I feel like such a loser coming on to get advice & share footage of a crash. Part of me felt like "This is not my fault!", but I realize it is. Here's what happened, I was navigating drone back to where I launched from. The battery had 3-4 minutes left, I was only about 20-30 yards from where I launched, so I was just going to return there. I THOUGHT I hit the button to tell it NOT to return to home, but apparently I did not. (In retrospect, I had no reason to not just LAND IT RIGHT THEN. I was about 10 feet behind it. Stupid me.) I was flying below trees and between a tree & a shed. I had flown this path fine just minutes before. At the 10 second mark of this video the drone starting flying upward on it's own. (This is where in retrospect I realize it was trying to ascend to return to home, and that I didn't cancel that as I thought I did.) I tried throttling down but the drone kept ascending. I would throttle down, and then no response, and I would throttle down and hold it, and again no response. As you can see this all happened really fast. Too fast for me to realize that it was trying to return to home. When it crashed to the ground a back leg broke, and a proprellor broke. Thankfully gimbal & camera appear completely fine. What kills me is that about 20 seconds before this I was in a total open air area. Where if it ascended to RTH that would be no big freaking deal.


I was thinking I would send this to DJI for repair. Assuming only the leg is broken, maybe it won't be too expensive to fix?! Has anyone had a repair like this done before? We leave for vacation in Florida in less than 2 weeks, and I am fully aware there's no chance the drone will be repaired & returned in time.


I know sharing this welcomes criticism, but I am hoping someone else can learn from my mistake. I've learned a lot reading these forums, and I hope someone can learn from me. Just land the damn thing when the battery starts to beep. Don't be a dumbass like me.


Attached are photos of the damage. Also... How much of the dirt should I try to clean off before sending in for repairs?

Thank you very much for having shared your painful experience. Nobody has a right to criticise you for what has happened and your honesty. What surprises me a bit is that your attempt to bring it down manually when the RTH had started was not successful. Something I shall test with mine at the next opportunity. I am not sure now if pressing the pause button would have helped in this situation. The damage looks very limited to me from the pictures (unless there would be invisible damages). The leg even does not look broken but as if it just came off the hinge. You could clean it carefully and try to put it back (check the screw(s)). You could also explore where the nearest repair center is and with some luck still get it done before your vacation. It really does not look like a big thing.

Thanks for sharing! I learn every . single. day. from pilots like you. So sorry... automation of RTH is sometimes "the suck" and I see this sort of post OFTEN. Again.. so sorry for the  loss! My only advice is to use the sport mode switch to cancel RTH; get used to using it as a panic button of sorts... it kills RTH and will also turn off sensors that could cause a backup or an altitude change. (I have only used this in non battery related functions... so battery critical may continue RTH no matter what... I will have to test this and see if the sport mode switch will cancel critical battery RTH.) On the repair side... If you have DJI care refresh you will most likely get a different "refurbished" drone in exchange... the repair cost appears to be replacement value... "totaled"; even though it looks minor. If you are good with this sort of thing you may be able to find another crashed one on an auction site for cheap parts?

If I'm not on the ground at 20% battery remaining, I've done something stupid. Never fly that close to the edge.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-18 08:39
Thank you very much for having shared your painful experience. Nobody has a right to criticise you for what has happened and your honesty. What surprises me a bit is that your attempt to bring it down manually when the RTH had started was not successful. Something I shall test with mine at the next opportunity. I am not sure now if pressing the pause button would have helped in this situation. The damage looks very limited to me from the pictures (unless there would be invisible damages). The leg even does not look broken but as if it just came off the hinge. You could clean it carefully and try to put it back (check the screw(s)). You could also explore where the nearest repair center is and with some luck still get it done before your vacation. It rerally does not look like a big thing.

You are so kind. Thank you. In retrospect I know that while I tried throttling down, I forgot that in emergency situations you are supposed to bring BOTH sticks down to override. I did not do that.

Unfortunately we live in Nashville, TN, and there aren't any repair centers nearby. I looked up the location of the Florida repair center, but it's in Miami, and that is not near where we will be vacationing.

Thank you again, when I get up the nerve to try and clean it I will see if it is something that we could fix before sending it out.

REALLY WISHING we had bought DJI Refresh... We bought drone through Apple's website, partially because we really wanted the White Fly More Combo, and also to take advantage of my husband's EPP discount (a tip I found out about on these forums!). I don't remember seeing Refresh as an option, but maybe I was in such sticker shock at the time I didn't consider adding it.

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-18 08:45
Thanks for sharing! I learn every . single. day. from pilots like you. So sorry... automation of RTH is sometimes "the suck" and I see this sort of post OFTEN. Again.. so sorry for the  loss! My only advice is to use the sport mode switch to cancel RTH; get used to using it as a panic button of sorts... it kills RTH and will also turn off sensors that could cause a backup or an altitude change. (I have only used this in non battery related functions... so battery critical may continue RTH no matter what... I will have to test this and see if the sport mode switch will cancel critical battery RTH.) On the repair side... If you have DJI care refresh you will most likely get a different "refurbished" drone in exchange... the repair cost appears to be replacement value... "totaled"; even though it looks minor. If you are good with this sort of thing you may be able to find another crashed one on an auction site for cheap parts?

Sorry, but I disagree with your damage assessment.

EC_Wilburn Posted at 2018-3-18 08:48
You are so kind. Thank you. In retrospect I know that while I tried throttling down, I forgot that in emergency situations you are supposed to bring BOTH sticks down to override. I did not do that.

Unfortunately we live in Nashville, TN, and there aren't any repair centers nearby. I looked up the location of the Florida repair center, but it's in Miami, and that is not near where we will be vacationing.

You can still buy care refresh directly from DJI once it is repaired.

One more thought: If you send it to the Florida repair center soon it should be repaired on time and you could request them to send it to your vacancy location instead of your home.

Sorry to read about your crash. Thank you for sharing your experience for others to learn from though. I hope you’re back in the air soon.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-18 08:39
Thank you very much for having shared your painful experience. Nobody has a right to criticise you for what has happened and your honesty. What surprises me a bit is that your attempt to bring it down manually when the RTH had started was not successful. Something I shall test with mine at the next opportunity. I am not sure now if pressing the pause button would have helped in this situation. The damage looks very limited to me from the pictures (unless there would be invisible damages). The leg even does not look broken but as if it just came off the hinge. You could clean it carefully and try to put it back (check the screw(s)). You could also explore where the nearest repair center is and with some luck still get it done before your vacation. It rerally does not look like a big thing.

I’m surprised the Mavic Air wasn’t in critical battery if it was it should have descended, if it was just in RTH low battery warning 10 seconds , I think many make the mistake of pressing on the X then not realizing that they are also required to confirm on a small black box on screen and this is what I think happened, you cannot lower aircraft until it reaches its RTH height , once it has you can fly forward and reduce altitude.

Question was Aircraft in critical battery or just low battery ? Strange how at only 4 minutes battery remaining that aircraft would not be in critical battery and if it was it should just have landed.

In normal low battery RTH pulling down on the stick will have no effect, when Aircraft reaches its height for RTH you can then lower altitude and fly forward.

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-18 08:45
Thanks for sharing! I learn every . single. day. from pilots like you. So sorry... automation of RTH is sometimes "the suck" and I see this sort of post OFTEN. Again.. so sorry for the  loss! My only advice is to use the sport mode switch to cancel RTH; get used to using it as a panic button of sorts... it kills RTH and will also turn off sensors that could cause a backup or an altitude change. (I have only used this in non battery related functions... so battery critical may continue RTH no matter what... I will have to test this and see if the sport mode switch will cancel critical battery RTH.) On the repair side... If you have DJI care refresh you will most likely get a different "refurbished" drone in exchange... the repair cost appears to be replacement value... "totaled"; even though it looks minor. If you are good with this sort of thing you may be able to find another crashed one on an auction site for cheap parts?

Critical battery will just descend and land not RTH .

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-18 08:45
Thanks for sharing! I learn every . single. day. from pilots like you. So sorry... automation of RTH is sometimes "the suck" and I see this sort of post OFTEN. Again.. so sorry for the  loss! My only advice is to use the sport mode switch to cancel RTH; get used to using it as a panic button of sorts... it kills RTH and will also turn off sensors that could cause a backup or an altitude change. (I have only used this in non battery related functions... so battery critical may continue RTH no matter what... I will have to test this and see if the sport mode switch will cancel critical battery RTH.) On the repair side... If you have DJI care refresh you will most likely get a different "refurbished" drone in exchange... the repair cost appears to be replacement value... "totaled"; even though it looks minor. If you are good with this sort of thing you may be able to find another crashed one on an auction site for cheap parts?

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-3-18 10:49
Question was Aircraft in critical battery or just low battery ? Strange how at only 4 minutes battery remaining that aircraft would not be in critical battery and if it was it should just have landed.

In normal low battery RTH pulling down on the stick will have no effect, when Aircraft reaches its height for RTH you can then lower altitude and fly forward.

It was not in critical battery. It just started to beep to tell me the battery was low, and that's when I was like "Ok, I'll head on home." I was just going to fly until the first battery beep, which I did.

Thank you for explanation of not being able to bring it down UNTIL it reaches it's RTH height. That makes sense.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-18 09:05
One more thought: If you send it to the Florida repair center soon it should be repaired on time and you could request them to send it to your vacancy location instead of your home.

Hmmm... Much to think about...

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-18 08:39
Thank you very much for having shared your painful experience. Nobody has a right to criticise you for what has happened and your honesty. What surprises me a bit is that your attempt to bring it down manually when the RTH had started was not successful. Something I shall test with mine at the next opportunity. I am not sure now if pressing the pause button would have helped in this situation. The damage looks very limited to me from the pictures (unless there would be invisible damages). The leg even does not look broken but as if it just came off the hinge. You could clean it carefully and try to put it back (check the screw(s)). You could also explore where the nearest repair center is and with some luck still get it done before your vacation. It rerally does not look like a big thing.

Update. I took your advice, and I believe you are right that the visible damages look minimal, and the leg doesn't appear broken, just off the hinge.

What do you mean by "check the screws"? I'm just wondering. They all look fine.

I tried to push it back on, and I push on it with decent pressure, but also trying not to force it too much. But it won't "pop", per se. Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough. I'll try and see if my husband will push it on, if he starts speaking to me again.... (Just kidding. He ain't happy with me though, that's for sure.)

Hopefully not too broken - I had a look around ... and this 'tear down' video gives an insight into how the leg is connected to the body joint. (The relevant time stamp starts at 26mins in.) Its in german - but the guy is saying you will need a Torx 4 screw driver for those 2 screws that hold the leg on to the inner 'C' shaped bracket. If the 'C' shaped bracket has snapped off - then unfortunately it will need a proper repair done on it.

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-3-18 10:42
I’m surprised the Mavic Air wasn’t in critical battery if it was it should have descended, if it was just in RTH low battery warning 10 seconds , I think many make the mistake of pressing on the X then not realizing that they are also required to confirm on a small black box on screen and this is what I think happened, you cannot lower aircraft until it reaches its RTH height , once it has you can fly forward and reduce altitude.

Thank you for clarifying!

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2018-3-18 12:17
Hopefully not too broken - I had a look around ... and this 'tear down' video gives an insight into how the leg is connected to the body joint. https://youtu.be/ydabCZ4bUd4?t=1565 (The relevant time stamp starts at 26mins in.) Its in german - but the guy is saying you will need a Torx 4 screw driver for those 2 screws that hold the leg on to the inner 'C' shaped bracket. If the 'C' shaped bracket has snapped off - then unfortunately it will need a proper repair done on it.

This bit ...

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2018-3-18 12:17
Hopefully not too broken - I had a look around ... and this 'tear down' video gives an insight into how the leg is connected to the body joint. https://youtu.be/ydabCZ4bUd4?t=1565 (The relevant time stamp starts at 26mins in.) Its in german - but the guy is saying you will need a Torx 4 screw driver for those 2 screws that hold the leg on to the inner 'C' shaped bracket. If the 'C' shaped bracket has snapped off - then unfortunately it will need a proper repair done on it.

Thank you, this is exactly what I meant!

EC_Wilburn Posted at 2018-3-18 11:09
Update. I took your advice, and I believe you are right that the visible damages look minimal, and the leg doesn't appear broken, just off the hinge.

What do you mean by "check the screws"? I'm just wondering. They all look fine.

Great, you have two screws on the leg. You can try to unscrew them (if you have the appropriate tool and some knowledge about mechanics, otherwise you might know someone who has both or best send it to the DJI repair center). The video posted here above explains it well. Once both screws are off, the hinge needs to be turned half way, the leg put on and the screws put back in place. All this will of course only work if the cable leading to the motor was not damaged. Taking a precautionary approach, I would recommend you to get it done at an officicial DJI repair center, also to safeguard your warranty. If there is no hidden damage as mentioned earlier, this should be a rather cheap repair case.

Since I don't have the AIR, I can only assume it is like the MPro/Phantom in that you have two battery levels that you can set/check.  I use the first as a wakeup, in case I haven't been paying attention to the screen for awhile.  I set that one ~35%, depending on how close I will be working to home, but never lower than 30%.  When that warning is given, it is time to head for the landing patch.  The second setting is the level at which it is going to land because it is nearly depleted.  I normally have that one set at 10%.  My philosophy is to set the first one at a level that I can get back home without danger or being rushed.  I'm never far from home anyway.  I set the second one at a level that allows me the most chance of making it home, or at least to the ground somewhere safe before it shuts down and crashes.  If I dumbass it beyond that, it's on me.

There is some ambiguity in the lower percentages on some batteries.  For instance, some time back, in an effort to calibrate a couple of batteries, I took two of mine down until the drone shut down to calibrate the battery system. This was done on the ground with props idling.  One of them quit at 7-8%.  The other one didn't quit until 10 minutes after it got to 0%.  It's a calibration issue.

Wow amazing how tough this drone is. It took multiple hits and still climbed.

It makes me think you should always be ready with manual flying skills, if something goes wrong your skills might be able to keep the drone flying to at least minimize damage.

Thanks for honestly sharing what happened.  New owners can learn from this.

LOMELI Posted at 2018-3-18 13:04
Wow amazing how tough this drone is. It took multiple hits and still climbed.

It makes me think you should always be ready with manual flying skills, if something goes wrong your skills might be able to keep the drone flying to at least minimize damage.

I know. While it was INCREDIBLY heartbreakingly painful to watch each hit to the tree, it was also painful to not be able to manually stop it (due to my obvious inexperience in not stopped the RTH). That being said, I am surprised more damage wasn't done.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-18 13:07
Thanks for honestly sharing what happened.  New owners can learn from this.

That's what I hope. DON'T BE A DUMBASS LIKE ME, PLEASE.

Lamplighter55 Posted at 2018-3-18 12:32
This bit ...[view_image]

Very helpful! Thank you so much! I believe I will send it in for repair. This gives me hope it should be a simple repair.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-18 12:51
Great, you have two screws on the leg. You can try to unscrew them (if you have the appropriate tool and some knowledge about mechanics, otherwise you might know someone who has both or best send it to the DJI repair center). The video posted here above explains it well. Once both screws are off, the hinge needs to be turned half way, the leg put on and the screws put back in place. All this will of course only work if the cable leading to the motor was not damaged. Taking a precautionary approach, I would recommend you to get it done at an officicial DJI repair center, also to safeguard your warranty. If there is no hidden damage as mentioned earlier, this should be a rather cheap repair case.

Thanks again! Def sending it in, as I don't want to mess anything up further. Rather do it right than do it myself! I'll update once repair process is done.

EC_Wilburn Posted at 2018-3-18 13:40
Thanks again! Def sending it in, as I don't want to mess anything up further. Rather do it right than do it myself! I'll update once repair process is done.

Very sensible approach. Hurry up then, we definitely want to see the wonderful footage of your Florida vacation! :-)

EC_Wilburn Posted at 2018-3-18 13:34
That's what I hope. DON'T BE A

No need to be so hard on yourself.  Humans make mistakes.
We learn from mistakes.  It is when we don't, that we are dumb___ or toast.

20 percent of Airplane crashes are due to equipment failure.
Care to guess what accounts for other 80%?

Criticize? No. You made a mistake and recognized your mistake. Not sure what the cost would be but if it was mine, I'd send it in to DJI to be fixed. I bought refresh on my Mavic Air, but not on my Spark. I think to get the refresh on my Spark now I need to create videos to confirm the Spark is in working order.

Drone Crash Psychology:
You really want it to not be your fault because then you could send it back for no more than the cost of maybe a box for shipping. I know how that feels. With things like this there's always the period of denial.

Other pilots prefer it be "pilot error". Hearing about a crash with the same model drone that we own that has no reasonable explanation scares us. Fortunately this usually isn't the case.

How bad crash denial can be:
I'm mountain biking one day several years ago. It's my second time down the hill and I'm getting a little tired. I hit a lump in the trail and all of a sudden I'm doing a nose wheel down a hill that is steeper on the other side of the lump. I end up at the bottom of the hill in a lump but not before a snap that is felt more than heard. I bring my hand up to my collar bone. Something is definitely missing there.  I bring my hand over to my undamaged collar bone because am I really sure that there was something there to begin with...

Sorry to hear about your crash. Hopefully you can get things fixed without too much expense.

Sorry to hear your accident. Hope you got it fix real soon and fly again

Sorry for the crash accident. We do not recommend that user repairs the drone personally. Please contact our support to start a ticket and send your drone in, we will help to take care of it. And after the repair, if you are interested in, I suggest that you purchase the DJI Care Refresh program for it.
Please contact our support on the following page to start a case: http://www.dji.com/suppor

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-3-18 10:51
Critical battery will just descend and land not RTH .

Your right... did it yesterday on my MP and that's exactly what it did. It kept prompting me in the DJI Go4 app to RTH. (3-4 times?) It still allowed me to control it though so I wasn't completely helpless... took it down beyond 0% and eventually it force landed.