Well, it finally happened - crashed the mavic pro

[Jazz62]

Bought my Mavic Pro Fly More Combo in 2017. I'm an older person, but felt the technology had come to a point where I could enjoy it without too much fear of losing my investment in a crash. That held true for three years until two days ago and I'm completely stumped about what happened.

Took off from my backyard as I have many many times in the year we've been in our current house. Flew around capturing a sweeping view of Commencement Bay and then completely lost connection with the drone. It was 1800 ft away from home point and altitude was approximately 300 ft when the loss of communication occurred. I did receive "weak signal/adjust antenna" warning. Technically too far to actually see it, but there were zero obstructions from my point to the drone. I initiated a RTH and app showed confirmation of this, but drone didn't move. It did however do something I just can't explain. While hovering with communication loss and no stick input from me it started rising in altitude, topping out at approximately 430 ft! Sometime during this I recieved a "command time out" warning in addition to the "weak signal and strong interference" warnings, of which there were many . Throughout this episode of altitude increase the drone did respond to stick input intermittently to decrease altitude, but it was fleeting only to exhibit the rise in altitude again. I initiated RTH, app showed confirmation but again with no luck. At some point connection was re-established and I tried desperately to get it home, but even with full stick it's speed was very slow 2-5 mph. At almost the same moment I got the 'Critically Low Power/Aircraft Landing" warning, full forward speed returned. Again I tried desperately to get her home. In the panic that ensued and the drone trying unsuccessfully to land itself I inadvertently gave it full forward stick and it crashed into a tree, fell about 50' to a sidewalk and I'm pretty sure is a total loss. All obstacle avoidance was on so I'm not sure why it flew into the very large tree. The most frustrating thing is, there was more than enough battery power for me to manually land safely, but in my panic just couldn't put it together in my head. Was also confused by the app showing the drone should be right above the home point, but it was actually about 100 ft away from it. I'm hearing impaired so was not able to hear it so close by.

Later that evening a possible explanation for this episode came to mind. That was one of the nights that the aurora borealis was at it's peak even long before sunset and I'm wondering about the magnetic interference from it causing the conditions that lead to the crash. It's the only thing I can imagine, but don't know enough about the subject.

Finally - is it possible to buy a new or refurbished Mavic Pro and keep my current controller or can they not be linked properly.

Thanks for reading!

 

[itsneedtokno]

The controller should work with any MP as far as I know.

Sorry for your loss ?

You had a GREAT run though.

I had one that lasted about 2 months!

 

[THE CYBORG]

Sorry you had a bit of a disaster but if you can get another MP your controller will link to it if that’s any conciliation .

 

[Phantomrain.org]

You did have a good run but it does sound like in the Panic of things you switched to Sport mode and that would explain the crash into the tree.
You can contact DJI and they will send you a Link to just buy the Drone by Itself. You now have to fill out a special form on the air 2 so I imagine you will have to do the same with getting Mavic Pro.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic Pro in the Rain or Float on Water.

 

[Repaid1]

You did have a good run but it does sound like in the Panic of things you switched to Sport mode and that would explain the crash into the tree.
You can contact DJI and they will send you a Link to just buy the Drone by Itself. You now have to fill out a special form on the air 2 so I imagine you will have to do the same with getting Mavic Pro.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic Pro in the Rain or Float on Water.

Don't wanna go all off topic but are you saying if I contact DJI they have a MA2 aircraft only option?

To the OP it's not if, in this hobby, it's when...and you just when'd... unfortunately..sucks I know. Get back on that horse and take to the sky. Would be interesting for the gents on here to see your logs though, just to see what went Ka-boom in your system?

JFYI refurbished aircraft only w/gimbal & camera only is $500 on Ebay..Not sure what you have invested in your old MP1...but if not much you might just want to take the hit, sell off what you have, and go for a MA2. Best of luck, sorry for your loss.

 

[itsneedtokno]

You did have a good run but it does sound like in the Panic of things you switched to Sport mode and that would explain the crash into the tree.
You can contact DJI and they will send you a Link to just buy the Drone by Itself. You now have to fill out a special form on the air 2 so I imagine you will have to do the same with getting Mavic Pro.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic Pro in the Rain or Float on Water.

Elaborate on this special form thing please. I've heard nothing.

I've also been off the forums for a few days

 

[slup]

Bought my Mavic Pro Fly More Combo in 2017. I'm an older person, but felt the technology had come to a point where I could enjoy it without too much fear of losing my investment in a crash. That held true for three years until two ago and I'm completely stumped about what happened.

Took off from my backyard as I have many many times in the year we've been in our current house. Flew around capturing a sweeping view of Commencement Bay and then completely lost connection with the drone. It was 1800 ft away from home point and altitude was approximately 300 ft when the loss of communication occurred. I did receive "weak signal/adjust antenna" warning. Technically too far to actually see it, but there were zero obstructions from my point to the drone. I initiated a RTH and app showed confirmation of this, but drone didn't move. It did however do something I just can't explain. While hovering with communication loss and no stick input from me it started rising in altitude, topping out at approximately 430 ft! Sometime during this I recieved a "command time out" warning in addition to the "weak signal and strong interference" warnings, of which there many . Throughout this episode of altitude increase the drone did respond to stick input intermittently to decrease altitude, but it was fleeting only to exhibit the rise in altitude again. I initiated RTH, app showed confirmation but again with no luck. At some point connection was re-established and I tried desperately to get it home, but even with full stick it's speed was very slow 2-5 mph. At almost the same moment I got the 'Critically Low Power/Aircraft Landing" warning, full forward speed returned. Again I tried desperately to get her home. In the panic that ensued and the drone trying unsuccessfully to land itself I inadvertently gave it full forward stick and it crashed into a tree, fell about 50' to a sidewalk and I'm pretty sure is a total loss. All obstacle avoidance was on so I'm not sure why it flew into the very large tree. The most frustrating thing is, there was more than enough battery power for me to manually land safely, but in my panic just couldn't put it together in my head. Was also confused by the app showing the drone should be right above the home point, but it was actually about 100 ft away from it. I'm hearing impaired so was not able to hear it so close by.

Later that evening a possible explanation for this episode came to mind. That was one of the nights that the aurora borealis was at it's peak even long before sunset and I'm wondering about the magnetic interference from it causing the conditions that lead to the crash. It's the only thing I can imagine, but don't know enough about the subject.

Finally - is it possible to buy a new or refurbished Mavic Pro and keep my current controller or can they not be linked properly.

Thanks for reading!

I don't know what time in the day you were flying & if the return leg was directly into the sun ... but it have been reported several times before how MP's sense the sun as an obstacle & try to climb over it ... which can explain the ascending. Then up there the wind was strong enough to stop it making headway. Once lower wind was easier & a proper speed could be maintained.

But it's just speculations ... the cause for this is most probably in the flight logs stored in the mobile device you flew with. If you want to know the reason start up by retrieve the mobile device .TXT log, read up here on how to retrieve --> Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide (read under section 3.) Attach it then in a new post here.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Elaborate on this special form thing please. I've heard nothing.

I've also been off the forums for a few days

Yes I Contacted DJI as now that i have two Controller I wanted a second Air 2 : They sent me an email with a form and than a special link. Name : Email and reason. I told them I just need the link but had to go thu the motions to get it.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Don't wanna go all off topic but are you saying if I contact DJI they have a MA2 aircraft only option?

To the OP it's not if, in this hobby, it's when...and you just when'd... unfortunately..sucks I know. Get back on that horse and take to the sky. Would be interesting for the gents on here to see your logs though, just to see what went Ka-boom in your system?

JFYI refurbished aircraft only w/gimbal & camera only is $500 on Ebay..Not sure what you have invested in your old MP1...but if not much you might just want to take the hit, sell off what you have, and go for a MA2. Best of luck, sorry for your loss.

Yes they do , but you have to jump thru some info hoops.

 

[dirkclod]

Ok guys you have went off topic so let’s get back to our new member.

@Jazz62 Welcome to the forum. Sorry for your loss and know how you feel. Been there several times. Do download your files per post #7 and post them back here so we can see what happened.

 

[TreeHugger]

Ok guys you have went off topic so let’s get back to our new member.

@Jazz62 Welcome to the forum. Sorry for your loss and know how you feel. Been there several times. Do download your files per post #7 and post them back here so we can see what happened.

Sorry for your loss! Plus welcome to the forums! As you can see, all the resources you need are here

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum , sorry it was not under happier reasons

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

 

[Jazz62]

You did have a good run but it does sound like in the Panic of things you switched to Sport mode and that would explain the crash into the tree.
You can contact DJI and they will send you a Link to just buy the Drone by Itself. You now have to fill out a special form on the air 2 so I imagine you will have to do the same with getting Mavic Pro.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic Pro in the Rain or Float on Water.

Just checked the controller to be sure - no sport mode. Just totally amazed at this sequence of events, especially the rising in altitude with no stick input.

 

[Jazz62]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

Thanks Thomas

 

[Jazz62]

I don't know what time in the day you were flying & if the return leg was directly into the sun ... but it have been reported several times before how MP's sense the sun as an obstacle & try to climb over it ... which can explain the ascending. Then up there the wind was strong enough to stop it making headway. Once lower wind was easier & a proper speed could be maintained.

But it's just speculations ... the cause for this is most probably in the flight logs stored in the mobile device you flew with. If you want to know the reason start up by retrieve the mobile device .TXT log, read up here on how to retrieve --> Mavic Flight Log Retrieval and Analysis Guide (read under section 3.) Attach it then in a new post here.

Thank you yes, I am well familiar with the MP detecting the sun as an obstacle, it's happened many times. I feel the resumption of proper speed was due to the re-connection of controller/drone. I will follow the link you provided on directions to retrieve the .TXT log. Thank you for that.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Bought my Mavic Pro Fly More Combo in 2017. I'm an older person, but felt the technology had come to a point where I could enjoy it without too much fear of losing my investment in a crash. That held true for three years until two days ago and I'm completely stumped about what happened.

Took off from my backyard as I have many many times in the year we've been in our current house. Flew around capturing a sweeping view of Commencement Bay and then completely lost connection with the drone. It was 1800 ft away from home point and altitude was approximately 300 ft when the loss of communication occurred. I did receive "weak signal/adjust antenna" warning. Technically too far to actually see it, but there were zero obstructions from my point to the drone. I initiated a RTH and app showed confirmation of this, but drone didn't move. It did however do something I just can't explain. While hovering with communication loss and no stick input from me it started rising in altitude, topping out at approximately 430 ft! Sometime during this I recieved a "command time out" warning in addition to the "weak signal and strong interference" warnings, of which there were many . Throughout this episode of altitude increase the drone did respond to stick input intermittently to decrease altitude, but it was fleeting only to exhibit the rise in altitude again. I initiated RTH, app showed confirmation but again with no luck. At some point connection was re-established and I tried desperately to get it home, but even with full stick it's speed was very slow 2-5 mph. At almost the same moment I got the 'Critically Low Power/Aircraft Landing" warning, full forward speed returned. Again I tried desperately to get her home. In the panic that ensued and the drone trying unsuccessfully to land itself I inadvertently gave it full forward stick and it crashed into a tree, fell about 50' to a sidewalk and I'm pretty sure is a total loss. All obstacle avoidance was on so I'm not sure why it flew into the very large tree. The most frustrating thing is, there was more than enough battery power for me to manually land safely, but in my panic just couldn't put it together in my head. Was also confused by the app showing the drone should be right above the home point, but it was actually about 100 ft away from it. I'm hearing impaired so was not able to hear it so close by.

Later that evening a possible explanation for this episode came to mind. That was one of the nights that the aurora borealis was at it's peak even long before sunset and I'm wondering about the magnetic interference from it causing the conditions that lead to the crash. It's the only thing I can imagine, but don't know enough about the subject.

Finally - is it possible to buy a new or refurbished Mavic Pro and keep my current controller or can they not be linked properly.

Thanks for reading!

I just lost my MPP a couple of hours ago, in a location that would cause my death to retrieve it. Anyway, the point is you can buy either a new one or refurbished units on Amazon. I just ordered a new one. Or, there is currently a used MPP in the classified listings.

 

[Meta4]

I'm completely stumped about what happened.
...
Later that evening a possible explanation for this episode came to mind. That was one of the nights that the aurora borealis was at it's peak even long before sunset and I'm wondering about the magnetic interference from it causing the conditions that lead to the crash. It's the only thing I can imagine, but don't know enough about the subject.

The aurora had nothing to do with your incident.
The only way to solve the mystery is to look at the recorded flight data which will show exactly what was going on.
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.
Or .. just post the txt file.

Someone will be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.

 

[Jazz62]

The aurora had nothing to do with your incident.
The only way to solve the mystery is to look at the recorded flight data which will show exactly what was going on.
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.
Or .. just post the txt file.

Someone will be able to analyse it and give you an understanding of the cause of the incident.

This will surely qualify me as an idiot, but there's no iTunes on this macbook. The only way I can get the macbook to see my ipad mini 4 is using Finder, but I'm only seeing options for restoring from a back-up or setting it up as a new ipad mini 4. What am I missing? (Aside from a functioning brain.)

Edit* - using finder was able to drag and drop the flight records folder to the desktop. There are A LOT of txt files with the correct date for this fatal flight. I double-clicked one to open it and it's crazy looking. There are also DAT files (which I can't open) and there is only one of them that corresponds to this fatal incident. Now what?

 

[Meta4]

This will surely qualify me as an idiot, but there's no iTunes on this macbook. The only way I can get the macbook to see my ipad mini 4 is using Finder, but I'm only seeing options for restoring from a back-up or setting it up as a new ipad mini 4. What am I missing? (Aside from a functioning brain.)

Sorry ... I've never looked at a Mac computer to know how to help.
All that's needed is the right .txt file from your app.
There must be a way to find it.
Perhaps another Apple user can help?