I don't know that this is the right place to post this but here goes. Last week I received the gift of a Mini 2 (Costco bundle). After charging batteries I purchased Care Refresh, initialized the drone, bound it and the controller to the account, updated firmware, calibrated the compass (but not IMU), etc. The first flight was fine, with the exception that, at some point early on the video feed to my iPhone froze.

The second and third flights were normal but the drone crashed on the fourth and after a day and a half of failed recovery attempts I had to resort to a slightly more colorful measure to dislodge it from the top of a 60-foot-tall tree.

I downloaded Log and FlightRecord from the phone via iTunes but, reportedly, only DJI can decrypt the text files. Online and downloadable tools that I've looked at state that they don't work with Mini 2 files. I know that wind wasn't a factor (dead calm) but how much fault lies with me, and how much lies with the drone, is known only to the encrypted files. Or maybe I have my own Bermuda Triangle out back.

Even after disclosure of my unorthodox retrieval method, Costco has already authorized the return/replacement so I might never know what went wrong. The DJI Fly app's "Flight Data Center" did provide basic telemetry, and I attached this note to the returned drone:

"9/17/21. While hovering over a ponderosa pine tree the drone began to fly north on its own in calm air without stick input. I pulled back on the right stick to bring it southward but the drone simply fell out of the sky and onto the tree. That account is supported by telemetry recorded in the DJI Fly Flight Data Center feature: Positioning mode, 25 satellites, 78% battery, H 70', during hover drone proceeded north at 1.2 mph without stick input, right stick pulled back half-throttle to call back drone, immediate drone/controller disconnect.

"9/18/21. After attempts to retrieve the drone failed (firmly lodged high in a tangle of branches) a low-power BB gun was used to dislodge it, resulting in the dimpling of the drone exterior and some blades broken by BBs. The drone hit a half dozen branches while tumbling through the tree, one of the strikes dislodging the battery, before falling 20 more feet to the ground. It still powers up."

DJI does not provide the standard warranty for drones purchased through Costco, but Costco itself offered a replacement or refund. After only four days I came to really like this drone so I went for a replacement. It's certainly one tough little drone. I doubt that I'd still power up after falling through a ponderosa pine, spending a night in the rain, being shot 8 times, and then falling 20 feet more. Here's the moment of the crash as captured by the Fly app, 5: 59 of a flight lasting 5:59. I had my eyes on the drone not the phone.

Upload your flight to Airdata UAV so you can see what happenned. It is crutial to understand what went wrong. Did not fell of the sky with no reason. Usually it is human error(sorry for this), and since Mini 2 has no sensors to warn you and "protect" the bird by avoiding obstucles it is even more likely that it is a human error(sorry again). But please upload your flight to Airdata UAV to see what happenned and let us know.

Thanks,

Thank you very much for the suggestion, George. The Airdata site information was not as comprehensive as I expected but it did show one anomaly. The last entry at 5:59 warns, "Motor is Blocked." I'll try to attach screenshots and would be happy to download a more substantial file from Airdata . . . if I figure out how to do it and it's plain text.

I was about 80 feet from the drone. It struck nothing and nothing struck it, unless it was an insect. It was hovering and when it decided to slowly go north, I pulled halfway back on the right joystick; the drone fell silent and dropped. Allegedly, a motor (more?) was "blocked" but that might just add to the mystery.

On further review . . . my read of this data says that I backed the drone into the top of the tree. That does not match my accounting of the crash at all but recall usually takes a back seat to telemetry. I'll now have to measure the tree, just to be certain, but I suspect my laser will be supporting the flight data and not me.

I saw the drone traveling forward of the tree without controller input, and going away from me. But according to the data, in reality I was seeing the drone descend without input. I thought it was moving away so I pulled the right stick and the drone nudged into the tree and fell downward.

But that raises a new question: why did the drone lose 5' of elevation in the last 9 seconds without user input or wind?

Hi, thank you for reaching out. We're sorry for the unpleasant experience. In this kind of situation, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You can contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support. Also, the warranty can be applied depending on the outcome of the damage assessment including the warranty period of your unit. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Thanks Paladin (Have Gun Will Travel or ex-military?). The retailer has replaced the drone so I imagine DJI will be reviewing the data, one way or the other. Although I wrote explicit notes just minutes after the crash, they differ from the data that I retrieved. There's no reason to believe that the data is corrupt so I defer to it.

I've been able to reconcile my account of the crash with data from DJI Fly and Airdata, the latter providing data in 0.4 second increments. Most of the action occurred in the last 9 seconds of flight: the drone had descended 5' without stick input and during the last 3/4 second I pulled back the right stick, because from my viewing perspective the drone had moved forward rather than downward.

That's operator error. Whether or not instability during hover is a mitigating factor probably depends on whether or not a 5-foot deviation is expected behavior during a hover. From here-on-out it will certainly be anticipated behavior around my neck of the woods and the default action will be to gain altitude and then reassess.  Since the replacement drone is on the way, warranties (and this case) are non-issues. I'll simply need to repurchase Care Refresh.

To wrap a bow around the crash, I've used the appropriate tools to  estimate the tree height and the short story with that is the drone  brushed the tip of the tree, which was indicated by the data. I also  downloaded more detailed files from airdata and phantomhelp. The former  file ends with "Motor is Blocked" on the last line, while the latter  does not list any warnings..

Over the course of one minute the drone slowly lost about 8 feet of  altitude without stick input: hovering, P-GPS, Auto Fly. It would slowly  drop 1, 2, 3 ft and slowly regain some of the lost elevation.

The attachment shows the greatest rate of decline, about 4 ft in 4  seconds, commencing 7 seconds before the crash. I was downslope of the  tree, viewing the phone feed and then I looked up at the drone. From my  viewing angle the drone appeared to be moving horizontally; higher than,  but away from the tree and where I was positioned. I pulled back the  right stick and hello tree!

The new Mini arrives in a few days. I'm now a seasoned crash pilot, so hopefully that's out of the way.