On site right now ...just had a fly away with my Mavic Air, lost connection at a fairly low height (approximately 50 metres) about 50% battery remaining. Return to home function failed, all I can be sure is that the drone travelled across fields and has probably landed safely but no idea where to start ...can anybody help ?

Just accessing records ....is there any data that I can upload that may help ?
I dont believe the aircraft has crashed because I was at quite a high point and the direction it was travelling there would be no further objects at that height.
I waited at the site for about half an hour, so more than long enough for it to return to home.

Will the drone of transmitted a location somewhere before the battery died to indicate its whereabouts ?

Can you not use the "Find My Drone" function in the DJI GO App?

Launch Go, Top Right 3 Lines, Click, Select 'find my drone'

And Good Luck.

Just upload logs to link below come back here and post link.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/4DRP16ZBZOLF0VK1LL8T

Ken Storm Posted at 4-15 06:57
Can you not use the "Find My Drone" function in the DJI GO App?

Launch Go, Top Right 3 Lines, Click, Select 'find my drone'

I have checked find my drone and its just showing the last location before connection was lost (see below)

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 07:07
Just upload logs to link below come back here and post link.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/4DRP16ZBZOLF0VK1LL8T

i've clicked on that link i cant find anywhere to upload the logs, where are the logs and how did I get them ?

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 07:07
Just upload logs to link below come back here and post link.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/4DRP16ZBZOLF0VK1LL8T

I've clicked on export CSV and this is all that happens

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 07:13
I have checked find my drone and its just showing the last location before connection was lost (see below)

[view_image][view_image]

I had 30% battery remaining at the time connection was lost

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 07:15
i've clicked on that link i cant find anywhere to upload the logs, where are the logs and how did I get them ?

Logs are on your device.

Try this link

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 07:07
Just upload logs to link below come back here and post link.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/4DRP16ZBZOLF0VK1LL8T

I've just clicked on the download to album, where is the album ? i can't find the exported file anywhere

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 07:22
Logs are on your device.

Try this link

I cant find any logs on my device at all ...do you know where they would be on an iPhone

can anybody  help with this ...i've got a couple of hours of daylight left and its forecast to rain tonight

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 07:39
can anybody  help with this ...i've got a couple of hours of daylight left and its forecast to rain tonight

To upload the logs on that link you would most likely need a computer, which direction did it fly towards, was there any wind, try walking in that direction, check in the trees it would have landed some where close by, check your home point it could have done an RTH on disconnect

Good Luck

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 07:22
Logs are on your device.

Try this link

Okay done that, link below

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/82IU5VRG4DCK4KB7PAZY/

Suren Posted at 4-15 07:44
To upload the logs on that link you would most likely need a computer, which direction did it fly towards, was there any wind, try walking in that direction, check in the trees it would have landed some where close by, check your home point it could have done an RTH on disconnect

Good Luck

Hi, I did wait 30mins for RTH as there was only 31% battery left but it didn't RTH

Flight records here https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/82IU5VRG4DCK4KB7PAZY/

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 07:13
I have checked find my drone and its just showing the last location before connection was lost (see below)

[view_image][view_image]

looks like the drone was heading back to you when it broke contact. see red dart on map.
you said battery was about 50% and later 30%. What setting did you use for Low battery warning? Default is 30% unless you changed it.
What is the battery % set to for landing? Default 10% unless you changed it.
What was the wind speed at the altitude the drone flew at when contact was broken?
What is the exact direction that the wind was blowing when contact broken?
It makes a difference to the possible location it landed in.
As an assumption, with no wind, 30% battery and 10% landing, there should have been just enough juice in the battery to land near you. Bearing in mind the red dart, showing the drone was already pointing towards your left side.

AlansDronePics Posted at 4-15 07:49
looks like the drone was heading back to you when it broke contact. see red dart on map.
you said battery was about 50% and later 30%. What setting did you use for Low battery warning? Default is 30% unless you changed it.
What is the battery % set to for landing? Default 10% unless you changed it.

Hi, thanks for the info

I waited at the take off point for half an hour, (i guessed it was at 50% when i first posted but it was actually 31%), it didnt RTH.

Here is a link to the flight records

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/82IU5VRG4DCK4KB7PAZY/

AlansDronePics Posted at 4-15 07:49
looks like the drone was heading back to you when it broke contact. see red dart on map.
you said battery was about 50% and later 30%. What setting did you use for Low battery warning? Default is 30% unless you changed it.
What is the battery % set to for landing? Default 10% unless you changed it.

What setting did you use for Low battery warning? Default is 30% unless you changed it.

20%

What is the battery % set to for landing? Default 10% unless you changed it.

10% I think

What was the wind speed at the altitude the drone flew at when contact was broken?

the flight records show between 2-5 mph in the final seconds


What is the exact direction that the wind was blowing when contact broken?

NW I think

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 07:45
Okay done that, link below

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/82IU5VRG4DCK4KB7PAZY/

57.59782712        -3.26876728

Those are last coordinates recorded in your log.

It looks like you craft was trying to return home, but at a very slow speed probably due to strong wind at altitude you were flying, it would have continued a backward move until it reached 15% battery and landed, it was going at a very slow speed so won’t be to far beyond that last recorded point, but could it be up a tree, or in the Lough .

hallmark007 Posted at 4-15 08:14
57.59782712        -3.26876728

Those are last coordinates recorded in your log.

Okay thank you ...i'm going to go back and have a search.

The drone just all of a sudden took off, it wasn't even that windy, it was unresponsive to controls ..if I don't find it do you know if this should be replaced by DJI.

When I go back, with my phone how can I find exactly where those co-ordinates are ? Is there an app for this

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 08:20
Okay thank you ...i'm going to go back and have a search.

The drone just all of a sudden took off, it wasn't even that windy, it was unresponsive to controls ..if I don't find it do you know if this should be replaced by DJI.

Put coordinates into google maps, it’s going to be difficult to find, and it’s always that bit harder for dji without black box which is in the aircraft.
However it’s not fully clear why this happened to your craft and if it was malfunction then I’m certain dji will offer you warranty.

You will need to open a case, first contact djisupport and sync your log raise a case and get a case number and see what they say .

Its funny signal lost never came back at all. Usually interference causes loss. But in can vacate so rc regains control. Did it ever regain connect?

Post deleted by user.G-Sig

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-15 08:20
Okay thank you ...i'm going to go back and have a search.

The drone just all of a sudden took off, it wasn't even that windy, it was unresponsive to controls ..if I don't find it do you know if this should be replaced by DJI.

Look at the attitude of the aircraft in phantom help towards the end of the record. At 300ft altitude the aircraft was struggling against wind and being pushed further away. In RTH mode speed it restricted so harder to return against a strong wind. So it may have landed closer to the field to the North West.

Hi, we're sorry about the mishap that happens on your drone. We highly recommend syncing your flight records using the DJI GO 4 app and contacting our support via the link below for us to provide the appropriate resolution. For additional information, if the unit is no longer part of warranty coverage, the data analysis can't be applied. You may check the warranty period of your unit using this link: https://www.dji.com/service/policy

www.dji.com/support

Might be that wind has claimed yet another drone.

Hi,

Had a look at your flight too.

You MA was against too much wind in the RTH, so it did not flew closer to home...

See my charts.

Weird is to see that your MA  did not turn all the way towards home direction, wich it should do ofcourse.

Loosing contact if will still try to RTH home, due to the height and time to land safely an autoland will be there versy soon after your last position.

My guess is the orange marker. Hope you will find your MA

cheers
JJB

hi kestrel - sorry about yr fly away.
Seems to me you got caught in big wind at higher altitude - despite giving full stick forward thrust yr drone was moving backwards rapidly - that is high wind for sure.

I would start my search around the last known location (per the map) and work my way toward the open field in line with the direction the wind was blowing ...roughly per my image


- unfortunately that appears to be a difficult search area through trees - i would search the open areas along the projected route first and then start working my way through the trees.

1 of 2 possibilities seems possible to me:
1. either yr drone flipped over whilst trying to orient to face home - in which case the motors will switch off and the drone will fall maybe a little down wind but should be close to last known location
2. the drone continued its flight in RTH after yr last contact - in this case it will continue to try fly home but will be going backwards then it will try to land as emergency limit kicks in and all the while it is still blowing backwards.

This appears to me a case of user error :-(

Bekaru MP UAV Posted at 4-15 13:30
hi kestrel - sorry about yr fly away.
Seems to me you got caught in big wind at higher altitude - despite giving full stick forward thrust yr drone was moving backwards rapidly - that is high wind for sure.

Thank you for your response and to everyone for their help and info ...

I went back to the area yesterday and spent 3 hours searching in very dense and prickly terrain to no avail. I first walked the field NW in the direction of the arrow, failing that I searched around the arrow and also between the last known point and home.

Very difficult area to search but covered it the best I could.

The field was empty with no crops just soil and would of been easy to spot but it definitely didnt reach the field. I also searched the field across the road. I guess it has come down in some of the very thick forestry and I just wasn't lucky enough to find it.

When the MA was in early flight there were no signs of hardly any wind, when I raised it just took off and didn't respond to controls ...I will go through the channels with DJI and hopefully they will be able to sort something out for me as I cant see how there was any user error here on my part at all.

Thanks again to all for your input on this incident

JJB* Posted at 4-15 12:12
Hi,

Had a look at your flight too.

Thank you very much for your time and workings ...I did have a search in the area yesterday that you highlighted but to no avail, its very difficult search area, actually much worse than it looks on the map.

Many thanks though

In future I am going to fit a tracker, this would of been a great asset in the search ...can anyone recommend a small tracker for the MA that has a decent coverage ?

Another after thought is that I feel despite lost connect to RC, that the drone should still be capable of sending a location marker to a DJI server or something ...even if its on a paid subscription basis, just like all the car trackers.

Also, yesterday in the DJI GO APP / find my drone / the emit sound function failed to work during the search ...does anyone has any knowledge or previous experience of this function ?

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-16 00:47
Thank you very much for your time and workings ...I did have a search in the area yesterday that you highlighted but to no avail, its very difficult search area, actually much worse than it looks on the map.

Many thanks though

I use this tracker for my SPARK > https://forum.dji.com/thread-173375-1-1.html

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-16 00:52
Another after thought is that I feel despite lost connect to RC, that the drone should still be capable of sending a location marker to a DJI server or something ...even if its on a paid subscription basis, just like all the car trackers.

Also, yesterday in the DJI GO APP / find my drone / the emit sound function failed to work during the search ...does anyone has any knowledge or previous experience of this function ?

Do you have another drone to use or a friend with one to use to do more searching? Sorry for the loss of your bird.

JJB* Posted at 4-16 02:24
I use this tracker for my SPARK > https://forum.dji.com/thread-173375-1-1.html

Hi again,

Thanks again for your help on this ...I have a team going to search the area where your orange marker is ...do you have the co-ordinates of the orange marker so I can forward this onto them please.

Very sorry to hear about your incident.  I would definitely recommend opening a case with DJI to see if they are able to find a more definitive answer to what happened.  

From my amateur perspective looking at the logs, it does seem like there is a good chance the wind was too much for it to handle.  Based on its angle of attack and the backwards movement in RTH, it seems like it was the wind pushing it around.  Looking at the weather in the region for that day, it looks like the wind was blowing very vigorously that afternoon!  And at more than 300ft (90m) up, it was likely blowing even harder.

https://www.worldweatheronline.com/elgin-weather-history/moray/gb.aspx
https://www.wunderground.com/his ... EGPE/date/2019-4-15

Looking at Google Maps and Google Earth of the area you took off from, its hard to know for sure, but it looks like maybe the launch point was down in a lower area possibly surrounded by large trees.  This could have sheltered the wind a bit from where you were at so that it didn't seem like the wind was blowing as hard as it was up higher.  Also, the trees potentially could have impacted the signal from your RC to the aircraft and is why the signal started dropping out as it got out a bit further and then caused the signal to drop out completely.

Best of luck in your search as you move forward!

same happened to me, just vanished and only showed last location

Kestrel Scot Posted at 4-16 04:42
Hi again,

Thanks again for your help on this ...I have a team going to search the area where your orange marker is ...do you have the co-ordinates of the orange marker so I can forward this onto them please.

Hi,

Orange marker is my guess, search area for last white X to Orange marker with diverging lines...
LatLon Marker = -3.27050000 / 57.59920000

If not at the marker (change = 5% ), than must be in that open field somewhere.....

see this > https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=186743
After loosing contact (9m8s at 91 meters) a RTH was executed by your MA, when in contact again (9m26s, 163 meters, 40% batt) your only inputs was UP, not steering back home and fwd pitch.

good luck finding!
Cheers JJB

KlooGee Posted at 4-16 06:14
Very sorry to hear about your incident.  I would definitely recommend opening a case with DJI to see if they are able to find a more definitive answer to what happened.  

From my amateur perspective looking at the logs, it does seem like there is a good chance the wind was too much for it to handle.  Based on its angle of attack and the backwards movement in RTH, it seems like it was the wind pushing it around.  Looking at the weather in the region for that day, it looks like the wind was blowing very vigorously that afternoon!  And at more than 300ft (90m) up, it was likely blowing even harder.

I think your spot on with that, what surprised me at the time was that there was no wind, the lochs are indeed protected and I was getting some nice aerial shots of my partner and I on a bridge ...i raised it a bit higher and it just took off but there was no warning whatsoever ...it just seemed like a fly away incident.

Actually something I have never raised which was quite worrying happened a couple of months ago ...I was doing some filming inside an empty football stadium and all of a sudden out of the blue wind no wind whatsoever my MA took off just over ground level at a very fast rate. On that occasion I managed to lower it and crash it into some advertising boards which didn't matter as I had propeller guards on, the MA sustained just a couple of scratches ...if i hadn't managed to lower and crash it then it would of been gone at a very fast rate, a very strange incident which i would think was almost certainly a fly off but I have no idea what could of caused it.

DJI seriously need to be putting trackers now inside these drones, especially for a drone over £500 I think thats fair enough ...even if it works on a subscription basis.