What To Do When A Drone Crashes?

Drones are now a fundamental part of the social media experience. It is common to see a lot of breathtaking panoramic shots on your Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter feed. Its influence, which started from YouTube, has transcended social media. Today a lot of short movies and documentaries feature extensive drone work. It has even created a niche of jobs and everybody wants to learn how to fly drones.

It is no easy task to fly drones. They require delicate control and spatial awareness that you need to develop rather quickly. Fortunately, drones from reputed companies like Snaptain are designed to help even the newest of drone pilots have complete control over drones.

However, crashing a drone is a very regular phenomenon. It happens to almost everyone, and crashing a drone is somewhat inevitable. So how do you avoid a drone crash? And what can you do to prevent a drone crash? We shall take a look at both of these answers and more in this article.

Why drone crashes?

There may be many reasons why drones keep crashing. It could be an unforeseen turn of events. The weather might suddenly change, rains and winds might wreak havoc on your plans. It could be your drone is low on battery or that you managed to fly it into trees, bushes, poles, and buildings. The list of reasons why you might crash your drone is endless, but you can simply try your best to mitigate the risk.

Following FAA rules, keeping your drone in your line of sight, keep the safety of the public in mind, and always be prepared for the worst. The sections below will outline what you need to do in times of trouble. Following them will help you preserve your Snaptain drone and keep it going for years to come.

Taking care of your drone aka pre-flight checks

One of the key things you must do when flying drones is to conduct pre-flight checks. Remember, just like any flying machine, it is important to conduct checks and ensure your machine is in a good state to fly. Here are few things to look for in your drone, before you start the engines.

1. Check your drone: Check your drone to see if there are any cracks, breaks, loose screws and if your drone's propellers are properly fastened.
2. Check the auxiliary app: Most drones come with a proprietary application to help you operate them. Ensure that the app is not updating and the firmware is updated to the latest version.
3. Calibrate your compass: While it may seem like the most generic advice, you must perform this every time you fly your drone. Calibrating your drone's compass will help you track your flight better and get accurate data.
4. Battery check: This should not be a piece of very important advice, however, there are people who will fly a drone without checking up on the battery levels and its temperature. Ensure that it is fully charged and the temperature of the battery is not too hot or too cold.

Crashing is inevitable; but what to do when a drone crashes?

While the title of this section might be slightly misleading, it is always a matter of when not an if when it comes to a drone crash. You cannot do much to prevent drone crash, whether it is human error or conditions that you cannot control, your precious flying machine is bound to crash. So what to do when a drone crash?

5. Follow FAA regulations: Doing this will help you retrieve your drone faster, purely based on the line of sight.
6. Use the application: A lot of drones use a proprietary application, where you can track the drone through the compass and GPS. This is especially useful when your line of sight cannot help you find the drone.
7. Check for damage: Once you locate your drone, you should quickly inspect it. In a lot of scenarios, the damage is cosmetic and it will be a broken propeller or two. You should note it down, in case you have to visit the manufacturer.
8. Remove the battery: Check the battery once you remove it, you want to see what sort of damage it has sustained. Check if the battery has leaks, if there is any swelling, or if it is noticeably warmer. Remove it immediately and consult your manufacturer before you proceed.

Test your drone

Now that you have recovered your drone, you should consider testing it

9. You can do this by first removing all the propellers, putting in new batteries, and booting it up.
10. The boot sequence will check all of the sensors, camera, firmware, and gimbal. You can simulate a flight post bootup to see if your drone is working.
11. Once you complete this step, install the propellers, and give it an actual test flight. You should do this in a lower altitude for safety purposes.
12. You want to check if your remote controller is working. Start putting the drone through the gears, if it does not respond to your command properly, you might need to take drastic steps.

Check the internet

So now that your drone is refusing to fly, you are left with two choices; one, try to troubleshoot it yourself, or two, go to the manufacturer. The latter can end up costing you money, however, for you to successfully troubleshoot the problems plaguing your drone you need to be technologically competent. Fortunately, even if you are not good with technology, there will be somebody who will have faced the same issue and the internet is a great place to find a solution.

Drone crash is a common occurrence and you are sure to find a video on YouTube or a blog on WordPress that would have addressed your issues. In fact, your drone manufacturer might also have a blog that helps you troubleshoot it or solve minor external problems. Snaptain's drones are very robust, despite that we know the chances of a crash are very high. For this purpose, you can find useful bits of information on the Snaptain website.

Find a repair center

Now that you have gone through every avenue possible and are unable to find a feasible solution on your own, it is time to find professional help. You can do this by simply searching for drone repair shops nearby. The boom in the usage of drones has also led to a rise in places that actively repair drones. These places are inexpensive, will get it done in a short span of time, and will help you learn more about how you can avoid such issues in the future. If you can't find a repair center nearby, you might have to ship your drone to a reputed repair center.

Ship the drone

Now that you cannot find any local repair centers and the internet is unable to solve your issues. You might have to look towards finding a repair center that will accept shipments. Some of the best-rated service shops in the country offer shipping and repair options.

They will accurately assess the damage, provide you with a transparent bill, show you ways to avoid making the same mistakes in the future, and will do it fairly quickly. The reason why you should consult these before you consult your drone manufacturer is that the service industry for drones is still notoriously in bad shape.

Call your manufacturer

The last straw, you might have to contact your manufacturer. If you are lucky, the damage might still be under warranty. You should tell the manufacturer every detail of the incident. It is advisable to log every bit of the incident in a post-crash note. This may help determine if it was a system failure, human error, or an unavoidable calamity. If the information is accurately recorded, the manufacturer may be able to reach a conclusion where your drone is repaired under warranty.

However, if it is not under warranty, the manufacturer might charge you an obscene amount. Luckily, Snaptain has a good warranty scheme that makes your drone eligible for service for up to a year.

Snaptain drones

The drones from Snaptain are very robustly constructed. This means they can sustain damage quite easily. The housing for the camera and gimbal is a single-piece construction, thus enhancing the protection for the most important aspects of the drone. They are designed for slightly rough use, unlike their expensive competition.

The fact that Snaptain's drones are relatively inexpensive also helps add to the value of the machine. Most modern drones cost upwards of a thousand dollars and repairs can cost in the hundreds. Snaptain's drones cost a mere fraction and repairing them is even lesser. It is a wise decision to purchase a drone from Snaptain. Their drones have robust features, clean software experience, and are easy to maintain.

Can you prevent drone crash?

Crashing a drone is a matter of when. Even the most experienced drone pilots crash and there is virtually no way to avoid it. A better outlook on the situation would be if you prepared for the crash. As long as you go through the checklist of what you need to do when a drone crash happens, you will be good.