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Tragedy...good by Mavic Air

Claretcass

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Was out flying a 16 minute waypoints flight round an 18 hole golf course at 200 feet but what I had not noticed was trees had really grown a lot higher since i was last there on a mound in the centre and I lost communication which showed the drone stop round behind the mound halfway round the waypoint route. The default was set to RTH on loss of signal so I waited but the drone never returned. I went round to where the signal stopped but it was heavily wooded and I could not find the drone. I will of course go back to the area but I do not expect any luck until the leaves start to thin out...very sad as I have had 2 great years with the Mavic Air.
Lesson learned...ALWAYS have a quick look round even if you have been there before before automating the flight with waypoints.
 
Don't fully know if the MA1 utilizes the same ordinary failsafe RTH procedure as you were using Litchi, but if it does ...

The MA1 would have started the RTH 3 sec after the connection was lost. Ascended to RTH height (or remained if present height were higher then set RTH height) then backtracked the route for a maximum of 60sec, then hovered for 10sec before it would have oriented it self to take a flight path straight to your home point.

It's along that straight flight path towards your HP you should track down the highest object with an height interfering with the path height, it's probably there it crashed ... not at the last position you have logged before the connection was lost.

Or if you had RTH obstacle avoidance activated & it was enough with light for it to work ... the MA1 couldn't get around, instead was stopped & eventually ran out of battery & force landed.
 
Last edited:
Don't fully know if the MA1 utilizes the same ordinary failsafe RTH procedure as you were using Litchi, but if it does ...

The MA1 would have started the RTH 3 sec after the connection was lost. Ascended to RTH height (or remained if present height were higher then set RTH height) then backtracked the route for a maximum of 60sec, then hovered for 10sec before it would have oriented it self to take a flight path straight to your home point.

It's along that straight flight path towards your HP you should track down the highest object with an height interfering with the path height, it's probably there it crashed ... not at the last position you have logged before the connection was lost.

Or if you had RTH obstacle avoidance activated & it was enough with light for it to work ... the MA1 couldn't get around, instead was stopped & eventually ran out of battery & force landed.

Thanks for help and advice.
 
Was out flying a 16 minute waypoints flight round an 18 hole golf course at 200 feet but what I had not noticed was trees had really grown a lot higher since i was last there on a mound in the centre and I lost communication which showed the drone stop round behind the mound halfway round the waypoint route. The default was set to RTH on loss of signal so I waited but the drone never returned. I went round to where the signal stopped but it was heavily wooded and I could not find the drone. I will of course go back to the area but I do not expect any luck until the leaves start to thin out...very sad as I have had 2 great years with the Mavic Air.
Lesson learned...ALWAYS have a quick look round even if you have been there before before automating the flight with waypoints.
You got me at, “... grown a lot higher”!
 
You got me at, “... grown a lot higher”!
You may be lucky and see the drone in the fall, however that’s a lot of weather between now and fall..... I would redouble your efforts to find the drone as they really don’t like water! Have you thought of enlisting local drone owners to fly the area?
 
Don't fully know if the MA1 utilizes the same ordinary failsafe RTH procedure as you were using Litchi, but if it does ...

The MA1 would have started the RTH 3 sec after the connection was lost. Ascended to RTH height (or remained if present height were higher then set RTH height) then backtracked the route for a maximum of 60sec, then hovered for 10sec before it would have oriented it self to take a flight path straight to your home point.

It's along that straight flight path towards your HP you should track down the highest object with an height interfering with the path height, it's probably there it crashed ... not at the last position you have logged before the connection was lost.

Or if you had RTH obstacle avoidance activated & it was enough with light for it to work ... the MA1 couldn't get around, instead was stopped & eventually ran out of battery & force landed.

It was a waypoint mission, so failsafe RTH doesn't apply.
 
It was a waypoint mission, so failsafe RTH doesn't apply.
But MA1 doesn't have a "built in" waypoint mission mode... the only way for that model to follow a waypoint mission is to use Litchi & then the AC should have failsafe RTH. Or do I misunderstand you?
 
But MA1 doesn't have a "built in" waypoint mission mode... the only way for that model to follow a waypoint mission is to use Litchi & then the AC should have failsafe RTH. Or do I misunderstand you?

No - waypoint missions in Litchi don't trigger failsafe action. The aircraft will simply continue the mission even if the uplink is lost.
 
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No - waypoint missions in Litchi don't trigger failsafe action. The aircraft will simply continue the mission even if the uplink is lost.
Not since the last Litchi update... now you can choose if you want RTH (which was the default after the update) or continue the mission.
 
Don't fully know if the MA1 utilizes the same ordinary failsafe RTH procedure as you were using Litchi, but if it does ...

The MA1 would have started the RTH 3 sec after the connection was lost. Ascended to RTH height (or remained if present height were higher then set RTH height) then backtracked the route for a maximum of 60sec, then hovered for 10sec before it would have oriented it self to take a flight path straight to your home point.

It's along that straight flight path towards your HP you should track down the highest object with an height interfering with the path height, it's probably there it crashed ... not at the last position you have logged before the connection was lost.

Or if you had RTH obstacle avoidance activated & it was enough with light for it to work ... the MA1 couldn't get around, instead was stopped & eventually ran out of battery & force landed.
That is all good...UNLESS the drone is stuck in a tree somewhere. I do hope you can find it when the leaves fall. Best wishes.
 
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