Russian guy loses mini 4 pro

[jwilson]

So I was flying my drone at Alegria beach in Sairgao. A couple walked up to me. The guy had a controller in his hand. The woman was really gorgeous. So he said he just lost his drone in the ocean, and was wondering if I could help him find it. So I flew my drone in the vicinity where he said he lost it, looking straight down at 20 or 30 feet altitude. Then I asked if he used find my drone. He hadn't. His fly was all in Russian, so I couldn't read it. So he did a find my drone, but with no internet the map is so bad it's hard to find any location. So he said they were sitting close to me. My family had all gone to eat, so I couldn't go snorkeling without someone to watch my valuables. I went looking for the guy, but couldn't find him. So when my wife came back, I saw the couple again. Turns out he had gone snorkeling himself to look for it. I snorkled for about 35 minutes, but the odds of finding it were very low. I don't know how much the drone would move due to the waves and current. So when I returned from snorkeling, I don't think I ever saw them again. I would of asked for his email so I could contact. The find my drone location will stay on your controller forever unless you use find my drone again. We had phones with data, and could of created a Hotspot for him, so he would get a good satellite view, but we never say him again. When he came back from snorkeling, he showed me the screen capture of the crash. He was flying less than a foot over the white water from the waves, and finally got hit. The drones electronics would have been damaged anyway going into salt water when the drone was running. So I don't know if it could be repaired anyway.

 

[AeroJ]

Things falling into salt water make repairs a much bigger event, but they usually turn out to be possible if people are willing to go to the rather huge effort involved in completely disassembling one, even down to the motor level (to get sand out of the coils etc) and thoroughly rinsing and cleaning everything. The gimbal is at most at risk and the hardest thing to fix / clean after submersion. Dropping these things in the sea is one of those situations where having DJI care is a really good thing ! Sounds like you went to a hell of a lot of effort to help him, so that was nice to see, even though he didn't end up getting it back. Probably just as well - a painful but no doubt effective lesson will have been learnt that day !

 

[PINEBARON]

It seems more and more drones are swallowed up by the mighty ocean due to pilot miscalculations.

Having sailed across the English Channel and seas south of the UK several times in the 90's, having faced 20'-30'+ waves in Lyme Bay during a fierce storm, helped respect and appeciate the might of the oceans.

 

[AeroJ]

I saw a video the other day, purportedly aimed at noobs, that recommended doing all initial training flights out over open sea 'because there were less obstacles' ! Needless to say, I did not concur !

 

[PINEBARON]

I saw a video the other day, purportedly aimed at noobs, that recommended doing all initial training flights out over open sea 'because there were less obstacles' ! Needless to say, I did not concur !

Worst advice ever I think. Plenty of open ground space on this earth despite there being less land mass than oceans.

 

[TomEMesta]

Things falling into salt water make repairs a much bigger event, but they usually turn out to be possible if people are willing to go to the rather huge effort involved in completely disassembling one, even down to the motor level (to get sand out of the coils etc) and thoroughly rinsing and cleaning everything. The gimbal is at most at risk and the hardest thing to fix / clean after submersion. Dropping these things in the sea is one of those situations where having DJI care is a really good thing ! Sounds like you went to a hell of a lot of effort to help him, so that was nice to see, even though he didn't end up getting it back. Probably just as well - a painful but no doubt effective lesson will have been learnt that day !

A truly bizarre experience thanks for sharing and warning other pilots! Thank you for sharing

 

[jwilson]

Things falling into salt water make repairs a much bigger event, but they usually turn out to be possible if people are willing to go to the rather huge effort involved in completely disassembling one, even down to the motor level (to get sand out of the coils etc) and thoroughly rinsing and cleaning everything. The gimbal is at most at risk and the hardest thing to fix / clean after submersion. Dropping these things in the sea is one of those situations where having DJI care is a really good thing ! Sounds like you went to a hell of a lot of effort to help him, so that was nice to see, even though he didn't end up getting it back. Probably just as well - a painful but no doubt effective lesson will have been learnt that day !

When my Mavic Pro Platinum had the battery come off in flight, and crashed into shallow water in a harbor, the ocean, some kids found it. By watching YouTube videos, and using common sense, I was able to get it to fly again. But the camera/gimbal didn't work right. It gave some crappy video, which I still have somewhere. So I bought a replacement camera/gimbal from a third party for $100, and installed it. But when I turned the drone on, the gimbal went all over the place and never stabilized. I showed the maker of the replacement, and he said it looked like it was being over driven. So I sent it back and got my money back. I figured something was wrong with the drone that I didn't know about. Knowing what I know now, I could of sent it to DJI.

 

[AeroJ]

I figured something was wrong with the drone that I didn't know about.

Yes, it's not often mentioned that adding a new gimbal requires a factory-level calibration that only DJI and a few 3rd party developers can arrange and deploy.

 

[Meta4]

I saw a video the other day, purportedly aimed at noobs, that recommended doing all initial training flights out over open sea 'because there were less obstacles' ! Needless to say, I did not concur !

I've logged thousands of miles flying drones over open ocean for the last 10 years and think it's safer than flying anywhere near trees, buildings, powerlines, towers or other obstacles.
It's hard to get into trouble when there's nothing to hit.

 

[Meta4]

Things falling into salt water make repairs a much bigger event, but they usually turn out to be possible if people are willing to go to the rather huge effort involved in completely disassembling one, even down to the motor level (to get sand out of the coils etc) and thoroughly rinsing and cleaning everything.

Saltwater causes corrosion to begin instantly in the circuitry of a drone if it falls into the sea.
It continues even months after the drone is dried out.
It gets into parts that can't be cleaned or even seen.
Saltwater and electronics don't mix.
Chances of proper repair after a seawater dunking are negligible.

 

[AeroJ]

Saltwater causes corrosion to begin instantly in the circuitry of a drone if it falls into the sea.
It continues even months after the drone is dried out.
It gets into parts that can't be cleaned or even seen.
Saltwater and electronics don't mix.
Chances of proper repair after a seawater dunking are negligible.

A lot of the DJI boards are conformal coated to a large extent, so it is always possible that it hasn't got to a lot of vulnerable circuitry. And whilst any corrosion that has occurred cannot be fixed by rinsing, it can be halted from doing it further if the damage is not yet interrupting vital functions.

Still I agree with you - far better to not let salt water anywhere near your machine !