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Mavic Crash - It ate a tree branch.
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5089 67 2016-12-5
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MSavage
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I have posted about my non responsive left down control before (http://forum.dji.com/thread-74477-1-1.html) and unfortunately my Mavic ate branch because of it today. As suggested on this forum, I completed a VPS calibration and took the drone out for a flight to see if this might fix my control issue. I took up the drone for a brief flight at altitude and when I tried to bring it down, it did not respond to the down control. I got the "Landing" message at 100m up in the air. I let it come down on its own and then practiced a bit of flying at street level.
  
  
This is where things went sideways. A car came down the street and so I blipped the left control upward a few times to give the car some clearance. The drone was hovering nicely when it started to slowly drift upwards with no such input from the controls. Panicked by the sight of the drone heading up into the tree I hit the down control but NOTHING. It just kept slowly ascending unresponsive until it self-destructed and fell to the ground upside down. I was hoping it was just superficial damage but the camera broke of its mountain plate.   
  
  
Now for getting this fixed:
  
I live in Canada but I am a short drive from the US border. Just wondering if it would be quicker to send the drone to the DJI Repair Center in the US instead dealing with the approved 3rd party repair center in Canada. Any advice on this?
  
  
I did purchase the DJI Care Mavic refresh, however I strongly believe there was something wrong with my unit. Does anyone know how DJI will handle this as it pertains to my 2 refreshes? Will I lose a refresh and have to pay the deductible?


2016-12-5
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patton
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Pause button on the remote didn't work? These stories are so scary for me as I haven't had it happen, but people keep reporting fly away mavics.
2016-12-5
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MSavage
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patton Posted at 2016-12-5 09:23
Pause button on the remote didn't work? These stories are so scary for me as I haven't had it happen, but people keep reporting fly away mavics.

My first instinct was to hit the left control 100% down. Before I was able to try anything else, it was having lunch on a tree branch.
2016-12-5
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eyecapture
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There is no approved 3rd party repair in Canada. You have to send to US for warranty work or DJI Care.
2016-12-5
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MSavage
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Thanks for the information. I was able to setup a case and I have received my return label.
2016-12-5
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Heavysledz
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Did they comment on if this was a warranty claim or if this would be covered under your dji Care Mavic Refresh?
2016-12-5
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MSavage
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They said they would review the case. I had the representative take note of my public posting on this forum complaining of unresponsive left down control issues putting the drone into a "Landing" mode. This was prior to the eventual crash.
2016-12-5
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DJI-Ken
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Sorry for your crash, sync your flight records and provide your email and I will look at your last flight to see if I see anything.
For any Mavic repairs if done under warranty, they have to be sent to the California repair center. And I don't think any dealers have parts to repair a Mavic yet. It's ALWAYS advised to send the aircraft to California.

If they determine the crash was user error, then you can either pay for the repair or use the Refresh. They will email you an invoice and you decide then.
Please call 818-235-0789 and they will send you a shipping label.

And again, what is your email and I will review your flight.
I may be able to tell from your flight record, but when the flight data recorder is analyzed by the flight data analysis team they will for sure be able to tell if the aircraft ascended by itself or if there was stick input. So if you said it did it on it's own (and not in RTH mode) then there's noting to worry about.
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DJI-Ken
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patton Posted at 2016-12-5 07:23
Pause button on the remote didn't work? These stories are so scary for me as I haven't had it happen, but people keep reporting fly away mavics.

A Mavic will not fly away, if it happens to go into ATTI mode, the pilot should know how to fly in that mode.
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DJI-Ken
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eyecapture Posted at 2016-12-5 08:44
There is no approved 3rd party repair in Canada. You have to send to US for warranty work or DJI Care.

That is correct, in Canada and US, California is the only repair center that can repair under warranty.
2016-12-5
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Heavysledz
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-6 00:34
Sorry for your crash, sync your flight records and provide your email and I will look at your last flight to see if I see anything.
For any Mavic repairs if done under warranty, they have to be sent to the California repair center. And I don't think any dealers have parts to repair a Mavic yet. It's ALWAYS advised to send the aircraft to California.

Ken - Just a quick question/comment about your statement.....if the Mavic lost connection to the remote and started to perform an auto RTH isn't it very likely that the drone will assend if the altitude setting in the RTH is set higher than it's current altitude? This could explain why the drone was unresponsive when he input a full down on the left stick and it kept climbing.....
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MSavage
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 11:34
Sorry for your crash, sync your flight records and provide your email and I will look at your last flight to see if I see anything.
For any Mavic repairs if done under warranty, they have to be sent to the California repair center. And I don't think any dealers have parts to repair a Mavic yet. It's ALWAYS advised to send the aircraft to California.

Hi Ken,

I did sync my flight records. I chatted with a rep online,  arranged for a shipping label and I will sending it tomorrow morning. Have a look at all of my logs because I have experienced this unresponsive down left control issue on several occations, it often results in the drone going into landing mode.

Do I pm you my email address? What about the video...does that get uploaded with the flight records. In it you can clearly see the input to ascend, a hover followed by a slow painful drift into a tree. The flight log shows my attempt to bring it down as it was drifting but the Mavic was unresponsive to my input.
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DJI-Ken
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Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-5 09:44
Ken - Just a quick question/comment about your statement.....if the Mavic lost connection to the remote and started to perform an auto RTH isn't it very likely that the drone will assend if the altitude setting in the RTH is set higher than it's current altitude? This could explain why the drone was unresponsive when he input a full down on the left stick and it kept climbing.....

The OP never said anything about it being in RTH mode so I'm guessing that's not it. I just mentioned it just in case.
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DJI-Ken
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 09:47
Hi Ken,

I did sync my flight records. Chatted with a rep online and I have arranged for a shipping label and I will sending it tomorrow morning. Have a look at all of my logs because I have experienced this unresponsive down left control issue which often results in the drone going into landing mode.

If you don't want to post your email, send me an email. djiken@dji.com and I'll review your flight.
No video from the camera gets uploaded, just the same as you see when you playback the flight record. Basically your flight and stick inputs overlaid on the map.

And that's good you've already contacted support. Are you on the latest firmware?
2016-12-5
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Heavysledz
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-6 00:52
The OP never said anything about it being in RTH mode so I'm guessing that's not it. I just mentioned it just in case.

Understood....but doesn't the drone by default do a RTH if it loses connection with the remote?
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MSavage
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 11:56
If you don't want to post your email, send me an email.  and I'll review your flight.
No video from the camera gets uploaded, just the same as you see when you playback the flight record. Basically your flight and stick inputs overlaid on the map.

I was on the latest firmware. Prior to this crash I had tried a control calibration and VPS calibration to fix the unresponsive down control issue. Can I post my crash video here? You can clearly see the a couple of inputs to gain a few feet of altitude, the drone hovering nicely, then a slow drift up.
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MSavage
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Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-5 11:59
Understood....but doesn't the drone by default do a RTH if it loses connection with the remote?

I was 20 feet from the drone and 30 feet from the home location. I don't think the drone was in RTH at the time of the incident.
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Heavysledz
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-6 01:07
I was 20 feet from the drone and 30 feet from the home location. I don't think the drone was in RTH at the time of the incident.

gotcha......was just trying to think of reasons why it may have tried to ascend on it's own. What was on the remote display when this all transpired? Was there any error messages and do you recall if it was still in GPS mode?
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Schwavic
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 08:36
That is correct, in Canada and US, California is the only repair center that can repair under warranty.

A new DJI authorized store opened near me this weekend (Bellevue/Factoria, WA)...  As it's a DJI branded store, would they be authorized to do warranty repair work?
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DJI-Ken
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Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-5 09:59
Understood....but doesn't the drone by default do a RTH if it loses connection with the remote?

Yes it does, but there was no loss of communication. It may be a RC stick response thing.
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DJI-Ken
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 10:05
I was on the latest firmware. Prior to this crash I had tried a control calibration and VPS calibration to fix the unresponsive down control issue. Can I post my crash video here? You can clearly see the a couple of inputs to gain a few feet of altitude, the drone hovering nicely, then a slow drift up.

Yes, feel free to post the video.
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MSavage
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Thanks for the support Ken. Here is the crash portion of the video.


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Gary Mac
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 11:36
That is correct, in Canada and US, California is the only repair center that can repair under warranty.

DJI-Ken,

Is Drone Nerds (in FL) not an authorized US repair facility?

Gary
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Jan_Leh
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 17:35
A Mavic will not fly away, if it happens to go into ATTI mode, the pilot should know how to fly in that mode.

@ DJI-Ken: Is that the serious reaction of DJI regarding the several problems reported such as "lost of control by dead sticks," GPS lost (even if there are 16+ sats) or wrong VPS values (going in the landing mode in high altitude)? Are we all bad pilots? Serious???

I had the problem of "dead sticks." I had the problem with "always switch in landing mode." And, yes, I did firmware updates, IMU, Compass, and Stick calibration. I am flying such drones since years in my daily business. I never had such problems with other drones.

Please, stop telling people that they are bad pilots and that is the reason for the crashes and problems. Start to think about why in this forum are so many threads telling you that the Mavic seems to have serious problems with the soft- or hardware. We all like your products. We were all looking forward to the release of the Mavic. But at the moment (me included) there are several people who are too afraid to fly the mavic because of all the bad news in the last days.
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DJI-Ken
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Schwavic Posted at 2016-12-5 10:11
A new DJI authorized store opened near me this weekend (Bellevue/Factoria, WA)...  As it's a DJI branded store, would they be authorized to do warranty repair work?

The store is owned and operated by a DJI dealer, not DJI.
So I'd think you still need to send a warranty repair to California.
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DJI-Ken
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Gary Mac Posted at 2016-12-5 10:49
DJI-Ken,

Is Drone Nerds (in FL) not an authorized US repair facility?

They may be a authorized repair facility, but for warranty work the DJI repair facility in Carson Ca. is the only place in the US/Canada that can do a warranty repair.
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DJI-Ken
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Jan_Leh Posted at 2016-12-5 10:51
@ DJI-Ken: Is that the serious reaction of DJI regarding the several problems reported such as "lost of control by dead sticks," GPS lost (even if there are 16+ sats) or wrong VPS values (going in the landing mode in high altitude)? Are we all bad pilots? Serious???

I had the problem of "dead sticks." I had the problem with "always switch in landing mode." And, yes, I did firmware updates, IMU, Compass, and Stick calibration. I am flying such drones since years in my daily business. I never had such problems with other drones.

There are a few aircraft out there that have experienced an issue, but a full fly away of a Mavic is extremely slim. If there is an issue a well seasoned pilot has a much greater chance of recovering and landing the aircraft than someone who has never flown a drone before or never had and experience with DJI aircraft.
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 17:40
Thanks for the support Ken. Here is the crash portion of the video.
https://youtu.be/oM_3BgmG8YQ

Didn't look like it was drifting , just looks like it went straight up and clipped the branch, you were flying in a tight space.
Sorry to hear about your crash..
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MSavage
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hallmark007 Posted at 2016-12-5 13:40
Didn't look like it was drifting , just looks like it went straight up and clipped the branch, you were flying in a tight space.
Sorry to hear about your crash..

I made 4 inputs upwards to give the car some clearance. The Mavic was then briefly at a hover before slowly climbing into the tree without ANY input. Seeing the drone climb on it's own, I frantically used the left down input to prevent it from clipping the tree but it did nothing!. As stated before here and in previous posts prior to the crash, I have been experiencing loss of down control and weird "Landing" behavior for some time.
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DJI-Ken
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 10:40
Thanks for the support Ken. Here is the crash portion of the video.
https://youtu.be/oM_3BgmG8YQ

I looked at your flight it's going to need to be evaluated by the flight data analysis team.
I see at the last few seconds you gave three quick throttle inputs, two at about 74% then one at 100% and the aircraft went form 3 meters to 6 meters then hit the tree.
I honestly do not know what they will say. I do see 4 quick movements, then a slow ascent. Maybe they will determine that last ascent (4th) was not caused by you. They will be able to extract much more data then I can see from the app.

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hallmark007
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 18:57
I made 4 inputs upwards to give the car some clearance. The Mavic was then briefly at a hover before slowly climbing into the tree without ANY input. Seeing the drone climb on it's own, I frantically used the left down input to prevent it from clipping the tree but it did nothing!. As stated before here and in previous posts prior to the crash, I have been experiencing loss of down control and weird "Landing" behavior for some time.

I'm not doubting, I have read other similar problems, all you can really in the video is aircraft going straight up under the tree then clipping it.
I'm sure you no better what happened..  Good Luck.
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Jan_Leh
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 19:16
There are a few aircraft out there that have experienced an issue, but a full fly away of a Mavic is extremely slim. If there is an issue a well seasoned pilot has a much greater chance of recovering and landing the aircraft than someone who has never flown a drone before or never had and experience with DJI aircraft.

So, what do you tell the "few" pilots like me that bought for 1200€ a not working drone? Can I send you my Mavic and get my money back? Do you know how frustrating it is for us customers to pay such a amount of money for a drone, which shows unexpected behaviours and lost of control? Is there a firmware in preparation to solve my problems? Or do I will have a not working drone for the future or in other words, did I just burn 1200€?

I am really annoyed...
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Heavysledz
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were you flying (hovering) directly above the street? If so, how high above the car was the drone when the car passed under it? I wonder if it sensed the abrupt change in altitude above the vehicle and in an attempt to avoid an obstacle, auto corrected upward into the tree?
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Jan_Leh Posted at 2016-12-5 19:10
So, what do you tell the "few" pilots like me that bought for 1200€ a not working drone? Can I send you my Mavic and get my money back? Do you know how frustrating it is for us customers to pay such a amount of money for a drone, which shows unexpected behaviours and lost of control? Is there a firmware in preparation to solve my problems? Or do I will have a not working drone for the future or in other words, did I just burn 1200€?

I am really annoyed...

If your drone is not working properly, you have recourse, return it and get it sorted or ask for a new one that works.
Good Luck
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DJI-Ken
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Jan_Leh Posted at 2016-12-5 12:10
So, what do you tell the "few" pilots like me that bought for 1200€ a not working drone? Can I send you my Mavic and get my money back? Do you know how frustrating it is for us customers to pay such a amount of money for a drone, which shows unexpected behaviours and lost of control? Is there a firmware in preparation to solve my problems? Or do I will have a not working drone for the future or in other words, did I just burn 1200€?

I am really annoyed...

What is your email and tell me the flight you want me to review so I can see the issue you experienced.
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DJI-Ken
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Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-5 12:14
were you flying (hovering) directly above the street? If so, how high above the car was the drone when the car passed under it? I wonder if it sensed the abrupt change in altitude above the vehicle and in an attempt to avoid an obstacle, auto corrected upward into the tree?

That could be the case, the flight data recorder will be able to tell exactly if it was a stick input, sensing the cart and adjusting altitude, or an issue.That will be for the flight data analysis team to determine.
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MSavage
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DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-5 14:06
I looked at your flight it's going to need to be evaluated by the flight data analysis team.
I see at the last few seconds you gave three quick throttle inputs, two at about 74% then one at 100% and the aircraft went form 3 meters to 6 meters then hit the tree.
I honestly do not know what they will say. I do see 4 quick movements, then a slow ascent. Maybe they will determine that last ascent (4th) was not caused by you. They will be able to extract much more data then I can see from the app.

Hi Ken,

1) Correct: 4 quick movement to ascend from 3m-5m @7:45 - 7:47 (Give the car some clearance)
2) Mavic is hovering
3) Last Slow ascent to 6m I had no input on
4) 100% down input @ 7:51 drone is still going up.
5) 7:53 Mavic Clips the tree.

I have you had the chance to review the other logs? I feel this unresponsive down input is related to the multiple unresponsive down input / "Landing" mode I have been experiencing. Can you comment on this weird behavior?
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DJI-Ken
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MSavage Posted at 2016-12-5 12:33
Hi Ken,

1) Correct: 4 quick movement to ascend from 3m-5m @7:45 - 7:47 (Give the car some clearance)

I've only looked at the last flight, the aircraft was already at 6m at 7:51 when you gave it a very quick (not held down) on the throttle stick. Then at 7:52 it hit the tree. I think if it wouldn't have hit the tree it would have started to descend but the time from when you tapped the stick down and it hitting the tree was too quick.
I will look at another flight, star the flight and re-sync and and tell me what minute and second mark to start watching.
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MSavage
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Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-5 14:14
were you flying (hovering) directly above the street? If so, how high above the car was the drone when the car passed under it? I wonder if it sensed the abrupt change in altitude above the vehicle and in an attempt to avoid an obstacle, auto corrected upward into the tree?

It will be interesting to find out what the logs will be able to reveal. The hover position before the final drift upwards was about 15'-16'...so a good 10' of clearance between the car and the drone. It clipped the branch at about 19' - 20' despite my effort to have it reverse course.  
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Heavysledz
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hmmm...well I am out of ideas. I hope they are able to find a definitive analysis from the flight logs.
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