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Karma Flight School: Karma versus the Auto-Landing

Shon

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In this series of threads, I will be analyzing crash videos in an effort to learn more about the limitations of technology in the Karma Drone, and how to avoid such issues myself. Hopefully such analysis will help us all fly better and avoid potentially problematic flights. I'm interested in hearing from other experienced pilots regarding their observations or "tips of the trade".


Pilot Explanation: "My Karma Gopro auto Ascended on low battery when it was 4 inches from the ground and about to land caused my gopro to auto crash!"

Analysis:

This does not appear to be an equipment failure, or "auto crash". The drone appears to have performed as programmed, and the crash appears to be due to pilot error.

Helpful hints to avoid this issue:
1. Fly in a safe area away from buildings and other potential hazards.
2. Avoid depleting the battery, leave a fuel reserve in the tank!. It is cheaper to buy spare batteries than it is to buy spare drones. Your batter will also thank you by lasting longer.
3. When landing the drone (or taking off for that matter), make sure the camera is facing away from the pilot. The drone is easier to control in this configuration, and the pilot can respond instinctively if the unexpected occurs.
4. If an automatic-landing sequence is triggered, you can dismiss the function by pressing the "x" on the controller touch screen, giving full control back to the pilot.
5. DON'T PANIC!!! During an auto-landing sequence it may appear that the pilot no longer has control of the drone. Pilots can still ascend, descend, and avoid obstacles during this sequence, even if the AI on the drone is fighting them. Keep a cool head and the drone may yet live to fly another day!
 
Good info on the "X" to take back control.

Part I'm not understanding on the video is; it would appear the pilot is trying to land but the Karma was not cooperating. Looks like he bounces off the ground a couple of times before going airborne - what do you make of that?
 
Last edited:
It’s hard to tell. He may have already been fighting Auto landing at that point.
 
Who knows where he originally launched from. Obviously not from the roof. When my auto land initiated 10 feet away from me Karma took off up to a "safe height" I'm guessing to land at home position. I X'ed it out and manually landed. This video reminds me of that.
 
Who knows where he originally launched from. Obviously not from the roof. When my auto land initiated 10 feet away from me Karma took off up to a "safe height" I'm guessing to land at home position. I X'ed it out and manually landed. This video reminds me of that.

If he didn't "x- out" continuing to press down on the left stick would eventually disengage the auto land feature. If the pilot was still pressing down on the left stick, he may have inadvertently landed on the roof. Pure speculation, but having been in a similar situation myself, The pilot feels like they have no control, and may think the drone crashed itself.
 

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