It happened, I finally had my first major drone incident since I began flying a little over 4 months ago.
I was using Drone Link no fault of the drone itself or the software I take full responsibility I knew it was bound to happen eventually when trying to take risker flights. I ignored my gut instinct to pause the mission as the drone was not at a height I would have liked, and I was trying to skim the treetops coming up a cliff face and the thing I was afraid of happened and the side sensors did not stop the drone, and then it collided into some light tree branches and hung there from the back leg.

So I knew the mission was untested fully and I was trying to fine-tune my waypoints and just ignored myself which is a shame and my lesson is learned for sure, but I am feeling okay a little disappointed in myself as up until now I have flown quite successfully in all sorts of operations. I had some bad altitude in my waypoints and was doing a second flight to see if I had resolved the height required to clear the treetops while still getting fairly close the drone flew sideways this time up the face which I should have stopped the flight then for safety and just came back, so I know I messed up and let it continue hoping it would clear everything. I don't normally fly this way; usually, I would fly the entire thing manually facing the straight on and mentally jot down heights and such or things to avoid, then go home and adjust my automated flight plan around my new data so that I completely clear things before there is any risk, I think I had the curve in drone link for height change too shallow, so it did not climb rapidly enough hence did not clear the tree on my second attempt I believe it was just one of those things where I should have not fully trusted the simulated flight as this does not show me the height of trees only if I am clearing the terrain.

I know I am not the first and won't be the last to make such a mistake I feel as though there is little I could have done and I will attempt the missions again with much cautious testing once repaired...  

(I normally fly these missions at half speed and I build in waits and safety but I was rushing and this time I did not build in any waits between possible problematic regions of the path if I had just built in a wait and faced fwd while testing a known problem area in my path while it climbed uphill to stop and look around and see what the was in the direct heading I would have avoided this entire problem especially if the drone was flying toward the object, not sideways, as flying towards is better for testing even if the shot I want requires going sideways at least I would have been able to react much faster and then just adjusted the heading after I knew the heading was clear of hazards.)


I DO NOT HAVE REFRESH CARE very unfortunate I was supposed to buy that ages ago and I simply forgot all about it, my other drone is DJI refreshed but not Mavic 2 Pro I only just recently got last month.

Where do I go from here?
How can I get an authorized repair? (I have contacted the DJI authorized reseller I purchased my drone package from as they do repairs but do I have other options?)







I am from Australia. Let me run you all down on the damage observed after finally rescuing it from the treetops today.
The drone was knocked out of the tree by myself and a couple of friends, it took a nice impact, but thankfully smaller branches cushioned the fall as it was a good 3 stories up.

It was still powered on when I picked it up off the ground, initially thought was it was in pretty good shape, the battery was unharmed (I also looked at the voltages) drone was powered on camera was still showing an image, gimble was operational, and from short observation, there is no scuff or damage to camera mechanically just a light scuff on one of my ND filters, but I did power the drone up and connect to it to just to see if gave me any trouble, it did not DJI GO 4 connected it got GPS all indicator lights flashing as normal, and it was otherwise ready to fly beside the dmg to the prop and the shell (it did want to be calibrated though but I suspected hanging from a tree branch for an hour would do that)


Okay, so what is visually damaged -

• Left Removable Antenna Leg, has slightly snapped from the base of the folding arm LED is intact.
• Top Shell at rear right leg has a nasty indentation, causing the right leg to be able to fold the wrong way slightly as it no longer is stopped by the shells protrusion.
• Left rear rubber leg had became dislodged, but I managed to pull it off and reseat that fairly easily.
• 3 Blades got cracks in them (least of my problems I don't care about blade damage that is a straightforward fix)
  
  I think even with the damage if I were to put a fresh set of blades on it would hover, maybe not as stable but it would still operate, I suspect no damage to the internals and I don't think it is a paperweight it just needs some TLC from DJI at my expense of course.
  

Link to Google Drive containing relevant drone images and video of my after retrieval.
(noticed it says gimble motor overload, that is because the drone was sitting on my bed for a couple of seconds and blanketing must have contacted the gimble.)

I still have my Mavic Pro Platinum which is currently under Dji Refresh plan so I do have a drone to use still I am just sad it won't be the 20mp camera drone that I was going offer up for sale to buy a Swell Pro waterproof drone glad I did not follow through with that at this time.

Turns out I can buy replacement parts...!
I can buy the top and underside shell for not too much $
I would also need the left arm (I can only find those in kits with the rotor etc, I don't know if I can find just the antenna, and it requires soldering either way if I replace the entire arm)

So my plan right now is too just order the two shells + the arm and a whole fresh set of blades.
I if I don't feel comfortable replacing the arm I can send that in to a drone repair and it should not cost much at all to have them fix the arm.

Hello The Wookiee, thank you for reaching us out and it is unfortunate that your Mavic 2 Pro crashed. I was able to read your story and I can't imagine how you feel right now. For repair you can contact our DJI Support to assist you further in regards to your drone. Please refer to this link to contact them https://www.dji.com/support?site=brandsite&from=nav and select "Tel" when you scroll down the page. I'm looking for your drone to be repaired. Thank you and always fly safe.

DJI Paladin Posted at 11-3 06:16
Hello The Wookiee, thank you for reaching us out and it is unfortunate that your Mavic 2 Pro crashed. I was able to read your story and I can't imagine how you feel right now. For repair you can contact our DJI Support to assist you further in regards to your drone. Please refer to this link to contact them https://www.dji.com/support?site=brandsite&from=nav and select "Tel" when you scroll down the page. I'm looking for your drone to be repaired. Thank you and always fly safe.

Thanks for your quick response.
Would they be able to quote me on the repair before sending back, currently am I sourcing the individual parts required, most of the job I could likely do on my own shell wise with some time to spare as I do have an I FIXIT pro kit and it would just be a matter of watching a teardown and follow along to replace the bottom and top shell.

The part I am concerned about is the front left arm, this seems to require soldering to be attached and that is not my strong suit, the front leg antenna looks like it would be simple enough to rejoin once the shell was removed as it looks quite similar too the RC antenna cabling and that part does screw off I just have been unable to locate that unique part it seems I can only get the entire arm with rotor as a replacement.

Also I am worried about how long the service would take, sending back it may take 30 days it may take 3 months, and I am pretty sure the service costs would come down if I fixed the shell myself and just had to attach the arm.

I reckon you can repair those stuff yourself with parts off e-bay, just some minor damages

I have been hesitant to use any third party apps or accessories due to the Warranty and DJI Refresh clauses.  As, if there were an error with the aircraft DJI would not cover it.  Also the Mavic Air 2 has no SDK so third party apps are not yet available.  I think this has saved me from my own curious nature.  

Fortunately, other than soldering you drone sounds repairable.  On the solder issue there are sometimes electronics repair shops that can do the for a price.  If you do not have good equipment and experience on small scale electrons I would personally consider going that route.

eBay is a great resource for parts.

Try some local DJI dealers, Ebay, Amazon for spare parts - could save yourself a few quid

JohnLietzke Posted at 11-3 09:26
I have been hesitant to use any third party apps or accessories due to the Warranty and DJI Refresh clauses.  As, if there were an error with the aircraft DJI would not cover it.  Also the Mavic Air 2 has no SDK so third party apps are not yet available.  I think this has saved me from my own curious nature.  

Fortunately, other than soldering you drone sounds repairable.  On the solder issue there are sometimes electronics repair shops that can do the for a price.  If you do not have good equipment and experience on small scale electrons I would personally consider going that route.

I cannot solder pcb anything never tried I dont have a heat gun or a temperature controlled multi tip soldering iron.

I think I may need the rear right arm locking mechanism part which swivel the rubber stopper has been pushed downand now that arm will bend beyond intend by a small margin.

Dji GO4 is just so limiting though mayb I should just look into property damage insurance ao it is covered by private insurance.

DAFlys Posted at 11-3 11:04
eBay is a great resource for parts.

I already ordered the middle shell and top shell.

Middle one requires i solder the arms wires back on and id have to transplant all thr internal guts if its needed but jt was fairly cheap so picked one up kn ebay.

I cannot find genuine arm legs though standalone. Only the entire arm with motor also the props seen way overpriced where do I get genuine props as a 2x pair for less than $70 AUD.

Third party ones existing but i didn't want to use them or dji wont refresh.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-3 11:40
I cannot solder pcb anything never tried I dont have a heat gun or a temperature controlled multi tip soldering iron.

I think I may need the rear right arm locking mechanism part which swivel the rubber stopper has been pushed downand now that arm will bend beyond intend by a small margin.

It would be best to have someone with the proper equipment and experience do the solder job.  Good equipment for small nanometer level component soldering is expensive and the components are very heat sensitive.  Plus working on a small scale like that takes practice.  

JohnLietzke Posted at 11-3 11:49
It would be best to have someone with the proper equipment and experience do the solder job.  Good equipment for small nanometer level component soldering is expensive and the components are very heat sensitive.  Plus working on a small scale like that takes practice.

Yeah, that was my thoughts, just get the parts I can tell I need and ship whole off for repair less bill as I supplied the parts.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-3 11:44
I already ordered the middle shell and top shell.

Middle one requires i solder the arms wires back on and id have to transplant all thr internal guts if its needed but jt was fairly cheap so picked one up kn ebay.

Sometimes its a waiting game to get someones crashed drone for parts.

DAFlys Posted at 11-3 23:33
Sometimes its a waiting game to get someones crashed drone for parts.

Interesting idea.
I have already ordered.

1x https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/233307307738
1x https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/333290231926

I still need to get Blades and the arm, I may need arm swivel for rear arm what do you guys think? Based on the files I uploaded on my OP.  

I am going to open the top shell today and peek inside should give me an idea if I damaged anything inside visibly anyway. I am a qualified PC technician I build systems and such and I have done teardowns of consoles and the like to replace thermal paste and pads a number of times. I believe I have all the tools needed in the I Fix It Pro kit to disassemble the top shell.

Now I got into contact with a reasonably local authorized repair for DJI they refuse to use any parts ordered as they cannot guarantee (genuineness) and they want to charge me some $88 AUD per hour fee for the repair and for the initial assessment of damage for a quote and I have to pay postage both ways. Which think is a bit hefty considering I don't even know what the cost to repair will be too bring back to like-new condition and they ready want to charge me almost the cost of the parts I can buy just on eBay that will fix the damage I can see.

I included a video of myself testing the drone on my desk in DJI GO4 post crashing it, DJI debug software is reporting no internal issues.
I am technically inclined, individual I also know how to program, so I could almost plug the drone into my PC and fire up the DJI assistant throw it into debug and have it do a self-test how hard can that be to make it do a self-diagnostic.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-4 00:07
Interesting idea.
I have already ordered.

Have you seen this listing - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New- ... -Zoom/373262537275?

Thought you guys might like to see where it all went wrong.




Marker 2 & 4 is the problem area; there is a rather large tree at the base that I did not see as the drone was sideways.
I am fixing this mission right now and will go test fly it on my other drone over the weekend but I will be building in safety this time, as in I am going to make the drone fly straight with the gimble facing where it is going and only at 6KPH for that segment, I think the rest of the mission is okay as going down the backside of the cliff it's going from 100m < 55m once it reaches the base of the cliff then < 10m above sea level so as long as it clears the cliff face on the way down we are 100% golden for rest of the mission (and yes I have the drone and gimble facing downward as it comes down the cliff for dramatic effect so I can also see what is going on.

DAFlys Posted at 11-4 00:32
Have you seen this listing - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Original-Front-Rear-Back-Left-Right-Motor-Arm-Parts-for-DJI-Mavic-2-Pro-Zoom/373262537275?

Yeah mate, I was going to order the front from them last night, but.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-4 00:46
Yeah mate, I was going to order the front from them last night, but.

Darn,  maybe send the seller a question - sometimes they have stock and they just need to update the listing.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-4 00:36
Thought you guys might like to see where it all went wrong.
[view_image]
[view_image]

Thanks for sharing

A J Posted at 11-4 00:53
Thanks for sharing

Here is the AirData Log of the flight.
It appears the prop fell off at around 17 meters AGL then it tumbled down the tree until it got caught on the front left leg, the record does not say anything else beyond that, as I got out of mission editor and changed back into DJI Go4 to use find my drone so I could go hunt it down.

I have not seen what a log file looks like when you have a severe impact or crash before, so maybe some of you guys can shed light on what actually happened for me.

Made an updated version of the mission which did not go to plan the first couple times and lead to this crash, I advise caution for any who use this to fly at the same location as me.
Drone-Link Mission 1 - v2.1 in Testing.

Having had a crash with my Mini in early September, I was very happy with DJI repair service.  Although my Mini also had fairly minor damage (and I am an electronics tech professionally so I DO know how to solder), I elected to send it in.  I figured that the DJI repair techs know what they are doing and could very well find problems that I might miss.  It's not that I don't trust my work, but I might miss something because I don't have the test procedures or equipment that DJI does.  It cost me a flat repair fee of US $65 plus $29 in parts, and they replaced some parts I had not seen as a problem.  Even with COVID, from the time the package was opened at DJI until it was on a UPS truck on the way back was 46 hours.  Can't complain much about that.

Ask this question of yourself:  Do you COMPLETELY trust your repair if a failure could cost the loss of your drone, or worse, property damage or injury to someone in the event of a failure?

K6CCC Posted at 11-4 08:43
Having had a crash with my Mini in early September, I was very happy with DJI repair service.  Although my Mini also had fairly minor damage (and I am an electronics tech professionally so I DO know how to solder), I elected to send it in.  I figured that the DJI repair techs know what they are doing and could very well find problems that I might miss.  It's not that I don't trust my work, but I might miss something because I don't have the test procedures or equipment that DJI does.  It cost me a flat repair fee of US $65 plus $29 in parts, and they replaced some parts I had not seen as a problem.  Even with COVID, from the time the package was opened at DJI until it was on a UPS truck on the way back was 46 hours.  Can't complain much about that.

Ask this question of yourself:  Do you COMPLETELY trust your repair if a failure could cost the loss of your drone, or worse, property damage or injury to someone in the event of a failure?

I am not really intending to repair it myself, I just wanted to get a head start on the part as spares just in case they help.

Unfortunately, I live outside the united states so I don't have access to a facility from DJI it may take a long time get them to repair it may not, best I have authorized repair centres. One of which wants to charge me $88 per hour and that is not including parts or shipping both ways.

Fat no thank you to that, I emailed them back stating the right to repair and if my parts are sourced and able to be used because they are suitable then I am not going to be buying the parts from them unless they can inform me the cost of every single part needed in the quote as I am not just going to take a flat quote and maybe pay like 2x as much for say a rear arm axis when I can order it from another repair place for like $8.

Just seems crazy.
I don't now how DJI handle the repairs though. I am fully aware I do not have the equipment nor the dev SDK to run the drone through internal diagnostics which is the only reason I am really considering sending it in same reason you did.

The Wookiee Posted at 11-4 04:48
Here is the AirData Log of the flight.
It appears the prop fell off at around 17 meters AGL then it tumbled down the tree until it got caught on the front left leg, the record does not say anything else beyond that, as I got out of mission editor and changed back into DJI Go4 to use find my drone so I could go hunt it down.

Sorry to read that.