Wing Motors Stopped Midflight

[_faisal_91]

Hey folks, I don't own a Mavic but rather a Mini SE so I apologize if I'm violating any rules here by posting. A user on the DJI forum recommended I post my case here and tag the following folks in the hopes of some assistance @slup @sar104 @Meta4

Here's the situation:
I was flying my Mini SE when randomly, and quite suddenly, the propeller wings shut down (it's like it committed suicide). The battery was almost fully charged and so was the RC, I had good GPS connection. The drone fell and was not safely recoverable, my RC was still connected to the drone and I could see through it's camera so the drone remain powered up - it's the wings that lost juice. I saw some old forum posts hinting to the same problem but has anyone else had this issue recently?

I contacted DJI support and they're giving me the whole "sorry your drone is no longer in warranty" routine (even though the accident occurred barely 10 days past the 1 year activation mark) and offering me a super gracious 20% discount to purchase a replacement. They're not even willing to do an analysis to see what actually went wrong - they're asking me to pay for that as well. If I was the manufacturer, I'd want to at least check the logs to see what happened and then advise the user of next steps instead of not even bothering to attempt an investigation. Looking for some guidance here, I'm not sure whether I should even bother buying a new one if they're going to self destruct after their warranty is over.

Here's the log - DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Any indication to what could have caused the initial propeller wing shut down?

Everything looks good in the logs towards the end of the flight (though I'm a newbie at decoding) - 90% battery, 20 sats, barely 60ft away from home, < 2 min flight time, P-GPS mode, barely any speed - see my frustration?

Thank you very much in advance

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!
Drop by the pilot’s check-in to introduce yourself.

I'm sure one of these guys can help you understand what may have happened.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Welcome

 

[Yaros]

I can see that your height at the end of the flight is very low (4ft according to VPS) and the last record in the log you're still pushing stick down. It might be that the drone hit something below it, it can happen if the surface is not straight or reflective.

 

[_faisal_91]

That's strange because it was quite high up from the nearest surface, the last video I had shows the same.

New video by Faisal Khan

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[FLDave]

What did you actually observe of the drone before it crashed? Did you actually see a propeller blade spin off? How close visually was it to the surface below?

 

[_faisal_91]

All the blades were on the drone, they just randomly switched off. Directly below there was a 300m drop but 3ft to the right, there was a surface which was roughly 10-12ft below

 

[slup]

The log reports that the motors are off in the very end... & that the reason is a ESC failure (red circled in the chart legend below). The reason can possibly be the wet weather you flew in as shown in the clip you shared.

(Click on the chart to make it larger)

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Sorry about the drone but oh boy! I'd love to send a drone down that drop off under control! It would beat my current lowest point by a mile ....well you know what I mean lol.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

@slup, are you saying it was a problem with the ESC, as in a malfunction of the ESC?

 

[slup]

@slup, are you saying it was a problem with the ESC, as in a malfunction of the ESC?

The reason for the motor shut off originated from the ESC's... why the ESC's failed is unknown.

 

[_faisal_91]

Hey everyone,

After further conversation w DJI, they decided to do a free data analysis and it turns out it wasn't an user error - so they warranted my case and sent me a replacement

They told me that the accident was caused by a possible propulsion issue, resulting in abnormal altitude control.

Thanks again for all the support!

Cheers,
Faisal

 

[Starz]

Correct me if I’m wrong. Did I see in your video a lot of sideways blowing snow?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

That is great news. Keep in mind for Future flights in wet weather the ESC is the first to go followed by the Sensors burning out an battery disconnecting from the Controller for future flights in the rain. Thus consider getting a Wet Suit for the Mini 2 .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[_faisal_91]

@Starz - I wouldn't call if a lot of blowing snow, more like flurries. It looks worse than it was - probably because of the wind.

But yeah, agreed w @Phantomrain.org - going to ground the drone in wet weather. Although I've never flown it in rainy conditions before and this was probably the first time flying under flurries