Hi guys,
This is a really sad story, just bought a Mavic Air Fly More Combo on thursday 28, and yesterday (saturday 30th) was the first time that I was using my new toy, after 17 seconds of take off the drone fell into the ocean, it was displaying a message "Motor Obstructed", after an intensive search I was not able to recover the drone.

I'm not a new pilot, I had the Spark for over 10 months and just upgraded to the Mavic Air, is there a way that DJI could help me with this?

I'm really with my heart broken.

Very Sorry for you, I think for DJI to help you need to recover the Drone. Maybe you can open a Ticket with Support what you got to lose ?

First very sorry to hear this.  Truly a heartbreaker.  I will say most important thing is to make sure you must recover it.  They will absolutely not honor warranty without the AC so a recovery of the craft is a must.  Second upload your flight log here.  http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/ and some here should be able to help you determine what went wrong.  I will say this.  First did you have more than 10 satellites before takeoff and was your home point updated?  Second it clearly states in the manual that flying over reflective surfaces like water can/will cause issue with it and warns you of this in the manual.  

J.G,
I am really sorry to see you lost the MA.
it is Bad to loose it on dry land but really bad to loose it in the ocean.
As SparksBird posted the best thing to do is locate that MA. Uploading the Flight data and any video would help the guys on the forum decipher what might of caused the MA to take a swim. Might also help in finding it by giving you a 3D view of where it went down.

If you purchases it with your visa, there is a good chance you have the accidental damage/loss coverage from Visa for the first 90 days.  Check with your credit card company also.

It’s better to fly new drone at safe open place. Only fly over water after you familiar with it. It’s easy to have problem with new drone even you are old pilot.

Sorry to hear, I can imagine only 17 seconds there must have been some manufacture defect?

best if you post the log file here for us to help.  DJI has been known on a few occasions to make exceptions and replace drones that are unrecoverable if you can prove without doubt it wasn't your fault and was DJI's

J.G, we are really sorry for your loss, please contact our support team to start a ticket for the data analysis with the flight records in your mobile device, the team will do their best to find out the reason.

Hope you get back in the air soon.

very sad to hear that...............

J.G.  .... yep.... DJI Mindy's advice in Post#9 is the best.  And when you get the flight data files, post them here and on MavicPilots.com... Both forums have some really experienced pilots who have studied flight logs and can give some  detailed (and sometimes clever) analysis/advice.  

"When" you're able to replace the aircraft, consider checking with your homeowner's policy for an insurance rider to cover quads.  My StateFarm coverage costs an additional $60 a year and covers any/all of my aircraft.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2018-7-1 19:47
J.G, we are really sorry for your loss, please contact our support team to start a ticket for the data analysis with the flight records in your mobile device, the team will do their best to find out the reason.

I will do, but where's the option to start a ticket?

Here is the log:

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/54ZI2X730FT70NRUMCGM/

My sincere condolences with this terrible accident.  Hope there is the possibility to recover it. Wish You a good luck.

J.G Posted at 2018-7-2 08:09
Here is the log:

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/54ZI2X730FT70NRUMCGM/

I’m sorry this happened, just a couple of things, was this your first drone as well as your first flight, I’m thinking it was.

You took of with very weak gps, after 10 sec while only 3 ft away from you it went into Atti mode, you continued your flight in Atti mode which offered you very little control, and this was basically why you lost your drone to the water.

Although we may scoff at reading the manual, for these drones it’s really important, first flights should always take place in an open safe envoirment and water is not that place,
Although David above thinks because it was 17 seconds into flight it must have been a malfunction. He couldn’t be further from the mark.

I would continue with contacting support, while they might not offer warranty, you most likely will be offered % discount.

Thank you for putting up your log as it is a good warning to others who maybe thinking you can fly and control these harmless looking machines right of the bat.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-2 08:30
I’m sorry this happened, just a couple of things, was this your first drone as well as your first flight, I’m thinking it was.

You took of with very weak gps, after 10 sec while only 3 ft away from you it went into Atti mode, you continued your flight in Atti mode which offered you very little control, and this was basically why you lost your drone to the water.

This was not the first flight, I used the 3 batteries, charged them all again, and the 4th flight this happened. I'm not a new pilot, I had the Spark for over 10 months and after saving some money upgraded to the Mavic Air.

J.G Posted at 2018-7-2 08:34
This was not the first flight, I used the 3 batteries, charged them all again, and the 4th flight this happened. I'm not a new pilot, I had the Spark for over 10 months and after saving some money upgraded to the Mavic Air.

Ok then you should have known that it’s not good to fly in Atti mode particularly over water, when it went to Atti mode correct procedure is to land and you would have read this in your manual.

J.G Posted at 2018-7-2 08:34
This was not the first flight, I used the 3 batteries, charged them all again, and the 4th flight this happened. I'm not a new pilot, I had the Spark for over 10 months and after saving some money upgraded to the Mavic Air.

I am really sorry for your loss! But at the same time I can only agree to the flightrecord analysis done by hallmark007 here above. From your profile it is visible that you have quite some flying experience already. For myself I have come to the conclusion that at each take off we all have to be as cautious as if it was our first flight. And taking off without sufficient satellites is almost a guarantee for trouble.

Were you recording at the time of the incident?  If so, do you have the cached video from your phone you could upload?  A lot of time it is good to be able to coordinate what is seen in the logs with what can be seen in a video.

I wonder if the motor obstructed message came after the props hit the water?

At time of takeoff, what was GO-4 App showing on main menu with regards Color (Green or Red), Number of curved Satellite bars, Number of Satellites, and mode Mavic was flying in?

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-7-2 09:51
At time of takeoff, what was GO-4 App showing on main menu with regards Color (Green or Red), Number of curved Satellite bars, Number of Satellites, and mode Mavic was flying in?

Green with 7 satellite bars, then 9 satellite bars.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-2 08:30
I’m sorry this happened, just a couple of things, was this your first drone as well as your first flight, I’m thinking it was.

You took of with very weak gps, after 10 sec while only 3 ft away from you it went into Atti mode, you continued your flight in Atti mode which offered you very little control, and this was basically why you lost your drone to the water.

100% agree with Hallmark.

Based on the data, it appears as if you took off t early. Probably took off in yellow mode plus having low count of satellites led to the MA's demise.

I always wait until I have a minimum of 12 satellites and see the green mode before take-off.


It appears that once it entered atti-mode, that was when second round of trouble came.


A pilot can steer the craft back to safety but one really needs to be experienced.  For those who have never flown in atti-mode? try it in an open field and practice as you'll need the skills at any point.

I never completely rely on satellites honestly they help but not always. Case in point, I lost signal transmission and went into atti-mode but was able to redirect to a higher altitude, gain connection again and bought to land. Close one but practice, practice and practice.

J.G Posted at 2018-7-2 09:54
Green with 7 satellite bars, then 9 satellite bars.

Assuming drone drowning was result of lack of GPS sats or weak GPS reception...
In my opinion this is where DJI messed up.  The ''Green'' (aka Good to Go) should be Yellow**, cautioning pilot to lack of GPS sats or week GPS reception.  

The required number of satellites and reception strength is a gray area and open to debate.  Manual does not give a mininum of Sats.   While wording in manual (''White bars indicate adequate GPS strength"), would mean even one Sat-GPS white bar means adequate signal strength to fly.   Leaving Pilot to check which mode drone is really going to fly in.


** With a user settable option that when Not ''Green'', the drone will not takeoff.

S.D. Pilot Posted at 2018-7-2 10:26
100% agree with Hallmark.

Based on the data, it appears as if you took off t early. Probably took off in yellow mode plus having low count of satellites led to the MA's demise.

Probably took off in yellow mode plus having low count of satellites led to the MA's demise.  


OP said GO-4 was showing " Green with 7 satellite bars, then 9 satellite bars. "

J.G Posted at 2018-7-2 09:54
Green with 7 satellite bars, then 9 satellite bars.

Yes but at 3 ft altitude your aircraft was now in Atti mode and you decided to take off flying shortly after this.
As you have said you have plenty of experience so you should be aware of the consequences of flying in Atti mode particularly over water, and your telemetry would clearly tell you what mode you were on. Your telemetry was showing weak gps, you cannot fly above 16ft with weak gps, it’s in your manual.

Hi,

The flightrecord tells us that the GPS reception was ZERO all flight.
In ATTI mode Drone was quitte steady, see the pitch and roll angles until chart ID line 266 where pitch and roll angles are going wild. Soon after motor obstruction was writtem the file.

Ofcourse not wise to fly that low in ATTI (well, should not have gone into flying) but could the motor obstruction be the cause of loosing this MA? (or hit top of a wave?)

My advise is always fly with a screen recorder active! Gives the OP proof what was seen on the screen (the Go App) and very usefull to analyse even better.

cheers
JJB

Appears to be launched from a kayak or something? Flying that low, near water, is a big no-no. Water or reflective surfaces (as stated in the manual) will throw the VPS off and can malfunction. I've tested this on top of my swimming pool and the drone drifted in a vibrating fashion, it was weird.

Motor obstructed message is probably when the drone had hit water..or it flew into the side of the boat? lol

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 11:15
Hi,

The flightrecord tells us that the GPS reception was ZERO all flight.

Think motor obstruction is when drone crashed, you cannot go above 16 ft with weak gps, that’s a failsafe height, unless of course your above 16ft when gps occurs.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-7-2 10:30
Assuming drone drowning was result of lack of GPS sats or weak GPS reception...
In my opinion this is where DJI messed up.  The ''Green'' (aka Good to Go) should be Yellow**, cautioning pilot to lack of GPS sats or week GPS reception.  

G8 suggestion, I think we should have to read less of this incidents,

To the OP, hope you find a solution

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-2 11:47
Think motor obstruction is when drone crashed, you cannot go above 16 ft with weak gps, that’s a failsafe height, unless of course your above 16ft when gps occurs.

Oops, i do not understand what you are saying, please explain. Not higher than16 feet when?

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-7-2 08:48
I am really sorry for your loss! But at the same time I can only agree to the flightrecord analysis done by hallmark007 here above. From your profile it is visible that you have quite some flying experience already. For myself I have come to the conclusion that at each take off we all have to be as cautious as if it was our first flight. And taking off without sufficient satellites is almost a guarantee for trouble.

If you upload the Flight Data from the Spark, will this data let you know the exact ESC that is giving this ESC Error? And if this data tells you which ESC gave the error, will DJI let you know what ESC has failed?

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 12:21
Oops, i do not understand what you are saying, please explain. Not higher than16 feet when?

Oops you missed a bit. (;+)......

bobsma Posted at 2018-7-2 12:47
If you upload the Flight Data from the Spark, will this data let you know the exact ESC that is giving this ESC Error? And if this data tells you which ESC gave the error, will DJI let you know what ESC has failed?

Yes if you download the .dat file from aircraft.

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 11:15
Hi,

The flightrecord tells us that the GPS reception was ZERO all flight.

Excellent advice, thank you JBB!

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-2 13:00
Oops you missed a bit. (;+)......
[view_image]

Thank you, must have missed this but i had a flight today (Spark) in that second setting and was able to fly higher than 5 meters...So i have to read the Spark manual again.

There are two GPS values in the logs, number of sats and gps reception. So what does DJI mean by GPS signals....number of reception?

cheers
JJB

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 13:05
Thank you, must have missed this but i had a flight today (Spark) in that second setting and was able to fly higher than 5 meters...So i have to read the Spark manual again.

There are two GPS values in the logs, number of sats and gps reception. So what does DJI mean by GPS signals....number of reception?

Then your spark is broke, because you cannot turn of VPS with spark so on weak gps it should be limited to 16ft.
If you say had 6/8 sats this does not mean weak gps, if you have 6 gps locked or 6 glonass locked your good to fly, but we have no way of knowing which we are locked on to , your graph bar is one indicator if it shows white bars you are good to fly, when it shows 2/3 only white bars you are not normally locked on.
Was your telemetry top left showing red weak gps, if not then you didn’t have weak gps ?

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 13:05
Thank you, must have missed this but i had a flight today (Spark) in that second setting and was able to fly higher than 5 meters...So i have to read the Spark manual again.

There are two GPS values in the logs, number of sats and gps reception. So what does DJI mean by GPS signals....number of reception?

Then your spark is broke, because you cannot turn of VPS with spark so on weak gps it should be limited to 16ft.
If you say had 6/8 sats this does not mean weak gps, if you have 6 gps locked or 6 glonass locked your good to fly, but we have no way of knowing which we are locked on to , your graph bar is one indicator if it shows white bars you are good to fly, when it shows 2/3 only white bars you are not normally locked on.
Was your telemetry top left showing red weak gps, if not then you didn’t have weak gps ?

JJBspark Posted at 2018-7-2 13:05
Thank you, must have missed this but i had a flight today (Spark) in that second setting and was able to fly higher than 5 meters...So i have to read the Spark manual again.

There are two GPS values in the logs, number of sats and gps reception. So what does DJI mean by GPS signals....number of reception?

I don't know for sure, but I believe DJI always goes based on the GPS signal strength (i.e. bars) rather than number of GPS satellites.