Hi, I am brand new here and am looking for reassurance maybe? Looking for something anyways. I was flying this morning and my air just fell. All motors quit at the same time and dropped straight down. Yikes! The good news is that it was just maybe two feet off the ground.  Has this ever happened to anyone? I was operating it in less than ideal conditions I know, and I hope that they were the issue.
1. Fairly cold at -12C
2 Foggy with heavy moisture hangin in the frosty air.
The props did ice up and while I would expect irractic flight, I did not expect it to just stop. The unit did not shut off, as the video kept recording until I told it to stop. (after I picked it out of the snow )
3 I had mismatched firmware. (Bad idea but I was standing in the cold and didnt want to wait) I do not know the version numbers.
I have since dried it out and flown it and am happy to say that it appears fine, was this just the ice? I have flown it in much colder conditions (-20C and colder) and it has never even suggested it was unhappy. Could it have been the battery? it was fresh. Just looking to reassure myself as I would like to fligh a little higher than 2 feet in the future.. I have the .dat file but I have no clue how to decipher it.. Anything reassuring to tell me?

I have read that it is not advisable to fly in very cold weather, I think under 0c but seen videos of guys doing it. The best answer you will get if you upload your flight log and some of the experts here can analyse it for you and give a proper answer. If you decide to upload it use this link
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

yeah and having mismatched firmware is not good also.  

Thanks for the replies, and what a cool little link! I'm guessing cell deviation is a bad thing...

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/1G0GY981WRT6WZSSIOHK/

Hiya, guess the MA is not fot flying at low temps...

Batt output fail and a propulsion error. Guess it just stopped!
Lucky that you were flying real low all the time, it didn`t dropped that far.

Battery cell values looks OK to me, max 50 mv difference.
cheers JJB

Dunno about MA, but phones, even with cases and in a pocket suffer a lot from the cold. From 60% to 0% in a second.

That is one sweet program! Thank for all the info! Do you think that battery is OK for future flights? You know, providing the weather permits.

Back Forty Posted at 2018-4-12 10:55
Thanks for the replies, and what a cool little link! I'm guessing cell deviation is a bad thing...

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/1G0GY981WRT6WZSSIOHK/

This looks more like some of other Mavic failures.  Whereby drone thinks it is suddenly flying with a nearly depleted battery, yet battery still has plenty of power (82%).

The crucial point here is that the battery firmware was not updated, thus the "firmware mismatch" message. Sorry to say it this frankly, but this was a serious pilot's fault and no need to search for any further cause. Taking off with a "firmware mismatch" message is NO GO. And the latest firmware update was crucial for the Mavic Air batteries, having done it would have prevented the incident.

Yeah, blame yourself on this one bud.  There’s no half@$$ing in drone flight.

Back, sorry to hear this case. Please kindly note that the operating temperature range is 0°C - 40°C, if beyond this range, flight performance might be affected, we don't suggest flying in your condition.
And as you mentioned, the drone is firmware mismatched, please also update the firmware to the consistency firmware version when flying the drone.
If there is a need, you can provide me with your flight data from the drone and the name of the firmware version. I will try to forward to our engineers to check.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-4-12 13:12
The crucial point here is that the battery firmware was not updated, thus the "firmware mismatch" message. Sorry to say it this frankly, but this was a serious pilot's fault and no need to search for any further cause. Taking off with a "firmware mismatch" message is NO GO. And the latest firmware update was crucial for the Mavic Air batteries, having done it would have prevented the incident.

Believe it or not but I would prefer this to be operator error like you said. I would rather deal with my own stupidity than faulty equipment. The firmware has been updated.

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-4-12 21:20
Back, sorry to hear this case. Please kindly note that the operating temperature range is 0°C - 40°C, if beyond this range, flight performance might be affected, we don't suggest flying in your condition.
And as you mentioned, the drone is firmware mismatched, please also update the firmware to the consistency firmware version when flying the drone.
If there is a need, you can provide me with your flight data from the drone and the name of the firmware version. I will try to forward to our engineers to check.

I would love to have the engineers have a look for piece of mind. How do I get you the .dat file? dropbox share?

If I was to fly in temps above zero only, I would be limited to 5 months a year of fly time. No fun there. yikes! ;)  

Back Forty Posted at 2018-4-13 07:08
Believe it or not but I would prefer this to be operator error like you said. I would rather deal with my own stupidity than faulty equipment. The firmware has been updated.

Well done for taking responsibility, now you can move on and I am sure you have learned from this mistake.

Back Forty Posted at 2018-4-13 07:08
Believe it or not but I would prefer this to be operator error like you said. I would rather deal with my own stupidity than faulty equipment. The firmware has been updated.

Very good, I wish you always happy landings from now on!

Back Forty Posted at 2018-4-13 07:12
I would love to have the engineers have a look for piece of mind. How do I get you the .dat file? dropbox share?

If I was to fly in temps above zero only, I would be limited to 5 months a year of fly time. No fun there. yikes! ;)

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, please upload to Dropbox and paste the link here, please also remember the firmware version. Thank you very much.

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-4-16 21:09
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, please upload to Dropbox and paste the link here, please also remember the firmware version. Thank you very much.

Here you go...

I don't know how to tell what firmware I had during the failure?

Back Forty Posted at 2018-4-17 12:12
Here you go...

I don't know how to tell what firmware I had during the failure?

Okay, will tell this situation to the engineers. BTW, is there any physical damage to the drone? I will also suggest sending the drone in for diagnosing and an overall check if needed. You can contact our support on the following page to start a case: http://www.dji.com/support

DJI Thor Posted at 2018-4-18 18:27
Okay, will tell this situation to the engineers. BTW, is there any physical damage to the drone? I will also suggest sending the drone in for diagnosing and an overall check if needed. You can contact our support on the following page to start a case: http://www.dji.com/support

Thank you, no damage was done to the drone. It was only a foot or two off the ground and landed in soft pillowy snow. I was able to grab it out and get the snow off before it melted too..

Since it hasn't been said yet, I'll say it.  Don't ever fly in known icing conditions.  It will coat the props, changing the effectiveness of its ability to generate lift and the ice buildup on the airframe can add a surprising amount of weight.  

JJBspark Posted at 2018-4-12 12:16
Hiya, guess the MA is not fot flying at low temps...

Batt output fail and a propulsion error. Guess it just stopped!

Hi JJBspark,

Could you please let me know where this program you taken screenshots of could be obtained? Thanks.

David

Timinator Posted at 2018-4-19 07:25
Since it hasn't been said yet, I'll say it.  Don't ever fly in known icing conditions.  It will coat the props, changing the effectiveness of its ability to generate lift and the ice buildup on the airframe can add a surprising amount of weight.

I concur. It was just so pretty ;) Lesson learned for me.

I would suggest reading the manual completely twice and watch every U-Tube tutorial available while you wait for the weather to get better. Very happy the drone (physically) and youself (financially)  didn't suffer a worse fate. Never give up !!

DH_Pilot Posted at 2018-4-19 07:27
Hi JJBspark,

Could you please let me know where this program you taken screenshots of could be obtained? Thanks.

Not sure what System you are using, Windows 10 comes with a screen capture, or you can d/load a program called FireShot, it will allow screen captures (visible portion) or compete web pages and lets you save it as a .PDF or .JPG, it free.

QuadKid Posted at 2018-4-19 07:49
Not sure what System you are using, Windows 10 comes with a screen capture, or you can d/load a program called FireShot, it will allow screen captures (visible portion) or compete web pages and lets you save it as a .PDF or .JPG, it free.

Using W10. I normally use MSword and capture a screens-shot from there.
Have a google at FireShot, see how that works. Thanks
Cheers
JJB

QuadKid Posted at 2018-4-19 07:49
Not sure what System you are using, Windows 10 comes with a screen capture, or you can d/load a program called FireShot, it will allow screen captures (visible portion) or compete web pages and lets you save it as a .PDF or .JPG, it free.

I think he is looking for the Flight record analysis program. I would be interested in that too. I think.

I would make sure the environmental conditions before takeoff

The pilot talks about his modified Phantom battery sagging at 2:50 in this video.  He was flying hard in 33f.  Guess it can cut off fast when the battery is very cold.  Notice that the drone still appears to be on.  Just can't fly.

I'm curious how long it takes to have a reply from the lab. It's been two months. I still have my battery in quarantine and would like to trust it or replace it sometime soon.

Can you try upgrade the firmware for the battery and test again? This may be earlier firmware issue and fixed already. It should also warmer now for battery to perform normal.

Try just hover low for one fully charged battery. See is the battery discharged normally or not. You can put some thick soft pads on ground below MA to prevent it  suddenly fall down.

The suggested operating temperature range of Mavic AIR /PRO is 32° to 104° F (0° to 40° C) , isn't it ?  https://www.dji.com/mavic-air/info#specs  

GDL Posted at 2018-6-13 22:12
Can you try upgrade the firmware for the battery and test again? This may be earlier firmware issue and fixed already. It should also warmer now for battery to perform normal.

Try just hover low for one fully charged battery. See is the battery discharged normally or not. You can put some thick soft pads on ground below MA to prevent it  suddenly fall down.

That is something I was not aware could be done (update battery firmware). I will search that out and figure out how. Thank you.