Hey everyone, need your help figuring out what went wrong with my drone.

I have flown drones for a long time, my most recent being a Mavic 2 Pro, which I’ve flown for 4+ years. Last month I was in a remote area planning to shoot a waterfall, as soon I launched the drone (there were 14 satellites linked), it immediately started climbing up- the up/down axis was uncontrollable. I could still take photos, move the gimbal, and steer left/right. But no control whatsoever with up/down. The drone climbed on its own at a steady pace; even moving the joystick up did not accelerate its ascension.

I have not jailbroken the software or tampered with the system in anyway, nor did I launch it anyway other than my usual. Despite the max altitude being set at 500m, the drone carried on going till almost 1800m above launch point, before it ran out of battery and fell out of the sky (I have never found it, it was jungle all around). I tried the Force Landing command, the Return to Home command, various flight modes- NOTHING stopped its ascent. I even turned off the controller and app halfway as a desperate measure, it regained connection but was still in the exact state.

I have approached DJI regarding the issue and they have not been very helpful (probably because my warranty has expired), and offered no proper diagnosis of what went wrong. I feel a malfunction like this could have been quite dangerous in a more populated area, and really want to understand how something like this can happen.

Has anyone experienced something like this, or can provide some insight into what went wrong? I would really appreciate the help. Thank you.

I’ll attach the flight records and logs below if that’s useful (note there are 2 flight records, likely due to the restarting of the controller).

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DVidddjrasQ8dVtZKXh92TvWh0d4nPZf?usp=sharing
Link to the flight logs

Unfortunately, it is a bad situation. We hope to find a solution.

Hi

Had a look at your both flightlogs.

Direct after take-off your Mavic started to climb.
Vertical speed UP while no UP input is applied.

At 6m40s in flight drone into AutoLanding, vertical speed  minus 2.3 m/s but drone did not descend at all, steady at already 931 meter height!

In the flightlog no errors written wich could help to understand what happend.

So no proper conclusion, must have been a major IMU errror.

EDITDuring autolanding, as said vert speed shows decent, at this time (and more times) the VPS sensor was not active. See the while line in the upper chart.
But as Labroides noticed, the IR height sensor should not measure height when out of its measuring range.

cheers
JJB

Your VPS sensor is throwing spurious very low height data for the whole flight.
This indicated to the flight controller that the drone was just a little above something and would have caused the drone to rise to avoid the phantom obstacle immediately below the drone.

The odd thing is that the VPS numbers were not constant as would be seen with something blocking the sensors.
Most likely explanation for the incident is a malfunction in the VPS sensor.

JJB* Posted at 10-8 05:43
Hi

Had a look at your both flightlogs.

Can you pm the logs to me please JJB* perhaps uploading them to somewhere other than google and then sending the URL.

For some reason I am having problems with downloading from google recently

I think @JJB and @Labroides are correct in that this looks like some sort of component failure.

@Chien - Can you confirm you had nothing else attached to the drone?  No type of payload or strap or fixture around the shell of the drone?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-8 06:29
Can you pm the logs to me please JJB* perhaps uploading them to somewhere other than google and then sending the URL.

For some reason I am having problems with downloading from google recently

I just sent you PM of the logs moved to OneDrive

TonyPHX Posted at 10-8 07:02
I just sent you PM of the logs moved to OneDrive

Great thanks.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-8 07:56
Great thanks.

It's a wacky log.  That damn drone just goes up and up and up.  : )

TonyPHX Posted at 10-8 09:48
It's a wacky log.  That damn drone just goes up and up and up.  : )

I have a number of such incidents in my library.
Off the top of my head is one in which a mini 1 reached I think 800ft then fell, the startling thing being it survived the crash landing unscathed.
In another, something like an Air went to possibly 4,700ft or higher and was blown away.
Yesterday I notice one where my name for the log suggested it reached 8,000ft but I think that's a typo.

Hi there, we are sorry for any inconvenience. We have found the corresponding case number through your email address. We have fed back the flight log you provided to the relevant team for further analysis. If there is any result, our relevant team will contact you. We suggest you wait patiently. Thank you.

Hello, our relevant team replied that you need to export the MCDATFlightrecords folder to us or synchronize the authorized flight records.

We look forward to your reply.

Could someone PM the 3 DATS to me please ?
You would need to upload them to a different fie hosting website.
Thanks.

DJI Susan Posted at 10-9 01:14
Hello, our relevant team replied that you need to export the MCDATFlightrecords folder to us or synchronize the authorized flight records.
[view_image]
We look forward to your reply.

There are DATs on the page linked to in post 2. Whether or not you can download the is a different matter.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 01:30
There are DATs on the page linked to in post 2. Whether or not you can download the is a different matter.

DAT files won't show much.
We can already see that erroneous VPS data was a major contributing factor in the problem.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 01:30
There are DATs on the page linked to in post 2. Whether or not you can download the is a different matter.

Hello. Thank you for your attention. We have downloaded the linked file and found that we cannot analyze the data. We need to the MCDATFlightrecords file for analysis

Hi there, thank you for reaching out and we do apologize for the trouble caused. Could you please share us the flight logs for us to forward it to our engineering team fur further investigation?

Also, if you've any case number regarding this issue, kindly share it along with the flight logs for us to check on this. Thank you for your understanding and support!

Labroides Posted at 10-9 02:03
DAT files won't show much.
We can already see that erroneous VPS data was a major contributing factor in the problem.

"DAT files won't show much."
Oh come off it!

In the hands of people that can read them, readable DATs contain an awful lot of useful information.

You should perhaps spend sometime browsing posts by the likes of sar104, Budwalker et al over on the MavicPilots forum, it is quite amazing what 'causes' they have been able to dig out of DATs.

Besides,
1) if the DATs are of no use WHY would DJI have requested them IN THIS THREAD and WHY would DJI FREQUENTLY request them in other threads? I doubt they do it to waste the time of their employees.
2) The OP has already posted the DATs, the problem lies in the fact that they are impossible to download for some people.

I recollect that, in the past, you have said, of yourself, "I don't read DATs." or words to that effect.
Fair enough, that's your choice and you are welcome to it, but if my recollection is correct, then how would you know what information a DAT contains?

If by any chance you happen to mean that 'IN THIS THREAD the DAT won't add much' then you might be correct but why didn't you say so?
Besides, we wont know if they do contain information that might be useful in this thread until someone who can read the DATs looks at them and here that means BudWalker and perhaps JJB*.
Even if they do not add additional information concerning the problem of this thread those people looking at the relevant DAT won't hurt anything and certainly won't hurt the OP.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 03:50
"DAT files won't show much."
Oh come off it!

If by any chance you happen to mean that 'IN THIS THREAD the DAT won't add much' then you might be correct but why didn't you say so?
Why are you such a goose?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-8 10:12
I have a number of such incidents in my library.
Off the top of my head is one in which a mini 1 reached I think 800ft then fell, the startling thing being it survived the crash landing unscathed.
In another, something like an Air went to possibly 4,700ft or higher and was blown away.

I have not had that happen to me. (yet) But I can only imagine the sinking feeling you had.  Even as I was playing back Chien's log, I kept feeling bad for the guy.  

Labroides Posted at 10-9 04:53
If by any chance you happen to mean that 'IN THIS THREAD the DAT won't add much' then you might be correct but why didn't you say so?
Why are you such a goose?

I am not but most definitely question whether or not you are.......or worse.

MANY people have commented in NUMEROUS threads about your nasty, rude, abusive, condescending and "holier than thou" attitude.

You do occasionally post some good stuff but I would suggest you would do yourself, and more to the point this forum, a great favour if you would loose that attitude and learn to FREQUENTLY 'zip it'.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 01:26
Could someone PM the 3 DATS to me please ?
You would need to upload them to a different fie hosting website.
Thanks.

Sorry about that, I did not think you wanted the DAT files.  Just added them to the same folder on OneDrive. They are zipped

TonyPHX Posted at 10-9 05:54
Sorry about that, I did not think you wanted the DAT files.  Just added them to the same folder on OneDrive. They are zipped

Brillaint, many thanks, I will have a look later.

TonyPHX Posted at 10-9 05:51
I have not had that happen to me. (yet) But I can only imagine the sinking feeling you had.  Even as I was playing back Chien's log, I kept feeling bad for the guy.

DON'T TEMPT FATE with such statements, I'd tether your drone for the next few hundred flights lol

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 06:27
Brillaint, many thanks, I will have a look later.

Darn it, they don't work the extracted files are only 2kb each, Aah I now see the originals seem to be equally small so they are a waste of time.
Sorry about that.

THe DATs should be much bigger than the corresponding txts.

DJI Susan Posted at 10-9 01:14
Hello, our relevant team replied that you need to export the MCDATFlightrecords folder to us or synchronize the authorized flight records.
[view_image]
We look forward to your reply.

Sorry I have just realised that the DATs linked to in post 2 seem to be TINY and thererfor invalid.
Sorry about that.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 06:32
DON'T TEMPT FATE with such statements, I'd tether your drone for the next few hundred flights lol

If I watch one of mine fly away like that, then maybe I will be back for a Mavic 4 even if they don't have a SDK.  : )

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 06:49
Darn it, they don't work the extracted files are only 2kb each, Aah I now see the originals seem to be equally small so they are a waste of time.
Sorry about that.

I guess there won't be any apology from you for the crap you dished out on me?

TonyPHX Posted at 10-8 06:58
I think @JJB and @Labroides are correct in that this looks like some sort of component failure.

@Chien - Can you confirm you had nothing else attached to the drone?  No type of payload or strap or fixture around the shell of the drone?

Yes. No payload/anything at all attached to the drone.

JJB* Posted at 10-8 05:43
Hi

Had a look at your both flightlogs.

thank you very much for spending the time for this analysis, as well as everyone else for commenting.
i'm stumped, and yes it was extremely difficult sitting through the whole flight dreading the imminent crash.
I'm hoping DJI takes some initiative to dig out a better explanation as to what happened. Apologies for the difficulties with accessing the logs everyone. I will try dig out what DJI requested and send to them again.

TonyPHX Posted at 10-9 05:51
I have not had that happen to me. (yet) But I can only imagine the sinking feeling you had.  Even as I was playing back Chien's log, I kept feeling bad for the guy.

It was long. And painful.

Labroides Posted at 10-9 17:37
I guess there won't be any apology from you for the crap you dished out on me?

Why would I need or want to apologise for telling the truth?
If  you don't like being on the receiving end why are you so quick to dish it out to MANY others.

Chien Posted at 10-9 19:23
Yes. No payload/anything at all attached to the drone.

). I tried the Force Landing command, t

I haven't had a chance to actually look at your logs but if that means you applied the CSC joystick position, then the CSC position will not normally work if the "emergency motor stop" option is set to the default option.
The drone itself MUST 'think' it is suffering or has suffered, an emergency in order for the CSC to work whilst the option is set to the default.
You have to change the setting to the alternative, which is named something  like "always" or "anytime".
Once that is done the CSC will, or should, stop the motors after it has been held for a short period of time, 1.7seconds ?.
I don't think either option is ideal but there's nothing we can do about that, we just have to live with it and its consequences.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 20:42
Why would I need or want to apologise for telling the truth?
If  you don't like being on the receiving end why are you so quick to dish it out to MANY others.

It seems you are always looking out for a way to get snarky with me and tell me what a terrible person I am whenever you take something I said the wrong way.
You jump to take offence on someone else's behalf or for yourself and dish it out to me every week.
It's clear that you don't like me, but I don't care.
Or perhaps you'd rather continue playing your stupid game and confirm what a stupid goose you are?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-9 21:15
). I tried the Force Landing command, t

I haven't had a chance to actually look at your logs but if that means you applied the CSC joystick position, then the CSC position will not normally work if the "emergency motor stop" option is set to the default option.

if that means you applied the CSC joystick position, then the CSC position will not normally work if the "emergency motor stop" option is set to the default option.
When did anyone think of CSC as a forced landing?
oops ... you took something the wrong way again !!

Labroides Posted at 10-9 22:23
if that means you applied the CSC joystick position, then the CSC position will not normally work if the "emergency motor stop" option is set to the default option.
When did anyone think of CSC as a forced landing?
oops ... you took something the wrong way again !!

Well, perhaps, instead of attempting to ridicule someone, you could lower yourself and give your suggestion for what the OP's sentence
".......... around). I tried the Force Landing command, the Retu......."
means.

When I went to school  ''if that means you applied the CSC joystick position''  means I am, indirectly, checking whether or not that is what the OP meant by ''Force Landing command'.
After all,  I know of no option OTHER than the CSC where the pilot could cause a "forced landing"  or issue a "forced landing COMMAND".  
And, given that the OP states "But no control whatsoever with up/down.", I doubt they are referring to simply holding the throttle closed.

The only other common and perhaps DJI use of the phrase 'forced landing' refers to what happens the battery charge gets so low that the drone decides it must land in order to reach the ground before the battery is so drained that the drone stops its motors AND that is MOST definaitely NOT something tthat teh pilot can initiate or cancel, with the latter being commented on in many threads.

So, come on, please explain, by what other means the OP could force a landing? And enlighten this "goose".

@Chien
The .dat logs you provided aren't the right ones. The ones we want are in the MCDatFlightRecords folder. I.e., the folder requested by the moderator. Can you provide that folder via GoogleDrive?

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-10 00:11
Well, perhaps, instead of attempting to ridicule someone, you could lower yourself and give your suggestion for what the OP's sentence
".......... around). I tried the Force Landing command, the Retu......."
means.

Well, perhaps, instead of attempting to ridicule someone, you could lower yourself and give your suggestion for what the OP's sentence
".......... around). I tried the Force Landing command, the Retu......."
Since you asked and it seems to be beyond your limited ability ....
It's obviously the normal LAND command that should make the drone land where it is.

Labroides Posted at 10-10 05:41
Well, perhaps, instead of attempting to ridicule someone, you could lower yourself and give your suggestion for what the OP's sentence
".......... around). I tried the Force Landing command, the Retu......."
SInce you asked and it seems to be beyond your limited ability ....

Really, how wonderful it must be to have your insight into what other people are thinking.
If you are correct then why didn't the op just repeat that a closed throttle did not cause a descent ?
To my mind " force landing  command" seems an odd way to express the idea of holding the throttle closed when they have already mentioned that up and down stick had no affect on the drone's ascent.