The first time I brought a DJI drone to crash: a modest experience

Hello, with other drones -enthusiasts! Today I would like to tell you one of these stories that make us all better pilots – my first drone crash. Trust me, this is both painful and instructive!

It was in 2017. I was in a place called Guangopolo and made an air coverage through an event. I probably hadn't even flew my shiny new DJI Mavic Air for two months when I received a call from one of my best friends and other photographers on a Sunday morning.

What could go wrong?

He asked me: “Do you know how to fly this drone well?”

And the ultra-confidant Rafael reacted with all the self-esteem that could fit into his huge ego: “Of course I do!”

Oh, poor Rafa, if I only had a channel like Suarez Media at this moment, to improve my spider sensual, which would have made it possible for me to avoid what came next. But no, I was full of this dangerous combination of excitement and superconscious that every new drone pilot knows too well!

Three hours quickly forward. I am at the venue. I start making general recordings that obviously fly low because I was frightening over 50 meters at that time. Funny, how beginners are either too careful or too ruthless, isn't it? In my case, I had both fear of size, but too cocky in my skills. Bad combination!

Lack of common sense? Check

We were at a place full of eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus trees are large. And in the event that you didn't know, you are the predator of the number one drone drone. They are like drone magnets, I swear! These trees seem to have a special ability to win expensive flight cameras directly into their branches.

It was the perfect storm: high trees and inexperienced pilots. The result could only be one thing – a crash. And what a crash it was!

I no longer have the film material from this fateful day (another regret – always save your crash film material as a memory!). I can only tell you that I made a backward and upward flight, a presentation recording. And of course I did not measure the height of the highest tree as an inexperienced pilot. Oh Rafa, things don't look good for you!

It must have been the third or fourth shot of the day. Remember that the original DJI Mavic Air has frontsers. If you fly forward, everything is fine (except for power lines), but if you fly backwards, you should do the minimum to prevent accidents, fly forward and calculate the heights of potential obstacles. Did I do this basic check? Of course not! I started my recording and exactly four seconds later I saw the worst pictures on my phone screen that a drone pilot never wanted to see.

Everything turned. Everything blurry. I felt it in my pocket – you know that the falling feeling when your investment of 600 US dollars falls from the sky? This feeling that makes your heart fall faster than the drone itself?

My appearance of panic was incredible. My baby fell high from almost 40 meters. Thanks to the dense and rich tree leaves, they pillow the free fall. If there are silver strips to crack in a tree, then it is the case that the drone traps of nature – much better than concrete or water!

The consequences of the drone crash

Incredible, the drone fell up from almost 11 floors and survived. It smells like eucalyptus for a few weeks (a natural drone perfume?), But the lesson that I left it back has continued. This first crash laid the foundation for my wish to teach everyone safely to fly. And I wish it had been my last crash, but there is still material for a few items. As I teach my students, there are two types of drone pilots: those who have crashed and those who will crash.

What was her painful accident or accident that broke her small, throttling heart? Was it a tree like me? Water? Or the dreaded power lines? Has your drone survived to fly another day?

Tell me in the comments! I want to know that I am not alone in the “am”Drone -Crash -Support Group!“