The First Time I Crashed a DJI Drone: A Humbling Experience That Changed Everything

Hello there, fellow drone enthusiasts! Today I want to share with you one of those stories that make us all better pilots – my first drone crash. TRUST me, this one’s both painful and educational!

It was back in 2017. I was at a place called Guangopolo, doing aerial coverage of an event. I probably hadn’t even been flying my shiny new DJI Mavic Air for two months when, on a Sunday morning, I received a call from one of my best friends and fellow photographer.

What could go wrong?

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

And ultra-confident Rafael responded with all the self-esteem that could fit in his enormous ego: “Of course I do!”

Oh, poor Rafa, if only at that moment I had a channel like Suarez Media to improve my spider-sense that would have allowed me to avoid what was coming next. But no, I was full of that dangerous combination of excitement and overconfidence that every new drone pilot knows too well!

Fast forward three hours. I’m at the event location. I start taking general shots, obviously flying low because at that time, going above 50 meters terrified me. Funny how beginners are either too cautious or too reckless, isn’t it? In my case, I was both – afraid of height but overconfident in my abilities. Bad combination!

Lack of common sense? Check

We were in a place full of eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus trees are tall. And in case you didn’t know, they’re the number one predator of drones flown by unsuspecting pilots. They’re like drone magnets, I swear! These trees seem to have a special ability to attract expensive flying cameras directly into their branches.

It was the perfect storm: tall trees plus inexperienced pilot. The result could only be one thing – a crash. And what a crash it was!

I don’t have the footage from that fateful day anymore (another regret – always save your crash footage as a reminder!). All I can tell you is that I was doing a backward and upward flight, a presentation shot. And obviously, as an inexperienced pilot, I didn’t measure the height of the tallest tree. Oh Rafa, things aren’t looking good for you!

It must have been the third or fourth shot of the day. Remember that the original DJI Mavic Air has front sensors. If you fly forward, everything’s fine (except in cases of power lines), but if you’re flying backward, the minimum you should do to prevent accidents is first fly forward and calculate the heights of potential obstacles. Did I do this basic check? Of course not! I started my shot and exactly four seconds later, I saw on my phone screen the worst images a drone pilot never wants to see.

Everything was spinning. Everything blurry. I felt it directly in my pocket – you know that sinking feeling when your $600 investment is plummeting from the sky? That feeling that makes your heart drop faster than the drone itself?

My look of panic was incredible. My baby was falling from almost 40 meters high. Thanks to the dense and abundant tree leaves, they cushioned the free fall. If there’s any silver lining to crashing into a tree, it’s that they’re nature’s drone catchers – much better than concrete or water!

The aftermath of the Drone Crash

Incredibly, the drone fell from almost 11 stories high and survived. It did smell like eucalyptus for a few weeks (a natural drone perfume?), but the lesson it left me has lasted until today. This first crash laid the foundation for my desire to teach everyone to fly safely. And I wish it had been my last crash, but there’s still material for quite a few more articles. As I teach my students, there are two types of drone pilots: those who have crashed, and those who will crash.

What has been your most painful crash or accident that broke your little drone-loving heart? Was it a tree like me? Water? Or the dreaded power lines? Did your drone survive to fly another day?

Tell me in the comments! I want to know I’m not alone in the “drone crash survivors support group!“