Little bit of a backstory. I'm full time Active Duty Army (Infantryman) but I run a non-profit dog search service in my offtime. Around 0100 this morning I got a call about a dog that was in an apartment fire, Fire Department opened the door and he took off running, fell over a cliff, and then got up and kept running towards a river.

I got my gear and headed out. Got there and got the drone airborne and started searching. Everything was going fine until I was searching near the river for him (last known position) and suddenly the drone connection cut out. I waited to see if it would reconnect, which it did for a few seconds, but then it immediately cut out again and vanished completely/did not return to me. I searched the entire area but it was nowhere to be found. I'm assuming that it just disconnected and fell into the river or maybe just flew off in a different direction. Really have no idea.

I opened a claim with DJI and am waiting for them to analyze the flight logs. I'm not too confident that they're going to help me out and have a gut feeling they're going to say that it was somehow user error. A $6500 drone shouldn't just lose connection and vanish like that. I'm staying optimistic but am fully preparing to fight tooth and nail with DJI if they refuse to cover the replacement.

I'm uploading my flght data and am hoping someone can let me know what could have possibly happened as well as what will most likely happen next with DJI.

Thanks in advance!

First Flight "Initial Recon", came back and swapped battery and flew out again
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/HNOGEHW2CZI6D6HTYW5L

Second Flight, flew in the same areas and then down towards the river to see if I could pick up his heat signature
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/UV32RPBNQ7WSQEVEB4K6/

Last part of Second Flight, drone cut out connection and then reconnected for 6 seconds, before cutting out connection again permanently
https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/AOGO6HOA509E5780QWXS

Hi there, thank you for reaching DJI Forum. I'm sorry to read and to know about what happened with your DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. Please be advised that I was able to pull up the case using your DJI Forum details. Please note that you will receive an email regarding the results of the data analysis and investigation on what caused the said incident from our designated team. What I can advise, is to kindly wait for further updates, thank you for your patience.

DJI Diana Posted at 6-28 09:14
Hi there, thank you for reaching DJI Forum. I'm sorry to read and to know about what happened with your DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. Please be advised that I was able to pull up the case using your DJI Forum details. Please note that you will receive an email regarding the results of the data analysis and investigation on what caused the said incident from our designated team. What I can advise, is to kindly wait for further updates, thank you for your patience.

The issue is that I use this drone every day for my Search and Rescue operations and it's time sensitive. Everyday that I wait is a day where I can't help owners find their lost pets.

Hi,

Here is my original post explaining the situation:
https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=245386

I submitted my flight logs this morning and am waiting for an answer, but I am a bit worried (when reading the other posts by customers) that DJI will try to avoid replacing my aircraft or will try to say that this was somehow my fault

I was told that it will take 1-2 business days for the flight analysis and a response but every day that I'm waiting is a day that I can't use the drone for my Search and Rescue missions.

Here is my case number: CAS-6690040-B9C3C8

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-28 18:02
Here is my case number: CAS-6690040-B9C3C8

Thanks for providing the case number. I have urged our team for an update, there will be an email notice to you soon.

Hi,did you receive your result? How is going there?

Astrid55 Posted at 6-29 00:21
Hi,did you receive your result? How is going there?

Nothing yet from DJI. Still waiting. Had to put my business on hold in the meantime

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-29 09:21
Nothing yet from DJI. Still waiting. Had to put my business on hold in the meantime

Sorry to hear that. Hope they can convey the analysis result to you as early as possible.

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-29 09:21
Nothing yet from DJI. Still waiting. Had to put my business on hold in the meantime

Sorry to have kept you waiting. I have urged the corresponding team again, the data analysis result will be updated to you soon, please keep close attention to the email update. Thanks again for your patience.

Picture of DJI's response

This is what the DJI Team tried to tell me. Makes absolutely zero sense.

"The record ended without any sign of abnormality, so we could not verify what happened afterward."

This alone verifies that the aircraft malfunctioned. The flight log shows that the flight ended immediately over the water and shows that the fault was not due to pilot error.

Please escalate this to higher immediately. I will be posting to public forums in the meantime to show what type of support you get from DJI when you purchase a $6500 product.

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-30 00:16
This is what the DJI Team tried to tell me. Makes absolutely zero sense.

"The record ended without any sign of abnormality, so we could not verify what happened afterward."

Your request has been escalated, our corresponding team is following up on it and will keep updated via email. Thanks again for your patience.

Hi Diana,

This was the second response back. Better than the first response, but still doesn't address the issue.

So the drone was functioning normal right up until the point it lost connection and vanished. The customer service agent said that the error or malfunction couldn't be verified because the record ended abruptly, but this alone shows that a catastrophic malfunction happened where the drone was unable to relay any information back after it's failure. The flight record ended at T=20:15 while the drone was directly over the river and there is no further information after that. This is completely abnormal and a drone of this price (and a drone that is encouraged for Search and Rescue use) shouldn't suffer this kind of failure.

I understand that things happen and software/hardware issues arise. But what upsets me is that I've been a DJI customer for a very long time and have owned multiple Phantoms, Sparks, Mavics, and now the Enterprise Advanced. I thought that the DJI Customer Service team would be much more willing to help me after reviewing the flight logs and seeing that the drone was at fault and simply vanished during a flight.

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-30 19:50
[view_image]

Hi Diana,

I fully understand how you are feeling. Please rest assured that our team will keep following up on it until the issue resolved. We appreciate your patience.

Chase Dog SaR Posted at 6-30 19:50
[view_image]

Hi Diana,

How did this end up resolving?

fans3ac45c5f Posted at 2021-8-30 20:53
How did this end up resolving?

And here I am thinking of buying in for solar inspections.......No update from the OP.....maybe he fell in the river......

It would be nice if people would CLOSE OUT Their Original posts with an ANSWER!!