Hey all,

Curious if anyone else has experienced this before:

Short of the long:
My DJI Mavic Air 2 fell out of sky after 13min of flight.
Just got a black screen, stating signal lost (no obstacles in between), it didn't return to home (confirmed home point recorded before take off) after pushing button, found drone after extensive search (used 'find my drone' functionality). It didn't land safely, as one leg got busted, and camera broke off gimbal - suspecting it was a FLYAWAY, and drone dropped out of sky. DJI customer service replies with this:
We are sincerely sorry that the free service period of your aircraft expired and there is no free data analysis service provided. You are recommended to contact the local service center below for the repair service, they will definitely help get the issue solved.

Detailed story:
I flew my drone perfectly for about 13min, and then got 'aircraft signal interference', followed a short while after with 'RC signal lost' (less than 100m away from me), and finally totally black screen, with no visuals, 'Aircraft not connected to RC'. I pushed the Home button and waited, nothing happened. After judging the battery must've run out, I used 'find my drone' to go to the last recorded GPS point. Searched for a LONG time, and eventually found my broken drone in thick bushes, with no more battery. The camera has broken off the gimbal, props got damaged, one stand of one front leg is destroyed. The drone must've fallen out of the sky. HOW is this possible? I can only think that there must have been some kind of internal malfunction. It's unacceptable to spend so much on a product for it to malfunction with no wrongdoing from my side.

Can't they (DJI) do me the courtesy of AT LEAST looking at the flight log to try and ascertain what happened? Something malfunctioned internally, and there was nothing I could do.

Looking for advice, as I feel the company should stand behind their product and assist the customer. This was NOT a pilot error crash into an obstacle, but a product malfunction (I've never crashed the drone, nor has it ever been damaged whatsoever). So should I expect any DJI product I'm (maybe) buying in the future to have a shelf-life of 18months? I'd rather then steer clear.

Thanks in advance, any feedback welcomed

MA2 wrecked :(

Hi, there. We are greatly sorry to hear about that. Since we cannot fully reproduce your specific usage, we cannot determine the cause of the accident. Besides, any electronic product currently on the market has a certain warranty period, and the manufacturer provides free service during the warranty period. For products out of the warranty period, we will continue to provide services and charge appropriate fees. We appreciate your understanding.  

The drone must've fallen out of the sky.
Obviously that's what happened.

HOW is this possible? I can only think that there must have been some kind of internal malfunction.
There are a number of possibilities and a hardware error is only one of them.

It's unacceptable to spend so much on a product for it to malfunction with no wrongdoing from my side.
You can lose a drone because of a rare hardware malfunction, or there are other things that can cause loss of a drone, without it being your fault.

Can't they (DJI) do me the courtesy of AT LEAST looking at the flight log to try and ascertain what happened?
That's just the way they work.
While it's in warranty, they cover it against manufacturing errors and will analyse flight data to see if the cause was or wasn't a warranty issue.
But when the drone is out of warranty, they don't.

Something malfunctioned internally, and there was nothing I could do.
Maybe ... maybe not.

Looking for advice, as I feel the company should stand behind their product and assist the customer.
They do stand behind the product, but only while it's in warranty.
Just like every other company out there.

This was NOT a pilot error crash into an obstacle, but a product malfunctionSo you've said ... but you are just guessing without any evidence to support it.

DJI don't give free data analysis out of warranty.
But there are members here who do and they give better explanations than DJI do and much faster.

If you want to learn what your flight data tells of your incident ...
Go to: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/
... where you'll find instructions.
That will give a report you can post a link for the report here.
Or just post the .txt file.

Thanks for the reply. I've checked the flight data, and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast.
Then also it seems like the battery % got 'stuck' at 58, up til the end...

https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/4DFKDKPJB2ANC99AXZY1/#

Kwartas Posted at 6-12 06:14
Thanks for the reply. I've checked the flight data, and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast.
Then also it seems like the battery % got 'stuck' at 58, up til the end...

Hi Kwartas,

Had a look at your log.

At first all data looks quite normal but....

At about 10m14s in flight the battery data (amps, cell voltages and temp) shows a flat line, so after this point in flight no changes to the values, so 58 % battery level remains 58% !

Last record at13m11s, in 3 minutes time 58% level to approx 50% or so.

Must be a fail in the power distribution or dislogded / loose battery (bad contacs for while) so at the end total power loss = action 'fallen like a brick'.

Did you find the battery close the the craft? guess not, as it is not in your text in post #1.
So my best guess is that the battery was dislogded in flight ; power loss ; drone and battery seperated during falling down.

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 6-12 10:46
Hi Kwartas,

Had a look at your log.

Yeah thanks for the feedback JJB!

Nope, did not find the battery - thick bushes. Also noticed the 58% mark, nothing in battery % changed. Crazy, as I've not 'worked' these batteries (I have 3 that I rotate) that hard.
Don't understand how/why it would suddenly 'lose power' after normal flight conditions for 13ish minutes...

Kwartas Posted at 6-12 06:14
Thanks for the reply. I've checked the flight data, and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast.
Then also it seems like the battery % got 'stuck' at 58, up til the end...

Your log shows Battery Communication Error at 621.2 secs and your remaining flight time indicator drops to 00.00. This was before any strong interference warnings. Were you watching your screen data?
If you had noticed the remaining flight time indicator you could have landed safely at your homepoint and avoided the loss as your data ends at 791.4 secs. Sorry for your loss but avoidable.

Kwartas Posted at 6-12 10:54
Yeah thanks for the feedback JJB!

Nope, did not find the battery - thick bushes. Also noticed the 58% mark, nothing in battery % changed. Crazy, as I've not 'worked' these batteries (I have 3 that I rotate) that hard.

battery looks (95>58%, normall cell values) oke to me, as said   : i think that the battery came loose in flight
If if had falling down with the battery then batt would still be in the batt compartment.

Pleomax Posted at 6-12 11:00
Your log shows Battery Communication Error at 621.2 secs and your remaining flight time indicator drops to 00.00. This was before any strong interference warnings. Were you watching your screen data?
If you had noticed the remaining flight time indicator you could have landed safely at your homepoint and avoided the loss as your data ends at 791.4 secs. Sorry for your loss but avoidable.

good find, but this error wasn`t seen on the screen.

added this to FRAP, so now it is automatic discoverd by software and cannot be missed while analyzing data.
cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 6-12 11:09
good find, but this error wasn`t seen on the screen.

Yes but with the on screen remaining flight time indicator dropping to 00.00 surely preventable if noticed.

Pleomax Posted at 6-12 11:15
Yes but with the on screen remaining flight time indicator dropping to 00.00 surely preventable if noticed.

true, another check to check during flight. but can understand that this is not always noticed while flying.

Pleomax Posted at 6-12 11:15
Yes but with the on screen remaining flight time indicator dropping to 00.00 surely preventable if noticed.

But where you find this error?

Everyday learn something. Thanks.

Pleomax Posted at 6-12 11:00
Your log shows Battery Communication Error at 621.2 secs and your remaining flight time indicator drops to 00.00. This was before any strong interference warnings. Were you watching your screen data?
If you had noticed the remaining flight time indicator you could have landed safely at your homepoint and avoided the loss as your data ends at 791.4 secs. Sorry for your loss but avoidable.

Thanks for the reply.
Yes, always monitor as I fly. There was no serious issue or warnings before, then black screen appeared all of a sudden. Game was over after that, as I couldn't regain any control.

Kwartas Posted at 6-12 06:14
Thanks for the reply. I've checked the flight data, and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast.
Then also it seems like the battery % got 'stuck' at 58, up til the end...

"and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast."

You must be kidding. I looked at the area you were flying in and there are literally hundreds of homes nearby, probably all with WiFi systems. You were flying surrounded by interference.

Geebax Posted at 6-12 16:10
"and it's very strange how there could be 'strong interference', for the specific area I flew on the coast."

You must be kidding. I looked at the area you were flying in and there are literally hundreds of homes nearby, probably all with WiFi systems. You were flying surrounded by interference.

Not claiming to be an 'interference expert', lol, but I've literally flown in that area on coastline numerous times, never a hitch. I've flown in an area with way more houses surrounding me (in a park across my home, straight up), and absolutely no problem.

LoveYou Posted at 6-12 11:59
But where you find this error?

Everyday learn something. Thanks.

CSV files has many many columns, find the battery.status column

Or use FRAP, easiest way to see all data

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 6-12 23:07
CSV files has many many columns, find the battery.status column

Or use FRAP, easiest way to see all data

I look CVS battery.status column is empty. Can you post screenshot please?

LoveYou Posted at 6-13 03:42
I look CVS battery.status column is empty. Can you post screenshot please?

hi,

screenshot....

cheesrs
JJB

JJB* Posted at 6-13 04:24
hi,

screenshot....

Thank You.

JJB* Posted at 2022-6-12 10:46
Hi Kwartas,

Had a look at your log.

phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/5GW1G16GEJRKEQQ70GFY (please add www as DJI isn't allowing me to post links)

Same thing happened with me as well, I was hovering and it just crashed into the woods. I was able to see the location on the map, but initially had to move towards the crash site. The flash and blink function wasn't working as well. The gimbal was jittering after crash, turned off and on again and it was flying well. This was a replacement after I crashed mine earlier and was covered under refresh. But now it isn't. Really sad, it barely has 20 hours on it.

Vaibhav2794 Posted at 10-15 03:20
phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/5GW1G16GEJRKEQQ70GFY (please add www as DJI isn't allowing me to post links)

Same thing happened with me as well, I was hovering and it just crashed into the woods. I was able to see the location on the map, but initially had to move towards the crash site. The flash and blink function wasn't working as well. The gimbal was jittering after crash, turned off and on again and it was flying well. This was a replacement after I crashed mine earlier and was covered under refresh. But now it isn't. Really sad, it barely has 20 hours on it.

Hi,

Had a look at your log.

Last record before the disconnect show a speed of almost 11 m/s, so not in a hover.
What happend after the disconnect....

Flying at low altitude (IR height shows 1.7 meter just end of the flight, last record 3.1)
So my guess is crashed into a tree, not enough time/distance to stop the forward motion.

cheers
JJB   [ Charts by FRAP ; the 'best' software for data and visual flightlog analysis (www.jjbfrap.eu) ]

I was going backwards, and had almost stopped into a hover, there were no trees or anything in it's path, I was flying VLOS, it was well above ground and on the slanted side of a hill with a clearance of more than 15ft. Nothing in sight that could have been an obstruction. It just dropped, I saw a lag on the screen and it just fell out of the sky, luckily there were bushes so it was a controlled crash.

The RC showed connection lost and I couldn't see the live feed until I got like 20ft close to the craft on ground. The camera was shaking, it wasn't responding to beep and flash function either.