact.
That's the only thing in the data that the pitch too great warning could have been.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about your drone's pitch angle for the while flight.

There's a bit more to this event than reflected in the log.

I'm going to be blunt here.
The data clearly shows that you were disoriented and lost sight of your drone. and crashed it into the hill north of the launch point.
This was the logical interpretation from your original description and seeing the data now, it's 100% clear that is what happened.

I'm guessing you've no previous experience with 'Pitch angle too large' warning.

I'm guessing that you aren't aware that I've been analysing data from flight incidents since 2015.
The only pitch angle too large warning I've ever seen is about the gimbal and I've seen that plenty of times.
I've also seen drone pitch angles out of the ordinary but never associated with any pitch angle warning.

Someone suggested this could be related to my 1st use of a Plus battery.

Someone had no idea what they were talking about.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Loss of control is not shown in the FlightLog

As far as I can see, the log shows full reverse elevator applied from around 560sec to the crash at approx 657 sec and the drone's flight path agrees with that.
I would venture that perhaps the stick or whatever it controls 'got stuck' somewhow .... except for the fact that at the crash the elevator is shown as going back to 1024 which is perfectly centred which would be an extreme coincidence if it had been 'stuck'.
Was the controller in mode 1 ?

nor is my activation of RTH twice before crashing

How did you try to activate an RTH, on the screen or using a button on the controller ?

 

[Meta4]

How did you try to activate an RTH, on the screen or using a button on the controller ?

The OP didn't realise that he had flown 1000 ft past home or that there was anything wrong until the drone crashed.
His earlier post makes this pretty clear.

"Drone was nearly Home when 'Pitch warning' appeared. I tried RTH, but control was lost. This occurred just b4 reaching Home"​

No warnings or control difficulty happened until the drone crashed, 27 seconds after it passed overhead, but the OP believed that the drone was "nearly home" and "shortly before reaching home".
He had no reason to initiate RTH until 27 seconds after the drone had flown past and had crashed.
By that time it was all over with the drone sitting on its back on the ground.