JPilotR
First Officer
Flight distance : 584662 ft
United States
Offline
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I agree with the pilot error consensus, baro-altimeter error or not. Crash causes are not black and white. It can be a mechanical/electrical/structural failure AND pilot error.
Take the L1011 accident in Dallas in the 1970's when the pilots were tunnel-visioned on an erroneous fuel gauge. YES, the fuel gauged failed, but it was pilot error for not watching their altitude on approach and the consequential horrific accident that occurred. Not the fuel gauge's, or manufacturer's fault.
To say "well the baro altimeter failed, hence I crashed -- DJI's fault" is a cop out for just plain pilot error, especially when you were obviously outside the safety envelopes stated in the manuals. Even if the baro failed, it wont directly cause you to crash if you are within VLOS and fingers at the ready on the controls. Even if you are in an "automated flight" feature like Quick Shot, it is still up to the pilot to pilot the aircraft, regardless of whatever auto-flight mode the drone is in.
Most accidents are a chain of events. Take one chain out of the accident chain, and you saved the accident from occurring. That is where the pilot comes into play. These drones are not foolproof AI drones, and rely on the pilot's interaction and monitoring. Keeping your eye on the drone at all times and fingers at the ready, even in automated modes, is paramount.
And to say (paraphrasing) "well, I paid for these automated features, it should be foolproof, and any error is DJI's fault" is a fool-hearty. Read the manual, know the systems, keep your eye on the craft at all times, have a checklist and a pre-flight brief with yourself about what you will do in an emergency, and the accident chain is broken 9.99 times out of 10.
Knock on wood, I have kept myself out of trouble thus far by following a safety program I put into my company's Ops Manual. BUT, to say we never make mistakes or have bad days at all when flying, even the best of us, is fool-hearty too. I freely admit that I have had my share of "moments" that ultimately I learned from and drill into my head as not to repeat. Its all about risk management. The more you know and prep, the less risky the flight is. But it can never be perfect.
I'm sorry for the OP's equipment loss, but chock this one up to a (expensive) learning moment, and move on. Lets not point fingers at DJI on this one, even if there was a failure of the baro altimeter. That failure alone should not have lead to the crash. Take the lesson to heart and move on. |
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