Self-commanded ascent

[Palawan]

I was navigating through some tree branches to get shots of kids jumping from the tree to the river below. I was backing out in preparation to come home when the five second low battery 25% warning flashed on and before I could do anything the drone shot straight up, full speed, into the branches and then fell to the river below. The battery was ejected, the kids said the propellers were turning under water.
I flushed it out with the cleanest available water and then set it in the sun, though the sky was overcast. The drone still flies, but none of its sensors work, including the camera. I flew it up a few meters and then put it to rest.
What happened? According to google maps I was just at fifty meters from the drone, cannot judge whether more or less. I think I had good satellite coverage, at least that's been my experience in even remote regions of Palawan province. The coordinates attached to still pictures were accurate.
10:00:24.0444N 118:53:37.2660E
10.006679N 118.893685E
If you stuff those coordinates into google maps you see precisely where the drone was, between those two trees on the riverbank. Are there any maps showing satellite density around the world? I don't know whether the drone was in GPS or ATTI mode.
The notice on the screen is that in five seconds the drone will come home, but no where in the manual can I find any form of five seconds. From all appearances the drone did a 737 MAX.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

So sorry . It sure sounds like your Evo automatically started to go to it’s RTH altitude? When RTH is activated for any reason, including low battery, your drone immediately goes to it’s pre-determined RTH altitude that you set — before returning home. I always keep mine at around 150’ to go above trees, but it’s a judgement call based on your surroundings & flight preferences. You can change it to whatever you think is right. Trees are dangerous enough with a full battery, just ask me, but I’d steer well clear of them with a low battery...

 

[Palawan]

I had plenty of battery to get home on my own terms from only 50 meters away, and commenced doing just that, but EVO said "I'll do it my way" and went straight up without looking. Isn't that basically what the Boeing MAX planes did, except 737 did self commanded descent? I'd like to turn RTH off and allow me to retain the responsibility of getting home. Sure, tell me at 25% battery, flash the screen red and scream at me, but let me retain control. Then if I crash it's entirely my fault; I was warned and crashed it anyway. Taking over control completely is crazy. Do all drones behave this way?

 

[Madhungarian]

I had plenty of battery to get home on my own terms from only 50 meters away, and commenced doing just that, but EVO said "I'll do it my way" and went straight up without looking. Isn't that basically what the Boeing MAX planes did, except 737 did self commanded descent? I'd like to turn RTH off and allow me to retain the responsibility of getting home. Sure, tell me at 25% battery, flash the screen red and scream at me, but let me retain control. Then if I crash it's entirely my fault; I was warned and crashed it anyway. Taking over control completely is crazy. Do all drones behave this way?

YOu can retain control but you have to hold down on the pause button on your controller for like a few seconds. I am sorry about your accident hopefully Autel can help you out.

 

[Palawan]

I had no time to do anything, is was a matter of 1 or 2 seconds before the drone crashed itself. Is there a way to turn RTH off? Do all drones behave this way?

 

[HiloHawaiian]

I had plenty of battery to get home on my own terms from only 50 meters away, and commenced doing just that, but EVO said "I'll do it my way" and went straight up without looking. Isn't that basically what the Boeing MAX planes did, except 737 did self commanded descent? I'd like to turn RTH off and allow me to retain the responsibility of getting home. Sure, tell me at 25% battery, flash the screen red and scream at me, but let me retain control. Then if I crash it's entirely my fault; I was warned and crashed it anyway. Taking over control completely is crazy. Do all drones behave this way?

I think yes, I’m pretty sure all drones that I’ve read/heard about generally go home as soon as the low battery threshold is reached. For consistency and safety, they immediately go to the pre-determined altitude that you can control. You can take control back, but it takes a few seconds, probably too late for you sadly....

BTW, the 737 issue is much more complex, and there’s fault on all sides beyond Boeing — including pilot training. The S/W fix is pretty straightforward, built to overcome insufficient training and faulty sensor data. The MCAS autopilot add-on system wasn’t fully explained in the manuals, but airlines knew about it. How they chose to train their pilots is up to them. Both airlines in question have spotty training records, and pilot experience (hours in 737) was a factor. A Southwest pilot told me they only grounded them b/c Trump was lobbied hard to declare a worldwide grounding by the FAA. AA didn’t want to ground them either. Several aviation websites claim the FAA has much fault too, they approved MCAS, the training manuals & training — and they hired Boeing to help them certify the MAX! No conflict there............

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Sorry about your crash. I have seen others complain about how the EVO reacts to the low battery alarm and how they really had no time to hit the pause button. They (Autel) are pretty good at working something out to help you cut the cost down to get you back in the air enjoying your EVO.
First you need to start a ticket with them. Make sure you explain everything that happened. I find the more info they have will only help you in the end.
Good luck

 

[Palawan]

Sorry about your crash. I have seen others complain about how the EVO reacts to the low battery alarm and how they really had no time to hit the pause button. They (Autel) are pretty good at working something out to help you cut the cost down to get you back in the air enjoying your EVO.
First you need to start a ticket with them. Make sure you explain everything that happened. I find the more info they have will only help you in the end.
Good luck

I sent a note to customer service briefly describing what happened, not really a complaint. I wait their reply. What really bugs me is that I had plenty of battery energy to make the 50m journey back home, everything was under control as I was backing my way out from under the branches. Once free from the branches it was a straight flight home, and I would have been in continuous sight of the drone all the way. EVO has no upward facing sensors? Yet felt it was better armed with knowledge of how to get home than me, who could see all around? EVO has the ability to calculate the energy needed to get home so it shouldn't have panicked like it did. It pushed me out of the driver's seat. Thanks to all for sympathy. I guess the lesson is don't go in for the good shot.

 

[swings16]

I had the exact same thing happen to me TWICE

The First time i was a new flier and it scared the crap out of me

the Second time i panicked for 2 seconds before remembering that it was doing exactly what it was supposed to do

I am learning more every time i fly but learning in my late 60's is an uphill situation

When i got my first drone (been sitting in the box since getting my Evo) my son in law,a young man,had my MP up and running in minutes..i had looked at the manual days before and it was all LITHUANIAN to me (giving a break to the Greeks)...he had it up and flying as if he had flown it many times

I still am learning each time i fly...i make errors often (like more than a week ago when i failed to engage the Antennae before flight and it crashed and the Camera was affected and i am awaiting its return after sending it back for repair almost a week ago)

I took the MP out of moth balls and flew it a couple of days ago...it flew well and it was fun but the screen program was giving me WARNINGS...restrictions etc. I fly with safety in mind..i am cautious..i don't have to be told how behave...I am OVERLY cautious at times...i live in one of the most heavily populated places on earth and i don't want to hurt anyone...i am constantly aware of flying safely...The rare times i fly "in the country"..UPSTATE NY...i fly with only the safety of the Evo...Nobody around for miles and i give the Evo free reign...Hoping i get my Evo back soon...this other one doesn't cut it

 

[fly186]

From the manual....
" If the aircraft is within 50 horizontal meters from the home point when your aircraft battery level reaches 25% (Low Battery Warning), the aircraft will not perform the Go Home procedure."

 

[Palawan]

From the manual....
" If the aircraft is within 50 horizontal meters from the home point when your aircraft battery level reaches 25% (Low Battery Warning), the aircraft will not perform the Go Home procedure."

Yeah, I saw that too. According to google maps (I grabbed GPS from the stills I took) the drone was right at fifty meters away from home.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Yeah, I saw that too. According to google maps (I grabbed GPS from the stills I took) the drone was right at fifty meters away from home.

It’s certainly possible the Evo measured the distance at 52 meters? If so, wouldn’t it then go straight up for RTH? I’m not trying to be a wise-as*, I’m just saying that Evo is just a semi-smart $999 machine. What we’re learning here — don’t cut it so close — battery or distance-wise. Autel should add a 5-10 sec ascent delay after the warning to give folks a chance to avoid disasters though. On the XSP, we have a few seconds, but very few...

I’ve learned so much from this forum — once again I learned something new. Never be near an overhead obstacle with anything close to a low battery. By sheer luck, that’s never happened to me, but looking back, it easily could have...

 

[Palawan]

It’s certainly possible the Evo measured the distance at 52 meters? If so, wouldn’t it then go straight up for RTH? I’m not trying to be a wise-as*, I’m just saying that Evo is just a semi-smart $999 machine. What we’re learning here — don’t cut it so close — battery or distance-wise. Autel should add a 5-10 sec ascent delay after the warning to give folks a chance to avoid disasters though. On the XSP, we have a few seconds, but very few...

I’ve learned so much from this forum — once again I learned something new. Never be near an overhead obstacle with anything close to a low battery. By sheer luck, that’s never happened to me, but looking back, it easily could have...

I didn't take it as wise-a*s at all. I'm sure that's exactly what happened. I joined knowing this was a friendly group, everyone trying to learn and pass the knowledge on to others. . . EVO could have been a bit more aware that the pilot might actually have the situation handled, and then given the pilot the option of activating Go To Home, the default being let the pilot bring EVO home. There was no emergency here until the automated system took over.

 

[MTPro]

The EVO will start RTH once the low battery warning kicks in. You set that in the app as well as RTH height.

RTH settings are something you set for the area in which you fly. If no trees or over ocean or lake, no sense setting to 120 feet and fighting potentially higher winds at that alt. Set these all before you fly. Know your surroundings. Flying near trees is a disaster waiting to happen. Why? reasons as in the OP, and other examples of users buzzing around trees and hitting them.. ie goes to ATTI mode if GPS is lost, most panic and the drone whacks the trees or worse.

Just note with any drone, the automated systems are a priority. Good to go to big field and learn the functions so when the time comes, you can react in a timely manner. Most drones give you a few seconds to cancel, but in that few seconds, most are not prepared and that time flies fast thus the cancel option isn't performed and the drone does as intended. Drones with OA often disable OA during RTH emergency battery level because it reserves all power to return. If not, they just auto land where they are.

Again I highly recommend taking any drone to a big field, working the RTH, working other functions, practicing cancel of the automated functions as well as pauses for flight modes etc. Another good thing is to learn braking distances. OA does not mean the craft stops when you release the sticks. Faster speed modes require more braking distance. I have seen many drone pilots fly right into trees with OA active. Then they get upset about the crash. The drone is doing what it was designed to do.

Most of us have experienced crashed drones for whatever reason. Some are user error, some are mfg faults, bad or no battery maintenance, no prop inspections to ensure the props are secure and or mounting tabs are not cracked or missing.. (seen that a few times on many drones).

I hope Autel can help you in this. Given the circumstance of the crash, it would take some investigation. They may fix it under warranty, or they may fix it as non warranty but perhaps discounted. They are pretty reasonable. We had a pilot in the co crash one. Trashed the gimbal and mounting plate. They fixed it, but it was discounted. I cannot fault them in that. This pilot did not observe his surroundings and hit a building coming around. He was in Std 34 mph mode which disables OA. He said he was in 11 mph mode with OA active. Craft stats said otherwise, so did his basic flight log. He was doing 31 mph when he hit the building. Our co had me train him in an area, and then affirm his piloting skills were enough to manage his solo flights again... and best yet don't blame the equipment for your own failures to recognize the environment. We bought 3 Evo's but did not expect Autel to eat this one.

Anyway, I hope your bird gets fixed and you can return to enjoy flying again.

 

[mavicn00b]

I had my Mavic 2 do something similar. Auto RTH was kicking in just as I was bringing it in to land under some trees. Wasn't looking at the screen as I had a visual on the drone and missed countdown sequence.

So it flew took over, RC started beeping, flew forward and began to ascend momentarily until a new feature kicked in and saved my bacon. Topside obstacle avoidance. I literally $*** my pants and thanked my lucky stars for that feature.

As it turned out I had the volume key low on my phone and missed the 10sec audible warning for the countdown. Had it been on I could have cancelled in time. With the Evo you can pause RTH rather than hold it down. It won't completely disengage RTH but will let you regain control.

The flight logs should show in Evo explorer how far the drone thought it was from home before initiating a return. It would have also prompted you in the app if you used your phone to fly. Can't say for sure although I think the app also gives an audible warning..

 

[MTPro]

I had my Mavic 2 do something similar. Auto RTH was kicking in just as I was bringing it in to land under some trees. Wasn't looking at the screen as I had a visual on the drone and missed countdown sequence.

So it flew took over, RC started beeping, flew forward and began to ascend momentarily until a new feature kicked in and saved my bacon. Topside obstacle avoidance. I literally $*** my pants and thanked my lucky stars for that feature.

As it turned out I had the volume key low on my phone and missed the 10sec audible warning for the countdown. Had it been on I could have cancelled in time. With the Evo you can pause RTH rather than hold it down. It won't completely disengage RTH but will let you regain control.

The flight logs should show in Evo explorer how far the drone thought it was from home before initiating a return. It would have also prompted you in the app if you used your phone to fly. Can't say for sure although I think the app also gives an audible warning..

One of the lucky ones. We have had 3 or 4 guys (new) here in our drone club that have put M2P's in the trees, and not always a great ending.

 

[jcommstudios]

I was navigating through some tree branches to get shots of kids jumping from the tree to the river below. I was backing out in preparation to come home when the five second low battery 25% warning flashed on and before I could do anything the drone shot straight up, full speed, into the branches and then fell to the river below. The battery was ejected, the kids said the propellers were turning under water.
I flushed it out with the cleanest available water and then set it in the sun, though the sky was overcast. The drone still flies, but none of its sensors work, including the camera. I flew it up a few meters and then put it to rest.
What happened? According to google maps I was just at fifty meters from the drone, cannot judge whether more or less. I think I had good satellite coverage, at least that's been my experience in even remote regions of Palawan province. The coordinates attached to still pictures were accurate.
10:00:24.0444N 118:53:37.2660E
10.006679N 118.893685E
If you stuff those coordinates into google maps you see precisely where the drone was, between those two trees on the riverbank. Are there any maps showing satellite density around the world? I don't know whether the drone was in GPS or ATTI mode.
The notice on the screen is that in five seconds the drone will come home, but no where in the manual can I find any form of five seconds. From all appearances the drone did a 737 MAX.

@Palawan You can reset your low battery warning in the Explorer app. Hit the Aircraft Battery tab and slide your Critical level to 10% and your Low warning to 15%. If you keep and eye on your remaining time low would still allow you 4 minutes to land and critical would be about 2.5 minutes. Also you can override an RTH by holding the pause button (the one with two red vertical bars) for 3 seconds and you will regain control of the drone.

 

[Palawan]

Anyway, I hope your bird gets fixed and you can return to enjoy flying again.

Anyone remember Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces"? That's how it is whenever I see something orange.
I wrote to Autel customer service, emphasizing that I had everything under control, that 25% battery was more than enough to make the fifty meter flight home as I was backing away from the branches. No reply. So much for Autel customer service.
Anyone willing to perform an experiment? Get your drone hovering at least fifty meters away (I think RTH doesn't activate if you're closer than fifty meter away), then while holding the Pause button see if EVO will still obey commands. If it does, then, while still holding Pause, wait until the drone battery passes through the 25% threshold. If EVO stays put and doesn't activate RTH, maybe this is a way to override RTH. Of course, Orbit and EVO's other tricks won't work, but if I buy another EVO I'll have a spare controller and using these instructions to open up the controller

Autel EVO controller disassembly instructions

see attached file...

autelpilots.com

I can permanently hold the Pause button down on one of my controllers.

 

[Nightbat2]

I sent a note to customer service briefly describing what happened, not really a complaint. I wait their reply. What really bugs me is that I had plenty of battery energy to make the 50m journey back home, everything was under control as I was backing my way out from under the branches. Once free from the branches it was a straight flight home, and I would have been in continuous sight of the drone all the way. EVO has no upward facing sensors? Yet felt it was better armed with knowledge of how to get home than me, who could see all around? EVO has the ability to calculate the energy needed to get home so it shouldn't have panicked like it did. It pushed me out of the driver's seat. Thanks to all for sympathy. I guess the lesson is don't go in for the good shot.

When you say you had plenty of battery, what percentage was it showing when the accident happened?

 

[Palawan]

When you say you had plenty of battery, what percentage was it showing when the accident happened?

25%, to the best of my memory. It all happened fast, but I recall the 25% warning flashed and then immediately the drone shot upwards. The drone fell in the river, and the battery ejected itself. At first the battery acted weird, the second LED flashed when the test button was pressed. Now, over a week later, the first LED flashes four times, it seems to be acting normally again. If I understand the LED's, that means 12.5%? It's getting bulgy and won't fit into the drone. I don't dare try to charge it. Is any of this information on the SD card? It seems to be working.