Karma Flight School: Mavic Air Crashes into Volcano

[Shon]

Purpose:
In this thread 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".

Analysis:
Wait a minute...this isn't a Karma drone! Yes...I know that. But some of the same flying principles apply.

The problems with this flight, start about 1 minute into the video. Do you see anything wrong? What about the giant cell phone tower between the man and his drone?

Cell phone towers can be camouflaged and hard to see at times. I've seen them disguised as redwoods, palm trees, water towers, flag polls, and Cacti.The one in this video is out in the open and quite apparent. The pilot even flies his drone right over the tower.

Cell phone towers can be a major hazard to drones. Signal interference may cause you to lose control of your drone or it could cause your drone to behave in unexpected ways. Avoid them.

Man...I would be crushed if I paid all that money to go on a vacation like this and lost my drone!

 

[Dirkclod]

Purpose :
Don't believe everything you read and no this isn't a Karma .P3S

Just saying

 

[Shon]

Purpose :
Don't believe everything you read and no this isn't a Karma .P3S

Just saying

Cool video .

 

[Dirkclod]

Your advice was good advice Shon I just had to post that as I have many times in the other forums .
Really it was made after I had read so many threads on yes it's a no-no and other's saying it was no issue so I tried it myself . I think where you are at and how strong the cell signal from that tower is has a lot to do with it .
I was just messing with ya

 

[Shon]

Your advice was good advice Shon I just had to post that as I have many times in the other forums .
Really it was made after I had read so many threads on yes it's a no-no and other's saying it was no issue so I tried it myself . I think where you are at and how strong the cell signal from that tower is has a lot to do with it .
I was just messing with ya
View attachment 170

No hard feelings! Lol. We all have different comfort levels when it comes to pushing the envelope. I think you make a valid point, if you fly near a tower, your drone is probably not going to drop right out of the sky. It’s an elevated risk that we shoud all be aware of, and then each of us will decide how far we want to push our luck.

Flying near a cell tower isn’t an issue until it is. A person can repeat the flight many times without issue. Thiis might create a false sense of security. But one day, a nearby tower is down, and the tower that the person is used to flying near has an extra heavy load on it. Then their drone starts acting crazy, and they can’t understand it.

Thre best analogy I can think of is that it is good advice not to play with fire. That hasn’t stopped some of us from playing with it anyway. We have also been told that if we play with fire long enough, we will get burned. Yet, many of us have played with fire all our lives and we have beat the odds. Good for us, but not for the poor souls that make up the odds.

 

[Dirkclod]

Yes I have always played with fire checking what I have read, KP index is one . Never been an issue
and in our other forums if it shows high members think they better go hide
Well not that extreme but still I find lots of the issues like that ,compass cal's, IMU cal, etc..always
seems to be talked about lots and all have different opinions .
Now have never had any experience with the Karma other than what I have read in the other forums and don't believe anything except what I have read in this forum . And am sorry if I have derailed your thread but had to mess with you a little .
Fly Safe
dc

 

[member 1016]

I also can't help but think the distance this guy flew his Mavic Air might have something to do with it (he goes FAR in that first successful flight). The Air doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Mavic Pro in terms of connectivity and I think some folks are being a little too bold.

Also, the description of the video states the battery went straight from 55% to 0% and this indicates much more of a hardware failure than a connectivity failure.

All that said, I definitely think flying the Karma near any kind of wireless transmitter is a gamble- even power lines seem to throw mine off sometimes.

 

[Shon]

I also can't help but think the distance this guy flew his Mavic Air might have something to do with it (he goes FAR in that first successful flight). The Air doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Mavic Pro in terms of connectivity and I think some folks are being a little too bold.

Also, the description of the video states the battery went straight from 55% to 0% and this indicates much more of a hardware failure than a connectivity failure.

All that said, I definitely think flying the Karma near any kind of wireless transmitter is a gamble- even power lines seem to throw mine off sometimes.

I might have read it wrong, but I think he watched the battery slowly tick down to zero, while unable to control his drone.

Either way, I respect your opinion, and I think those are valid things to watch for and consider.

I also agree with Dirkclod about panic over KP index. While I don’t think it will cause your drone to go haywire, a high index might affect the distance you can fly your drone before you start experiencing connectivity issues. While I certainly read quite a bit on the DJI forums about KP index, my personal opinion ( with only anecdotal evidence to back it up) is that the Karma and maybe even the Air and the Spark, are more susceptible to these issues than the Mavic Pro or the Phantom.

Fun fact: DJI was an RC aircraft controller company for a decade before they became a drone company.

In my opinion, their proprietary control technology definitely gives them an edge over the competition.