Hello dear pilot's,
It's realy sad but I come appart with a flyaway situation last Saturday, and still don´t have a answear to my flyaway request...
Case InformationProduct InformationModel：DJI Mini 2
Aircraft's Serial Number：#sorry but don't want to show this#
Service Plan Information：Available

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Case InformationService Type：Flyaway
Time of Accident：2021-05-22
Flight Environment Where the Accident Occurred：Waterfront
Weather conditions：：Other:Sunny day with some clouds and a little bit of wind
App Account：#sorry but don't want to show this#
Accident：Sunny day with a few clouds, a little bit of wind where I was standing but not too much, 2.5km away I received a wind warning and a few meters after at 2.7Km another one, I drop down some meters and around 2.9Km I turn the aircraft around and initiate the return back, with 63% battery left, after that I received another warning and I start to decrease altitude as much has I could because of some buildings, after the buildings I low as much as possible and try to return close to the water but he crashed 300meters away from me, in to the river, so deep waters and impossible to recover the aircraft. Honestly I never thought that he couldn't make it, wen I initiated the return he still had 63% battery left and on is way out he consume around 27% so I though 63% was plenty of battery life...

Caro Paulo, no Sabado esteve muito ventoso em todo o território nacional.  Eu mesmo também queria voar mas não me aventurei muito. Não eram de facto as condições ideais. Provavelmente no retorno voava contra o vento o que poderá ter originado mais consumo de bateria. De qualquer forma era uma boa ideia deixar aqui no forum o log do voo para poder ser analisado.

Foi em Setúbal, estava no parque do lado esquerdo dos restaurantes (quem olha de frente), só recebi o 1º aviso quando já o Drone estava em Troia, voltei para trás com 63% deveria ter dado e sobrado.
qual log é que quer?
Espero que a DJI não demore muito e ainda bem que tenho o Care Refresh! Só espero que seja como eles anunciam, porque foi por isso que comprei o seguro, para ser eficiente e livre de burocracias!!!

Sorry for your loss. Much better you post the flight logs, so that you can get a definite answer. Just by the sound of it, it seems like a headwind / tailwind problem. Probably you had tailwind sending the drone, which means it had to fight the headwind coming back...

PS: I don't think you can call this a "fly away" by the way. It is not that the drone stopped following your commands and it flew away on it's own.

Excelente sitio para voar. Está na minha lista para ir aí voar, se estiver bom tempo talvez no Sabado vá ai comer um choco frito e a seguir fazer um voo.
Sim o seguro é uma mais valia, também tenho para o meu.Também sou meio novato nisto, só tenho o drone à 2 semanas.
Que telefone usa Android ou iOS?
Se for android os logs estão guardados dentro da pasta DJI que está na raiz do telemóvel.

CemAygun Posted at 5-24 14:23
Sorry for your loss. Much better you post the flight logs, so that you can get a definite answer. Just by the sound of it, it seems like a headwind / tailwind problem. Probably you had tailwind sending the drone, which means it had to fight the headwind coming back...

PS: I don't think you can call this a "fly away" by the way. It is not that the drone stopped following your commands and it flew away on it's own.

I hope I can call it that, because when I bought the Care Refresh it was all great and he cover everything...Now let's hope it's true ... I just want to pay the fee and enjoy the drone again, thats all

Miguel Leitao Posted at 5-24 14:26
Excelente sitio para voar. Está na minha lista para ir aí voar, se estiver bom tempo talvez no Sabado vá ai comer um choco frito e a seguir fazer um voo.
Sim o seguro é uma mais valia, também tenho para o meu.Também sou meio novato nisto, só tenho o drone à 2 semanas.
Que telefone usa Android ou iOS?

Uso um Tablet Android ( Huawei T5 , 4GB-64Gb com SD256GB )

To get to your flight data, go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions to upload the data to that site and it will give a report that will look empty.
Post a link for the report here.
Or just post the .txt file.

Labroides Posted at 5-24 14:35
To get to your flight data, go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions to upload the data to that site and it will give a report that will look empty.
Post a link for the report here.

Thank's, but for the record, when DJI advertise Care Refresh and Flyaway cover, and even when I apply for the flyaway coverage, nobody asked about any kind of logs, actually by their advertisement everything should be kick and easy, just activate the coverage, pay the fee and receive the aircraft...
but ok...

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/PYY3MS6OKASSKHQF67F7
Honestly I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT LOG

I’m not sure about this and will have to check it myself.
If you activated the RTH and it goes to a predetermined height then you lower the height while in RTH will it lower and still stay in RTH.
In the past some had a problem that the drone would reduce in power with the camera at  0 and also at 90* down .
If it was a wind problem what mode speed.  Lower power in C mode.
How low did you go over the water. Bottom sensor can get confused over water. I always stay 15 -20 feet above water . Just a bump of the controller could send it into the water.
All this is just guessing and things to think about.
Doug

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 14:33
I hope I can call it that, because when I bought the Care Refresh it was all great and he cover everything...Now let's hope it's true ... I just want to pay the fee and enjoy the drone again, thats all

Well fingers crossed Please let us know about the outcome...

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 14:58
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/PYY3MS6OKASSKHQF67F7
Honestly I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT LOG

Can you try airdata? Last time I cold not get anything from phantomhelp then I found this:

https://forum.dji.com/thread-232853-1-1.html

Airdata worked for me at the time.

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 14:58
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/PYY3MS6OKASSKHQF67F7
Honestly I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT LOG

You log file is just a tiny bit too large to upload to this wimpy web site (2mb limit zip file)
But you can get it here along with the results. This link will only work for a week or two before I delete it
https://app.airdata.com/share/GvJRUu
You flew with a strong tailwind, then a headwind coming back. Hindsight is 20:20 I guess.... but it might have been better to realize it was not coming home and divert to the nearest land downwind (or due west). Then get a ferry ride or long drive to retrieve it maybe. Always have a contingency plan when flying over water or other inaccessable places.

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 14:58
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/PYY3MS6OKASSKHQF67F7
Honestly I DONT UNDERSTAND THAT LOG

Here's what that flight looks like:
https://app.airdata.com/share/tdZIyF

You brought the Mini down to 20 metres.
Later in the flight, the speed was down to 6 m/s and 4 m/s in stronger gusts.

You brought the drone down lower and when the battery hit 30% you were still 1.73 km from home.
At 20% you still had 1.3 km to go and the low battery warning came on.
As you got closer to land, the drone's speed increased to 10 m/s becuase you were getting some shelter from the land.

At 10% (critical low battery) you still had 860 metres to go.
With the battery at 5% and still 620 metres from home, the drone started autolanding (because that's what it does at 5% battery.

Fighting against autolanding won't achieve much because the battery is so low.
The Mini sank at 870 seconds, still 330 metres from home.

This story is all about wind and teh Mini is a weak drone, not good at fighting against wind.
You weren't aware of the wind direction and how it would affect the return filght.
ANd you burned the battery in Sport Mode which made it run down faster.

GaryDoug Posted at 5-24 19:06
You log file is just a tiny bit too large to upload to this wimpy web site (2mb limit zip file)
But you can get it here along with the results. This link will only work for a week or two before I delete it
https://app.airdata.com/share/GvJRUu

Always have a contingency plan when flying over water or other inaccessable places.

Even more important .. know what the wind is doing and what that means for the return flight before you launch.
And plan your flight with that in mind.

Labroides Posted at 5-24 20:42
Always have a contingency plan when flying over water or other inaccessable places.

Even more important .. know what the wind is doing and what that means for the return flight before you launch.

Sure, but sometimes the wind changes (as it often does where I am). Better to have a cool head and a plan to do when the fecal matter impacts the ventilation appliance ;-)

Labroides Posted at 5-24 20:39
Here's what that flight looks like:
https://app.airdata.com/share/tdZIyF

Wouldn't he have lost more charge per distance traveled in the normal mode against a strong headwind?   

GaryDoug Posted at 5-24 21:04
Sure, but sometimes the wind changes (as it often does where I am). Better to have a cool head and a plan to do when the fecal matter impacts the ventilation appliance ;-)

Very nicely put hehehehe

Hi PauloACSilva, sorry to hear about the accident with your drone. I've managed to get your case number via your forum account, I'll forward it to our corresponding team to follow up soon. We'll keep you updated. Thanks for your patience.  

Here's my log :

https://app.airdata.com/share/rYblim

When we buy Care Refresh, and because all advertisement we get the idea that he also covers HUMAN ERROR and again, honestly with 63% to cover less than 3Km I thought it was plenty of battery left to return, so thats wy I try to bring him back, and of course if I was under 50% I would try to land and then recover it, believe that it would be less expensive!!!

Just hope and pray for DJI HELP

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 22:28
Here's my log :

https://app.airdata.com/share/rYblim

Hi

Paulo,

Had a look at your flight too, sorry for your loss.

Just too far out to return safely.

Flying in Sport mode your MINI2, wich is not underpowerd as the MINI1, pitched down to 35 to 40 degrees to get a speed of approx 8 m/s.
But at 10% battery the software reduces max power a bit, so your MINI2 only pitched down to about
17 to 20 degrees, so speed ofcourse less than before ; now approx. 4 .2 m/s.  [ see the chart of your data ]
So mayby more wind at the end this flight but for sure that reducing power at 10% made your drone fly bit slower the last part.

And indeed at 5% batt  an autolanding.

At a distance out 2214 meters, flying toward home, only batt juice for 1645 meter!

cheers
JJB

CemAygun Posted at 5-24 21:31
Wouldn't he have lost more charge per distance traveled in the normal mode against a strong headwind?

No ... that why I said what I did.

That's the hole point, when I turn it back home, he had 63% left! and he burn all in minutes... If I had 50% or less I would even try to get it back... I'm so sad with this, being more than a year without working in layoff situation, always respecting the confinement and when finally could get another day to fly, this happened

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-25 02:29
That's the hole point, when I turn it back home, he had 63% left! and he burn all in minutes... If I had 50% or less I would even try to get it back... I'm so sad with this, being more than a year without working in layoff situation, always respecting the confinement and when finally could get another day to fly, this happened

There was wind...with tail wind your MINI2 flew speed of 10 m/s with only 1 (one!) degree of pitch down!

So the software calculated the distance you can fly with this power setting of almost nothing!
Turning into the wind your MNI2 pitched down 35- 40 degrees to get 8 m/s, so max power suddenly in use.

At that moment the distance calculation changes dramatically !  Only the remote pilot can foresee this...and know that this distance out is not possible to return with dry feet.

See the chart, changing heading and the rest time to zero.
cheers
JJB

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-24 22:28
Here's my log :

https://app.airdata.com/share/rYblim

honestly with 63% to cover less than 3Km I thought it was plenty of battery left to return
In still air, or with a tailwind it might have been OK.
But you made no allowance for the wind, and then made things even worse by flying in Sport Mode.

Realy sorry for your loss Paulo.
I think I'm going to have to confess to being a chicken-hearted flyer and say that I would have immediately turned round to fly home at first warning at 2.5km.
I have never flown my Mini 2 further than 1km from its home point, preferring instead to travel closer by whatever means available to the area I want to observe from the Mini 2.
I know this wasn't possible in your case Paulo as you were over water, but, a hard lesson learned indeed.
Wind speed and direction is the first factor I take into consideration outside of the drone even when taking very short flights.
So again, sorry you lost your machine and maybe, just maybe, Dji will look at your case sympathetically, but I don't hold out much hope. Good luck, Stay safe!

I'm really upset about this situation and learning about all of this in this hard way is making me feel so bad.
But thank you all for the info and most of all for all the support.
I hope that DJI help me with this. I will be more than happy to pay the flyaway fee to solve this.

I have the similar experience. 3.5km and almost 70% battery left when I activated the RTH. Force landing at about 800m way from me. I was lucky and get the drone back with some minor damage.  Yes it was headwind coming back.

Dear pilots, nature lovers and faithful members of the prestigious DJI community ...

I come first of all to express in public my appreciation and my thanks for the BREVITY, CORDIALISM, AMABILITY, PROFESSIONALISM AND SERIOUSNESS of ALL the collaborators of DJI, and I also come to say to all those who say bad things about this company that they must first exhaust all of them the support channels, because, for sure, some positive solution will be found ( and never loose your hope ).

I also want to highlight DJI'S HONESTY because it advertises its Care Refresh service as being comprehensive and unbureaucratic, covering almost an infinite number of situations, mainly with the addition of its latest service, FLY-AWAY ... AND IT IS TOTALLY TRUE And HONEST, to prove it is here my testimony and thanks because they solved my situation in just 2 TWO working days (05/24 was a holiday in some countries) as described above I had this incident on Saturday 05/22 and TODAY I already paid the respective FEE so that a new aircraft can be sent to me ...

A word of appreciation also to ALL the participants of this forum, who supported me and who can now also witness the HONESTY of the service provided by this MAGNIFICENT company that is DJI !!!!
THANK YOU ALL

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-26 10:03
Dear pilots, nature lovers and faithful members of the prestigious DJI community ...

I come first of all to express in public my appreciation and my thanks for the BREVITY, CORDIALISM, AMABILITY, PROFESSIONALISM AND SERIOUSNESS of ALL the collaborators of DJI, and I also come to say to all those who say bad things about this company that they must first exhaust all of them the support channels, because, for sure, some positive solution will be found ( and never loose your hope ).

Good to know they solved your problem Paulo. I´m happy for you, and that you will have a new drone!I wish you plenty and good flights there in Setubal and Troia, its a place that has everything we need to make some magnificent footage.

Really nice to hear the good outcome. Fly safe

I think the main restriction to using a Refresh replacement (recovery required) is to make sure you are not just faking a loss and trying to get another drone on the cheap. But in this case, that was obviously not the case. Your bringing this up in the forum may have helped decide this in your favor. Good for you...and good for DJI I guess.

GaryDoug Posted at 5-26 18:28
I think the main restriction to using a Refresh replacement (recovery required) is to make sure you are not just faking a loss and trying to get another drone on the cheap. But in this case, that was obviously not the case. Your bringing this up in the forum may have helped decide this in your favor. Good for you...and good for DJI I guess.

I am surprised too, but happy for a MINI2 user who got a replacement for a non-flyaway issue.

As long as not all users title their problem post with the word 'flyaway'....   

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 5-27 00:49
I am surprised too, but happy for a MINI2 user who got a replacement for a non-flyaway issue.

As long as not all users title their problem post with the word 'flyaway'....   

fly-away can be also interpretated as a TOTAL LOSS, my aircraft was impossible to retrieve so the difference is not so much... THANK YOU AGAIN DJI !

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-27 07:22
fly-away can be also interpretated as a TOTAL LOSS, my aircraft was impossible to retrieve so the difference is not so much... THANK YOU AGAIN DJI !

no prob, happy for you how DJI reacted.

The only reason i can think off is the fact that the FlyApp software does not take into their RTH calculation warning WIND.

So on your outbound part, with tailwind the remaining time to fly showed a false too high value, so you were in a way mislead by the software.
Turning back into the wind your MINI2 had to work hard and used lot of batt juice....

Guess next time you will check the pitch down angle, if its about zero with 10 m/s at full stick forward...you now know that the alarm bells go off...

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 5-27 07:49
no prob, happy for you how DJI reacted.

The only reason i can think off is the fact that the FlyApp software does not take into their RTH calculation warning WIND.

how can I calculate the pitch in midle flight???

PauloACSilva Posted at 5-27 10:02
how can I calculate the pitch in midle flight???

not calculate....in the radar display   you will see the angle (up or down) of your drone, and ofcourse the roll left or right

JJB* Posted at 5-27 11:18
not calculate....in the radar display   you will see the angle (up or down) of your drone, and ofcourse the roll left or right

live and  learn...
Thank's

GaryDoug Posted at 5-26 18:28
I think the main restriction to using a Refresh replacement (recovery required) is to make sure you are not just faking a loss and trying to get another drone on the cheap. But in this case, that was obviously not the case. Your bringing this up in the forum may have helped decide this in your favor. Good for you...and good for DJI I guess.

I was under the impression that the serial number of the "flown away" drone would somehow be "blacklisted" so that it would essentially be useless.