What Happens When Your Drone Runs Out Of Battery?

Most of us have thought about this question before, especially those of us who have flown a drone or are in the process of purchasing one. Many of us think that when a drone runs out of its power source from a battery mid flight, it will undoubtedly come crashing down. This is not always true though, and we will answer all of your questions about it in this article. 

Sp what happens when your drone runs out of battery?

If you do not have any safety measures in place, your drone may fall out of the sky, but most of the time it will either land safely, or it may even return to its “home” location. Newer drones can even fly on their own while avoiding any obstacles that may be in their way. 

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You can also keep reading this article to learn all about drones, and what they do when their battery dies. 

Do drones always crash when they run out of battery?

Today drone technology has adapted to this situation from the far off early days when the first drones came out. Today, drones have sensors and advanced embedded technology to guide it safely home when such a situation arises. The problem is, that this is not always true and only if you use those built-in features if they are present in the particular drone you are using.

For example, let us take a look at two drones. The drones are named respectively, the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1 drones from Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. Both of them have a built-in feature called “Battery power triggered a return to home.” This feature helps these two particular drones to know how much power it has and then it can calculate if it has enough power to return home.

If it realizes that it is getting too far away from its landing area or landing destination it will immediately return to its landing area abandoning its journey so that it does not crash itself  because the battery has begun to be drained. We have come up with some guidelines or a checklist of points that you should follow before your drone starts on its journey, the guidelines listed below will help you be prepared and avoid any unexpected or unwanted incidents.

Things to do before your drone flies

• Always check the weather forecast before your drone flies.
  
• Never overload your drone with excess weight. You will want to leave out unnecessary equipment.
  
• If needed, you should take a test or rehearsal flight before you fly out to multiple locations.
  
• Always check to see if your battery is fully charged before you fly.
  
• Prepare and plan beforehand a list of areas your drone will fly over before you actually fly. This will help you avoid wasting time when your drone is high up in the air.
  

It could be possible that some of us have already faced drone crashes, even after taking what we thought were necessary precautions. To avoid the repetition of such occasions and to be safe from unwanted incidents with our drones, we have come up with a detailed list of guidelines that you can follow. If you follow these guidelines, it will prevent unnecessary crashing of your drones and to avoid such expensive accidents. The guidelines are listed below.

Guidelines for avoiding drone crashes and accidents

• Always fly your drone at or below 400 feet above the surface of the earth.
  
• Never fly your drone away from your line of sight, if it goes beyond your line of sight, immediately bring it down to the landing area.
  
• Avoid flying your drone in close proximity to an airport.
  
• Avoid flying your drone right over people.
  
• Avoid flying your drone close or above a sports arena or stadium.
  
• Avoid flying your drone near an emergency situation or accidents like a vehicle crash or building on fire.
  
• Avoid flying your drone when you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  
• Never fly your drone over airspace which is prohibited.
  
  
  

Using your drone responsibly

We all know that drones are an expensive piece of technology and we would not like it to be destroyed or damaged. The last thing anyone wants is for their drone to crash and possibly break. This is why many people will always carry multiple batteries with them depending on how long they need their drones to be up in the air. Suppose you are in a distant location and need to shoot photographs or videos in multiple locations and you don’t have access to electricity, in such conditions you can always carry multiple batteries fully charged beforehand so you do not need to waste time and can continue your work.This is a very smart move, and one that many people who are using their drones professionally choose to do. This is not only because their drone is expensive, but also because work needs done and there is only a limited time to do it in. They cannot just wait around for their drone to charge to continue working. 

Another thing that we should take into account is that there is adverse weather. The weather will decide if we should not fly our drones during such times of the day or night. This is because flying in low visibility or in rain, can cause excessive battery loss. This power will be used to keep the drone in the air, and most of the time it will not be taken into account leading to possible accidents or crashes.

The best way to avoid such incidents is to be prepared beforehand. The same can happen when we fly our drones aggressively or if we participate in a drone race. If you are doing this, you will need to be careful so that accidents and crashes do not happen due to battery failure.

We should also take into account that the battery in our drones has a limited life cycle. Sadly  their ability to store energy reduces drastically after so long. This usually occurs after a drone has flown hundreds or thousands of times and their battery has grown weak and has reduced in capacity.

We should also avoid flying our drones near trees, light posts and power lines. There is no reason to fly near these items as they are high crash areas, and flying in these locations can lead to accidents and irreparable damage to our drones. If your drone crashes and falls to the ground, it may also hurt people standing, walking or sitting close by.

Conclusion

Your drone is an expensive gadget and it serves multiple purposes depending on the particular model or use of that drone. We should always take care of it and use it responsibly to avoid it crashing or causing harm to other people or objects. Everyone loves to fly a drone, and many times people are even mesmerized by them. They are extremely fun, and although they are fun, there is some responsibility that comes with them. Now that you know what happens when your drone battery dies, you can see just how far they have come in the previous years.