Reward for Lost Drone

[Michael C.]

EDIT: Here is a link to the flight record I uploaded. DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

I was on vacation in Spearfish Canyon near Spearfish Canyon Lodge in the Black Hills of South Dakota on 07/23/20.

I was flying my DJI Mavic Mini drone and lost connection while observing some cave like dwellings near a small steep cliff with a lot of trees.

I am new to this web forum and I wanted to ask if I can post a reward for the recovery of my drone.

I have the drone coordinates for the last connectivity where the drone more than likely hit a limb or some brush and crashed on a small mountain ledge. You will see the GPS co-ordinates in this image.


This was from my last recording before it lost connection and crashed.

I used my GPS locator and was almost able to reach it. However, the hill was steep and I did not have the time and was not equipped to get to the ledge where the drone was located.

I am willing to pay a reward to whoever can locate the drone in the area.

Please let me know your thoughts as to whether this would be a good site to post this request or if you can recommend other sites that would be better suited.

 

[Juggler]

good luck with the recovery mate but it looks like you will need a mountain goat to get it back...

 

[THE CYBORG]

Hi Michael C. Welcome to Mavic Pilots
Sorry to see you have a bit of a problem but hope you can get it back in one piece.

 

[Mavic Mac]

Welcome to the forums, but unfortunately for unhappy reasons you are here. Hopefully from that area will respond and recover your bird for you. Do you have DJI refresh ?

 

[Michael C.]

Welcome to the forums, but unfortunately for unhappy reasons you are here. Hopefully from that area will respond and recover your bird for you. Do you have DJI refresh ?

No. I did not purchase the DJI refresh. Because it was the only time I would fly the drone. There is not much to fly around at my home or around the town. I Had a lot of good footage from the vacation which is why I need that drone back. I didn't even think to download all the videos to the laptop. That was a mistake i did. If you know anyone or a website that volunteers people to get the drone back, let me know.

 

[Michael C.]

good luck with the recovery mate but it looks like you will need a mountain goat to get it back...

It may look high but it is not as big as Mount Rushmore. I just didn't had the climbing equipment and my time was short from vacation. That small mountain you see is a regular challenge for rock climbers. There is also a lodge that is not very far but close by.

 

[Mavic Mac]

It may look high but it is not as big as Mount Rushmore. I just didn't had the climbing equipment and my time was short from vacation. That small mountain you see is a regular challenge for rock climbers. There is also a lodge that is not very far but close by.

If you know the name of the lodge give them a call. They may let you send up a flyer to post in their lobby.

 

[Michael C.]

If you know the name of the lodge give them a call. They may let you send up a flyer to post in their lobby.

It's a small area I been to. The lodge is called Spearfish Canyon Lodge and there is only a lodge and a restaurant nearby. Will sending flyers get enough attention? Even though the population is very, very small? The only two cities that are close to the Black Hills are Rapid City and Spearfish city.

 

[Mavic Mac]

It's a small area I been to. The lodge is called Spearfish Canyon Lodge and there is only a lodge and a restaurant nearby. Will sending flyers get enough attention? Even though the population is very, very small? The only two cities that are close to the Black Hills are Rapid City and Spearfish city.

Well it is possible if they are the only lodge they may get most of the tourist business. If the restaurant is the only one in town the locals may stop in there. Some kids may think the reward money is enough to go look for the drone. For the cost of postage you could send up a few fliers and have them put up. Really not much to invest for the possible return of your bird.

 

[Cw4bray]

Sorry for your loss Michael C.. You may want to post the DAT. file on here, someone may be able to pinpoint the location better than you've done. The terrain with vertical walls could create three dimensional factors that someone else sees that hasn't been considered. With precise pinpoint info., Mac had a good idea.....you could then contact one of the "seasonal student" workers at the lodge who enjoys hiking enough to help you. You might even find someone from Texas working in the lodge.
On a side note, you've prompted me to add a fluorescent skin, to reduce the chance of this happening to me.

 

[passedpawn]

Can't help the OP, but maybe this is an idea for others. I have a label on the side of my drone that hopefully will get it back to me if it ever decides to stray. I put my phone number on there and the reward. I'm hoping that the person who finds it discovers that it's impossible to fly without a controller, and probably similarly difficult to sell without one, and will just take my reward.

 

[Meta4]

I have the drone coordinates for the last connectivity where the drone more than likely hit a limb or some brush and crashed on a small mountain ledge. You will see the GPS co-ordinates in this image.

Please let me know your thoughts as to whether this would be a good site to post this request or if you can recommend other sites that would be better suited.

Those coordinates are only going to be helpful if that's where the drone crashed.
But if it was still flying, the drone could be nowhere near that point.
If the drone crashed at that point, the recorded flight data will have indications of that.
It would be a good idea to post the data for someone to analyse to get an idea of whether that location is the place to search or not.

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 of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.

 

[Michael C.]

Can't help the OP, but maybe this is an idea for others. I have a label on the side of my drone that hopefully will get it back to me if it ever decides to stray. I put my phone number on there and the reward. I'm hoping that the person who finds it discovers that it's impossible to fly without a controller, and probably similarly difficult to sell without one, and will just take my reward.

View attachment 109026

That's not a bad idea. I should've made that my priority first when I first bought the drone. I was too much of wanting to take amazing shots. This idea should be shared with other forums.

 

[Michael C.]

Those coordinates are only going to be helpful if that's where the drone crashed.
But if it was still flying, the drone could be nowhere near that point.
If the drone crashed at that point, the recorded flight data will have indications of that.
It would be a good idea to post the data for someone to analyse to get an idea of whether that location is the place to search or not.

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 of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.

Thanks for the info. I think I miss saying a few more things that happened. After I lost connection and crashed, I went up the small mountain while holding the controller just to reconnect. I was successful to reconnect but seeing through the drone, I noticed the drone was upside down and was sitting on top of a brush and facing towards the rock. So as I was climbing almost all the way into spot where it crashed I was faced towards a high rock formation that I couldn't climb on.
Anyway here is the link to the recorded flight data right now.

DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Upload and view flight logs from your DJI drones

www.phantomhelp.com

 

[Mavic Mac]

Can't help the OP, but maybe this is an idea for others. I have a label on the side of my drone that hopefully will get it back to me if it ever decides to stray. I put my phone number on there and the reward. I'm hoping that the person who finds it discovers that it's impossible to fly without a controller, and probably similarly difficult to sell without one, and will just take my reward.

View attachment 109026

Not only do I have a label very similar to yours (also have FAA reg#) I also have a text file on the sd card with all of my contact info.

 

[Michael C.]

Update: I have made a flyer and it has been sent to the lodge on 7/29/2020
Here is what it looks like. The paper was shared in black and white. (Personal Info is censored)

 

[Mavic Mac]

Good Luck - Hope for positive results !!

Hope personal info was only censored on the post here and not on the flyer ? ?

 

[Frustrated]

Good luck

 

[pinballwiz86]

I didn't even think to download all the videos to the laptop. That was a mistake i did.

Oh no! That is awful brother. I will learn from this and always backup my footage.

I also have a text file on the sd card with all of my contact info.

Great idea! I am waiting for my Mavic Air 2 to arrive and this will be done before my first flight!