Hi
completely devastated. Lost my brand new mini (purchased just a week ago). only third flight and it is lost. Twice searched the area of last known location, but no luck. logs with DJI tech support but can anyone also look at the logs and let me know what was wrong?Thanks

Hi, thank you for reaching out and we're deeply sorry for the incident happened to your DJI Mavic Mini. I will highly recommend you to contact our support team at DJI SUPPORT to start up a ticket case. We do have our designated department who will conduct further analysis on your flight logs to find out the reason for the incident. A corresponding resolution will be provided after. Again, sorry for the trouble and thank you for your understanding and support!

Sorry to hear you lost your Mavic Mini. You can upload your flight log here: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

When the upload is complete, you can share the link in the thread you created..

We'll know more when you upload your flight log, but the first problem is you took off with only 4 satellites locked. You should never take off until you get at least 10-11 satellites locked.

It would be easier to see what happened if you had posted a link to the complete Phantomhelp log viewer report but I've found enough in the spreadsheet data to see what happened.

First you were impatient and launched without GPS or recording a home point.
The drone finally acquired good GPS location data and recorded a home point 39.7 seconds after you launched.
At 2:40 you were hovering in place and the drone was pitching at 10°-18°, leaning into a gusty breeze and drifting at about 0.2 mph.
At 2:50.4 with the Mini 250 feet away from the recorded home point and 70 feet up, you initiated RTH and the Mini commenced climbing to the ridiculous RTH height of 530 feet.
By the time the drone was at RTH height, it had been blown to 570 ft from home.
It started coming home, pitching at 17°-23° but only making 3-6 mph toward home because it was fighting a strong breeze.

At 5:28.5 the drone (still 530 ft up) was 360 feet from the home point but the wind increased and it started to be blown slowly backwards despite pitching 20°-29°
The wind gusts came and went with the drone making headway when the wind eased and at 6:08.9 it was 124 ft from the home point and you cancelled RTH but left the drone hovering 530 feet up.

You initiated RTH again at 6:21.6 and again left it to itself and it was blown backwards again.
At 6:28.4 you cancelled RTH and left the drone hovering (but being blown backwards again).
At 6:57.3, with the drone now 650 feet away, you initiated RTH and again left it to deal with the wind on its own.
You alternated between leaving it hovering and RTH with the drone being blown away at up to 9 mph in strong gusts, never making any effort to bring it down from the strong winds 530 feet up.
The data finishes at 13:06 with the drone 2232 feet away and being blown even further.
The battery was down to 27% and the Mini would have autolanded when the battery reached critical low voltage level sometime later, so there's no point searching on the ground where signal was lost.

The loss of the drone was due to negilgent piloting.
you showed no awareness of what was happening to the drone and left it up where the wind was too strong for it.
The app was telling you all you needed to know.
If you had brought it down and flown home it would have easily been saved.

Sorry but your drone didn't "fly away", you threw your drone away.
100% pilot error.

Anonymous downvoter ... Care to explain what you think I got wrong?

Labroides Posted at 1-16 18:15
Anonymous downvoter ... Care to explain what you think I got wrong?

I am not the downvoter.  I have never downvoted anything, and I respect and appreciate the time you took to review the log and to provide the feedback.  Your analysis gives insight and wisdom from which we all can benefit.  I suspect the downvote is more about the presentation style, less about the facts.  It is definitely blunt.  I would rather have you present in the style of your choosing, but it might benefit from a touch of empathy (the individual just lost their drone, didn't even know it was because of their own flight choices, and came here to find sage advice and guidance).  Never-the-less, your blunt and factual analysis is still appreciated by me.

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-16 19:50
I concur with your assessment behind the downvote but, personally, I enjoy the blunt presentation.   Sometimes people need a reality check & shame has always played a significant role in maintaining society.  Today, too many have become thin-skinned, detached from personal responsibility, & dependent on coddling, participation awards, & Safe Spaces.  The effect this is having on society is undeniable.

You just got an upvote from me for that. I would have given you four, but unfortunately it does not allow it.

DJI should make it clear about what happens if GPS lock is not established prior to take-off with a small video clip so it can deter people away from rushing the take off.  A clip of the drone leaving and never coming back that flew to an airport or a live highway which caused some fatalities now they are looking for the pilot and the owners fingerprints are all over the drone, like pet birds w/o clipped wings when you let them out of the cage outside to spread their wings, they may never come back.

It's like not properly educating the fundamentals of how to ride a motorcycle which ends up with some people going full whiskey throttle to their never ending paralysis which leads some to amputate their limbs that don't work as it bogs them down weight wise like jettisoning fuel.  Though, in the future the robotic limbs may prove to be better than human limbs but we aren't there yet.  I still think people who are 2' tall have a significant advantage when being in robots like Mechwarriors than those 6'5.

AntDX316 Posted at 1-16 20:25
DJI should make it clear about what happens if GPS lock is not established prior to take-off with a small video clip so it can deter people away from rushing the take off.  A clip of the drone leaving and never coming back that flew to an airport or a live highway which caused some fatalities now they are looking for the pilot and the owners fingerprints are all over the drone, like pet birds w/o clipped wings when you let them out of the cage outside to spread their wings, they may never come back.

It's like not properly educating the fundamentals of how to ride a motorcycle which ends up with some people going full whiskey throttle to their never ending paralysis which leads some to amputate their limbs that don't work as it bogs them down weight wise like jettisoning fuel.  Though, in the future the robotic limbs may prove to be better than human limbs but we aren't there yet.  I still think people who are 2' tall have a significant advantage when being in robots like Mechwarriors than those 6'5.

DJI should make it clear about what happens if GPS lock is not established prior to take-off
Why?   It's not a big deal.
If you are impatient and launch without GPS and a home point, all that happens is that your drone will get GPS and record a home point shortly after takeoff.
In the event of a hands-off RTH, the drone would return to where it was when it recorded the home point and that's not going to be very far from the launch point.

Should DJI make a video to explain that?
It might be easier than making a movie about the bizarre and wildly irrelevant second half of your post.

Labroides Posted at 1-16 20:46
DJI should make it clear about what happens if GPS lock is not established prior to take-off
Why?   It's not a big deal.
If you are impatient and launch without GPS and a home point, all that happens is that your drone will get GPS and record a home point shortly after takeoff.

To us, we know it is important.  We don't need it stressed to us but for others, they have no idea.  It's like girls who live stream while driving, something happens where they lose control and now somebody died or got seriously injured.

It's not like burning cookies in the oven even though effort wise they can be identical.
The Skydio 2 doesn't make sense to me.  I don't even know if GPS even exist w/ it as it isn't as noticed with DJI.

AntDX316 Posted at 1-16 21:33
To us, we know it is important.  We don't need it stressed to us but for others, they have no idea.  It's like girls who live stream while driving, something happens where they lose control and now somebody died or got seriously injured.

It's not like burning cookies in the oven even though effort wise they can be identical.

Holy Cow, a brain like a random bubble generator. What a load of absolute crap.

I'm kind of misreading.  It's 12:38AM and I'm sleepy.  I'm not perfect like a computer.

I like the, a brain like a random bubble generator perspective.

Thank you all for the comments and advice. If it helps, this is the link I was asked to post

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/ZZHTVSPEUABIUHA5F7YX

Thanks

pkm Posted at 1-16 22:06
Thank you all for the comments and advice. If it helps, this is the link I was asked to post

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/ZZHTVSPEUABIUHA5F7YX

You'd probably need to search on the eastern side of A38 to find where it came down.

Yes People need to apply simple physics to these things the MM is by design very light and the wind can be very strong...… There are many many posts on here about blow aways

Hiya,

With a calculated guess, see the orange landing marker.

Hope you will find your MM.

cheers
JJB

The manual seriously lacks important information and disclaimers, too much stuff going on that can be misleading.
Info in GPS lock, wind, and what can happen if RTH is engaged under those situations... People these days have no patient, even YouTubers make fun of manuals.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-17 02:49
The manual seriously lacks important information and disclaimers, too much stuff going on that can be misleading.
Info in GPS lock, wind, and what can happen if RTH is engaged under those situations... People these days have no patient, even YouTubers make fun of manuals.

As I don’t own a Mavic Mini I’ve not looked at the manual but I don’t think any amount of bold red text with flashing neon signs would have helped in this situation. This person took his MM up 25%+ the maximum height in Class D airspace, lost control flying in unsuitable conditions, just a few degrees off the approach/departure line of Birmingham Airport.

Sometimes a loss such as this acts as a filter.

Nidge Posted at 1-17 02:59
As I don’t own a Mavic Mini I’ve not looked at the manual but I don’t think any amount of bold red text with flashing neon signs would have helped in this situation. This person took his MM up 25%+ the maximum height in Class D airspace, lost control flying in unsuitable conditions, just a few degrees off the approach/departure line of Birmingham Airport.

Sometimes a loss such as this acts as a filter.

I agree, is more of a way to put people off, at least if they loose the drone they will know is their responsibility, rather than coming around wondering what happened.

I love reading manuals, however didn't find the mavic mini manual appealing, in fact some parts needed various passes for me to fully understand it.

I agree this "filter" is gonna put many newbies off .

Dirty Bird Posted at 1-16 22:14
While I empathize with the OP's loss, this reminds me of a Spark video I once watched.  An excited rookie flew far out over the ocean, with the wind at his bsck, giddy over the incredible range of his new drone.   Finally he began to lose contact & turned back.  

The excitement quickly became terror as the Spark, now battling the wind, made slow progress.  The battery quickly faded.  At only 600' from making it back, the battery reached 10%.  The drone stopped & began auto-landing into the sea.  

That sounds incredibly familiar. Either it's a giant coincidence or I know that guy's father-in-law

Labroides Posted at 1-16 17:30
It would be easier to see what happened if you had posted a link to the complete Phantomhelp log viewer report but I've found enough in the spreadsheet data to see what happened.

First you were impatient and launched without GPS or recording a home point.

Impressive detailed explanation of the difference between "fly away" and "blow away".

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-17 03:32
I agree, is more of a way to put people off, at least if they loose the drone they will know is their responsibility, rather than coming around wondering what happened.

I love reading manuals, however didn't find the mavic mini manual appealing, in fact some parts needed various passes for me to fully understand it.

I always read manuals as well. And especialy drone flying IMPOV desperately needs to fully understand user guide and careful practice too.

Epitaph.

Minnesota Posted at 1-17 04:47
Epitaph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQinkXUDgCk

Wow, it was nearly at home!
Over 500feet RTH Altitude seems way too high.

pkm Posted at 1-16 22:06
Thank you all for the comments and advice. If it helps, this is the link I was asked to post

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/ZZHTVSPEUABIUHA5F7YX

The mistakes you made are very common with beginners and unfortunately you learned the hard way that:

1) You need to wait for a good satellite lock before flying
2) The Mavic Mini and strong winds are not good for each other
3) Just because the air is calm at ground level doesn't mean you won't encounter stronger winds at higher altitudes
4) While the RTH function is great, it doesn't provide enough power to get the drone back to you in windy conditions. The MM's top RTH speed is about 18 mph/29 kmh and if you're battling wind gusts of 25 mph/40 kmh, you risk losing your drone due to a blowaway.

Ian in London has two great videos that will help you understand what happened to your drone:

3D version.

JJB* Posted at 1-17 00:38
Hiya,

With a calculated guess, see the orange landing marker.

Thank you for the calculated guess. Your maker was a golf course and someone had found it and returned to the golf club shop

Thank you all for the valuable lesson. Will be careful from now on. Really appreciate you all who suggested where to look for and the links to videos

Glad you got the drone, going forward this might help .


1/ Never calibrate Compass unless prompted to.

2/ start AC leave until you receive enough gps lock ,

3/ if you get Compass interference turn off AC and move to another location,
without interference.



Raise AC to height of 8ft
Hover for 20 seconds
Fly forward 2ft
Backward 2ft
Left 2ft
Right 2ft
Up 2ft
Down 2ft
Yaw left
Yaw right
Each time returning to hover position
If you have a good horizontal each time, you will then know you have good GPS good IMU and good Compass, and your ready to fly.

This exercise takes less than 2 minutes and is worthwhile doing before every flight,

pkm Posted at 1-19 07:09
Thank you for the calculated guess. Your maker was a golf course and someone had found it and returned to the golf club shop

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback. Good to have it back!

Happy many landings!
cheers
JJB

Labroides Posted at 1-16 17:30
It would be easier to see what happened if you had posted a link to the complete Phantomhelp log viewer report but I've found enough in the spreadsheet data to see what happened.

First you were impatient and launched without GPS or recording a home point.

I too appreciate the bluntness. Sometimes the best lessons in life are the harshest ones. People are too quick to want to blame someone/something else for their own errors. Sometimes you just have to accept responsibility. I'm glad OP found his mini and rest assured, they will never make the same mistake again.

InspektorGadjet Posted at 1-17 06:25
Wow, it was nearly at home!
Over 500feet RTH Altitude seems way too high.

You mean illegal!

TDZHDTV Posted at 1-19 09:32
You mean illegal!

Apart from illegal obviously lol

pkm Posted at 1-19 07:11
Thank you all for the valuable lesson. Will be careful from now on. Really appreciate you all who suggested where to look for and the links to videos

You need to read and understand the UK Drone Code, 400 ft is the maximum height you can fly and even at that height it is your responsibility to maintain Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) and awareness of other aircraft in your vicinity.