I experienced my first crash because I was in a hurry. Totally my fault—I wanted to catch a rainbow.
Here are my steps (in this situation)
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Remove the protective cover
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Turn on the drone and let it connect
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Power on the remote.
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Turn on the hotspot (I usually need to unlock it)
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Check the drone’s GPS
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See ‘unable to launch’
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Get reminded to turn on Wi-Fi and do so
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Send LAAC request
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Send Unlock request
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Verify it’s clear for launch.
I might be missing a step or two from this list.
Today, I forgot step 1—the plastic cover.
What was strange is that I could launch (step 6), no restrictions. So I made the call and sent it up to save some time. Then, once airborne, it suddenly required restrictions on launch, so I tried to land it—only to discover the gimbal was blocked by the shield.
It wouldn’t land.
It got close to the ground and just hovered.
No big deal. The emergency stop (which was on) wouldn’t work. It had always worked before (I practiced catching it in a net with a fast lacrosse player and a big butterfly net).
No worries, I thought I’d catch and flip (done that before). Instead, it just freaked out and wouldn’t shut off.
Tried the emergency stop while holding the drone. No luck.
Tried the emergency stop while holding it upside down. Still no luck.
Starting to feel anxious… I sneak a finger under the spinning blade to hit the battery switch—no go.
Slowly let go and killed the remote… it started to land, then freaked out and crashed into a fence and the ground. Finally stopped, thank goodness.
100% prop replacement needed (which is no big deal) but…
The only odd thing was that I couldn’t authorize the area for this takeoff.
The emergency stop settings seemed to be correct.
I know the procedural error is on me. But is there a functional error beyond that that could’ve stopped the drone from shutting down? The emergency stop should have worked; I can do it one-handed, and the flip should have operated, but it didn’t. I thought those were supposed to be hard-coded.
Thank you.