Hi All
Sadly I crashed my Mavic. I didn't need flights logs to to discover the reason. One of the rear props sheared off, folding the rear leg up and inverting the drone where it fell 3 metres into 10mm of salt water. The drone was approx 3 months old on its 95th mission. Reading the forum here I see DJI says Props (blades) should not need to be replaced before approx 200 missions.

Now here is where DJI tells me I went wrong, to ensure the small amount of salt water inside the drone did not cause damage to other components (eg the gimbal) my husband dismantled the it and carefully dried it (thus preventing further damage). This action was enough to void my warranty.

Have I lost confidence in DJI product? no - it is great product that I love flying.

Why post this in discussion - I purely wish to share my frustration and if you find yourself in the same situation I hope you benefit from my experience.

BTW they did offer me a new drone for about $1000 (a 15% discount) but as I had a 2 month outback Australia trip - I had purchased a replacement.

Keep the twirly side up!
Alison

Wow I would be frustrated. I do not understand this part of your story  "now here is where DJI tells me I went wrong, to ensure the small amount of salt water inside the drone did not cause damage to other components (eg the gimbal) "

Why did they offer a new drone if only the gimbal was defective, they could have offered to repair.
For DJI this was their opportunity to show their willingness to HELP a customer by offering decent repair prices.

To DJI, this was your chance get positive feedback from a customer by solving it the correct way.

Anoniem Posted at 2017-12-5 00:50
Wow I would be frustrated. I do not understand this part of your story  "now here is where DJI tells me I went wrong, to ensure the small amount of salt water inside the drone did not cause damage to other components (eg the gimbal) "

Why did they offer a new drone if only the gimbal was defective, they could have offered to repair.

The gimbal was in danger of salt water damaging it, the act of dismantling the drone to restricted the damage to motors, 1 circuit board, a couple of connectors etc. My husband did save a second circuit board and other components from further damage by his action, but voided the warranty according to DJI. Hindsight we should have left it was when it crashed.

Anoniem Posted at 2017-12-5 00:50
Wow I would be frustrated. I do not understand this part of your story  "now here is where DJI tells me I went wrong, to ensure the small amount of salt water inside the drone did not cause damage to other components (eg the gimbal) "

Why did they offer a new drone if only the gimbal was defective, they could have offered to repair.

The gimbal was in danger of salt water damaging it, the act of dismantling the drone to restricted the damage to motors, 1 circuit board, a couple of connectors etc. My husband did save a second circuit board and other components from further damage by his action, but voided the warranty according to DJI. Hindsight we should have left it was when it crashed.

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-5 01:20
The gimbal was in danger of salt water damaging it, the act of dismantling the drone to restricted the damage to motors, 1 circuit board, a couple of connectors etc. My husband did save a second circuit board and other components from further damage by his action, but voided the warranty according to DJI. Hindsight we should have left it was when it crashed.

In Europe, DJI should prove that I have made the damage worse.  
What DJI is doing, the easy way out, just let the customer pay for damage even if he/ she has not broken the Mavic by attempt repair.
Would have been a good case for DJI to show of their improvement in service(being a bit more understanding).
If their service is really good then allot more people would like to buy products from DJI.


Do wish you allot of fun with your new drone, hopefully you can forget about it after a while.

Hi Alison, I am terribly sorry for your crash. For the propellers, we suggest 200 sorties (take off and landing) for a set of propellers. But it also depends on the practical use and situation. Change it if necessary. So when they are damaged, broken or can not be mounted on the drone steadily and working properly, please don't continue using it.
Also, could you please provide me with the case number? I would like to check more info about the case. So we recommend that users could do a full check before a flight.
For the water damaged part, there might be a potential threat to properly using the drone, so we would suggest a replacement. Thank you for your understanding.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-5 03:00
Hi Alison, I am terribly sorry for your crash. For the propellers, we suggest 200 sorties (take off and landing) for a set of propellers. But it also depends on the practical use and situation. Change it if necessary. So when they are damaged, broken or can not be mounted on the drone steadily and working properly, please don't continue using it.
Also, could you please provide me with the case number? I would like to check more info about the case. So we recommend that users could do a full check before a flight.
For the water damaged part, there might be a potential threat to properly using the drone, so we would suggest a replacement. Thank you for your understanding.

Hi Thor
Thank you for your reply. The props were on their 95 mission well in the 200 missions DJI recommend.
The props were inspected and were on their 4 flight for the day.
Case CAS-1241841-W0G8K8BTW Faulty Prop was also returned to DJI
Regards
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-5 03:16
Hi Thor
Thank you for your reply. The props were on their 95 mission well in the 200 missions DJI recommend.
The props were inspected and were on their 4 flight for the day.

Hi Alison, noted with thanks. But after going through the case log, may I know that does the propellers break midflight? Could you please explain more about this? If there wasn't a crash to the props, it didn't seem that it could be damaged by itself. If it did crash into something which caused the broken props, and if you have doubts about the crash, we can provide you with a data analysis. But at the very beginning, you mentioned there was no need to find the reason. So, I am sorry, I am a little bit confused. Could you please tell me what I can do to help you? Thank you for your understanding.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-5 19:05
Hi Alison, noted with thanks. But after going through the case log, may I know that does the propellers break midflight? Could you please explain more about this? If there wasn't a crash to the props, it didn't seem that it could be damaged by itself. If it did crash into something which caused the broken props, and if you have doubts about the crash, we can provide you with a data analysis. But at the very beginning, you mentioned there was no need to find the reason. So, I am sorry, I am a little bit confused. Could you please tell me what I can do to help you? Thank you for your understanding.

Hi Thor
If you check my flight log on the 5 sept 2017 you will see 4 flights. One after another. The first 3 flights were without any incidents. The 4th flight also was normal. The drone went to 120m and return. I was then doing some gentle flying and the leg folded up and the drone dropped from 3m into water. No collision. It was my assumption the leg folded up due to prop failure. Examination of recovered drone showed half prop missing and drone leg folded up.
Props were checked before first flight in pre flight check as was rest of drone.
I have no explanation of why the prop failed. There was no impacts or warning of prop failure on my controller.
Does that assist?
Thank you for your help
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-6 01:27
Hi Thor
If you check my flight log on the 5 sept 2017 you will see 4 flights. One after another. The first 3 flights were without any incidents. The 4th flight also was normal. The drone went to 120m and return. I was then doing some gentle flying and the leg folded up and the drone dropped from 3m into water. No collision. It was my assumption the leg folded up due to prop failure. Examination of recovered drone showed half prop missing and drone leg folded up.
Props were checked before first flight in pre flight check as was rest of drone.

Flight Report Link
http://app.airdata.com/main?share=jrqJwQ

Alison,

same thing happened to my MP it suddenly crashed at 200 ft up and luckily landed on a sage brush without damage other than a broken prop, can a blade go bad at anytime without warning? YES and is there anyway of knowing it happening? NO, but I keep flying it there after and sold it after a while and purchased the Platinum.

Keep on having fun and flying your Mavic, they are a great drone.

Lucas775 Posted at 2017-12-6 20:30
Alison,

same thing happened to my MP it suddenly crashed at 200 ft up and luckily landed on a sage brush without damage other than a broken prop, can a blade go bad at anytime without warning? YES and is there anyway of knowing it happening? NO, but I keep flying it there after and sold it after a while and purchased the Platinum.

Hi Lucas
Sounds like you were very lucky with that Bush. I have completed close to another 100 flights since then and must admit I still have a flew butterfly’s on some flights. Did one of your props hit something or was it simply equipment failure? DJI quote props should safely do 200 flights before replacing for safety reasons, were your blades close to that number? I guess DJI produce so many units that occasionally 1 faulty part slips through.
The reason I started this thread was DJI claim that if my husband had not dismantled the Mavic (to prevent further damage) it would have been a warranty claim. I had hoped others may benefit from this knowledge.
To DJI credit (Thor) have decided to investigate the case further. It would be wonderful if DJI eventually honour the quality of their parts by covering the loss of my beloved Mavic. This would certainly show the customer they are an honourable company.
Regards
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-6 01:27
Hi Thor
If you check my flight log on the 5 sept 2017 you will see 4 flights. One after another. The first 3 flights were without any incidents. The 4th flight also was normal. The drone went to 120m and return. I was then doing some gentle flying and the leg folded up and the drone dropped from 3m into water. No collision. It was my assumption the leg folded up due to prop failure. Examination of recovered drone showed half prop missing and drone leg folded up.
Props were checked before first flight in pre flight check as was rest of drone.

Hi madam, for this case, I strongly recommend doing a data analysis first. Since your drone is in our repair center, I will inform the local team to follow it. Please wait patiently for the result.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-7 02:05
Hi madam, for this case, I strongly recommend doing a data analysis first. Since your drone is in our repair center, I will inform the local team to follow it. Please wait patiently for the result.

Thank you, your assistance is greatly appreciated.

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-6 21:59
Hi Lucas
Sounds like you were very lucky with that Bush. I have completed close to another 100 flights since then and must admit I still have a flew butterfly’s on some flights. Did one of your props hit something or was it simply equipment failure? DJI quote props should safely do 200 flights before replacing for safety reasons, were your blades close to that number? I guess DJI produce so many units that occasionally 1 faulty part slips through.
The reason I started this thread was DJI claim that if my husband had not dismantled the Mavic (to prevent further damage) it would have been a warranty claim. I had hoped others may benefit from this knowledge.

Alison,

The prop had only about 50 flights and it didn't hit anything it was just pure mechanical failure and I was just happy on how it landed.

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-7 02:49
Thank you, your assistance is greatly appreciated.

You're welcome. Hope things will be clear then.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-8 01:58
You're welcome. Hope things will be clear then.

Hi Thor
How long does it usually take for DJI to examine flight logs please?
Regards
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-13 22:59
Hi Thor
How long does it usually take for DJI to examine flight logs please?
Regards

Hi Alison, it has a delay because of the system error, I am so sorry. I will forward to the designated team to escalate the case. Sincerely sorry for the inconvenience again.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-14 20:02
Hi Alison, it has a delay because of the system error, I am so sorry. I will forward to the designated team to escalate the case. Sincerely sorry for the inconvenience again.

Thanks Thor for chasing up.

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-15 04:16
Thanks Thor for chasing up.

Not at all. Thank you for your kindness. I will also keep an eye on it.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-14 20:02
Hi Alison, it has a delay because of the system error, I am so sorry. I will forward to the designated team to escalate the case. Sincerely sorry for the inconvenience again.

Hi Thor
I was contacted today by DJI who seemed to have missed the reason you referred my case to them. They have not investigated the flight log, or looked into if the propeller failure caused the crash.

They have simply stated the post crash dismantling to prevent further damage has voided the warranty. I don’t know if you are able to re-request they examine the flight log, but it really appears they have not read or taken notice of any of the correspondence on the case.
Hope you may be able to help?
Regards
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-17 22:50
Hi Thor
I was contacted today by DJI who seemed to have missed the reason you referred my case to them. They have not investigated the flight log, or looked into if the propeller failure caused the crash.

PS here is a link to Australian Insurance that maybe of assistance
“Prevent further damage
You must take all reasonable precautions to prevent any further loss, damage or liability.”
Ref
https://www.kentame.com.au/claims

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-17 22:50
Hi Thor
I was contacted today by DJI who seemed to have missed the reason you referred my case to them. They have not investigated the flight log, or looked into if the propeller failure caused the crash.

Hi Alison, I had checked your case status, our engineers mentioned that the drone had been self-disassembled before, right? If yes, did the crash happen before the disassembly or after the disassembly? Could you please help to confirm? Thank you so much and sorry for the inconvenience.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-18 02:40
Hi Alison, I had checked your case status, our engineers mentioned that the drone had been self-disassembled before, right? If yes, did the crash happen before the disassembly or after the disassembly? Could you please help to confirm? Thank you so much and sorry for the inconvenience.

Hi Thor
Thanks for the reply. It’s reassuring to have you chasing this up for me.
The drone has always worked perfectly until the day the propeller snapped mid flight. To this point, the drone had not been altered, opened or disassembled.
After the drone crashed upside down into a little salt water, it was then disassembled to prevent further damage of the parts inside. DJI engineers have sent me photos of the damage to a few of the parts,  it you will note we saved many others by not letting the salt water spread throughout the casing. In other words, we only disassembled the drone after the crash to reduce the possibility of further damage.
I hope this assist in getting a positive result.
Thank you again
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-18 03:25
Hi Thor
Thanks for the reply. It’s reassuring to have you chasing this up for me.
The drone has always worked perfectly until the day the propeller snapped mid flight. To this point, the drone had not been altered, opened or disassembled.

Alison, thank you for your feedback, I will forward your situation to our engineers. Really appreciate your feedback. I will definitely help to keep an eye on your case.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-18 20:16
Alison, thank you for your feedback, I will forward your situation to our engineers. Really appreciate your feedback. I will definitely help to keep an eye on your case.

Hi Thor
I have supplied the requested flight logs to DJI via Dropbox this evening. Th am you aga8n for helping.
Cheers
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-20 03:54
Hi Thor
I have supplied the requested flight logs to DJI via Dropbox this evening. Th am you aga8n for helping.
Cheers

You are welcome, hope all things will be resolved soon.

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-12-21 22:40
You are welcome, hope all things will be resolved soon.

Hi Thor
Thanks for keeping in touch. Received email today from support examining the crash. They confirmed was there was NO pilot error. They did NOT confirm equipment failure or a reason for the accident
Regards
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-22 01:42
Hi Thor
Thanks for keeping in touch. Received email today from support examining the crash. They confirmed was there was NO pilot error. They did NOT confirm equipment failure or a reason for the accident
Regards

Hi Alison, per the analysis log, the record ended with the normal control, no abnormal behaviour is discovered, please check the record below. If this is the right record for the accident, then we had provided you with the related offer. Should you have any questions about the accident, please kindly let me know, or you can directly reply to the email. Thank you so much for your support.

Thanks Thor.
Would the replacement unit include propellers and battery?
Regards Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-23 11:26
Thanks Thor.
Would the replacement unit include propellers and battery?
Regards Alison

Alison, the replacement does not include propellers and battery. The quotation has been resend to you, please check later. If you have any payment issue, please write to quote-au@dji.com, the designated team will take care of it. Hopefully the case can be figured out soon.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-23 19:10
Alison, the replacement does not include propellers and battery. The quotation has been resend to you, please check later. If you have any payment issue, please write to quote-au@dji.com, the designated team will take care of it. Hopefully the case can be figured out soon.

Thank you Susan for your reply.
I will consider the offer, but I must admit I am struggling on how I can purchase a new drone only from an Australian Authorised Seller for $1000 odd
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0 ... Fitm%2F192364968183
But the repair cost DJI quote before loyalty discount is $1200 which doesn’t include a battery or props.
Respectfully, is there a better offer DJI would consider?
Merry Christmas
Alison

4WDaus Posted at 2017-12-23 21:29
Thank you Susan for your reply.
I will consider the offer, but I must admit I am struggling on how I can purchase a new drone only from an Australian Authorised Seller for $1000 odd
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192364968183

I understand your concern. We have checked with the team again, it is already the best offer. Also, due to the warranty is the not international, I'd suggest to purchase from local authorized dealers to avoid further troubles. Please let us know how would you like to operate, thanks!

Thank you for your assistance. Please pass on my thanks to Thor as  well.