We’ve all done it, we immediately tried to take to the sky with a new drone, promptly crashing. It is easy to make a mistake flying your new quadcopter, so here are a few of the most common errors and what we recommend you do to avoid them.

syma-x5c-chickens

Luckily, the majority of mistakes on our list are the sort of common sense stuff that will make perfect sense to avoid when you recognize the situation. The problems may be straight-forward, but you might be surprised at how and when they show up — allow us to help you prepare for most potential eventualities from the sky.

Fly legally

You need to register your drone with the FAA before you fly!

You need a drone license before you fly!

Most drones do not come with a set of instructions on what you are and are not allowed to do with them. This is not a problem in most places around the globe, but in the United States, every craft that weighs 0.55 pounds or more must be registered and follow strict aeronautical guidelines. We have explored these before, and will do so time and again, but the short version is as follows:

Basic drone flight guidelines in the United States

  • Fly at or below 400 feet above the ground
  • Always fly within line-of-sight, if you can’t see it, bring it in
  • Stay away from airports
  • Stay away from airplanes – they have the right of way in the air
  • Do not fly over people
  • Do not fly over or close to sports events or stadiums
  • Do not fly near emergency situations such as car crashes or building fires
  • Do not fly under the influence
  • Be aware of controlled airspace – use the B4UFly app
  • Your drone will need a Remote ID broadcast transmitter

The short version of the controlled airspace situation is that you cannot fly within 5 miles of an airport, at least not without first receiving authorization from local air traffic controller for where and when you will be flying. You need to use the LAANC tool, found within apps like Airmap or KittyHawk. The FAA has a list of no-fly-zone areas that should help you keep safe and legal.

If you are flying for pay, or any other form of compensation, you must operate under a different set of rules and possess a commercial drone license. We call it the Part 107, it’s not too hard to get, but it will take some time to learn all the rules. We want to help you learn the rules and get your commercial license, check out our drone pilot training material.

Drone Rush Drone Pilot Training banner Pilot-Training-Banner


Bottom line, you cannot just go outside and fly wherever you wish, unfortunately. The rules are fairly easy to comply, just think safety and hopefully the rules don’t deter you.


Have a good attitude

Not just an approach for a healthy lifestyle, there are certain attitudes that lead to risks when flying your drone. The FAA specifically calls these out in their materials, what I’m saying is, if you are studying for your Part 107 certification exam, pay attention, here are some of the answers.

According to the FAA you should avoid the following attitudes:

Antiauthority – A tendency to believe the rules do not apply to you.

Impulsivity – Unwisely taking action before thinking through the result.

Machoism – A “hold my beer, I got this!” mentality, taking unnecessary risks. 

Resignment – A misbelief that you have no control over a situation.

In the end, the FAA is saying that you are the pilot, you are in control, and you need to conduct yourself safely and thoughtfully. It’s not like you have to log your complete flight plan before take-off or anything, just follow the rules and establish a personal set of guidelines for your flight — maybe you’ll decide to stay within an area, avoid the trees over there and remember that there are powerlines and people off to your left.

A more proactive action you can take is to set the max altitude setting in your drone app, it’s probably at 400 feet now. If your planned flight requires airspace authorization that only allows you to go up to 200 feet, go ahead and set that limit in the app and then you know you’ll stay legal.


Be patient

syma x5c drone

I understand the urge, I really do, you have a great new flying camera or toy drone and you want to put in the air as soon as possible. Please, do not throw caution to the wind, if conditions are not right, do not attempt to fly.

I learned this the hard way myself. I had a simple $30 drone that I just wanted to see how it handled, it was a windy evening, but I took the risk. No word of a lie, less than 45 seconds in the air, the wind was beyond the toy quadcopter’s capabilities and I had to go climb a tree to recover the thing. The very next morning conditions were perfect and I got to fly safely.

The tricky thing about wind, that you probably already know, but may forget in the heat of the moment, the higher up you fly, the stronger it is. Ground conditions may be acceptable, but that may not be true higher up, so take note before you fly.


Trees, light posts and power lines

I don’t have to tell you to stay clear of things like trees and power lines when you take to the sky, but these obstacles can quickly creep up on you during your flight. Wind is the leading cause of a drone veering off into the trees, but there are other factors that you should be aware of. For me, the second most problematic item is the convenient return-to-home (RTH) feature on many new drones.

First of all, you may be flying a drone at very low altitudes, with a high tree canopy above; sounds like no problem until the RTH feature initiates and you learn the hard way that it has a rather high automatic flight altitude. Most RTH modes take your drone to 60 feet (~20 meters) or more.

I had an experience once where I was manually landing a drone, I had it no more than 18-inches from the ground and was actually just hitting the joystick to take it down when the low-battery RTH mode kicked in. The drone shot 60 feet into the air, maneuvered less than 3 feet over and came back down to auto land. This drone did not allow me to override the RTH, I was at the absolute mercy of the auto-pilot – luckily I was taught to avoid taking off anywhere that has an obstacle above, but still, the neighboring trees were a lot closer than I wanted them. I never wanted that drone to go above 6 feet for that flight.

GDU Byrd Premium 1.0 review

RTH produces another risk – this one should be more straight forward: most drones recognize that they are at point A, and home is at point B, if there is no obstacle avoidance sensors on the craft, you best ensure there are no obstacles between your drone and where it calls home.

Finally, consider your control range and potential interference. That toy class drone I mentioned earlier, the one I flew in the wind, into a tree, it has a rather small operating range, about 60 feet. It is easy to fly to the edge of its connectivity, and when it gets there, the drone doesn’t just stop, despite loss of connection to the controller, the drone just keeps going for a few of the longest seconds of your life, then cuts power and drops out of the sky. If the edge of your range is semi-close to a tree line or other obstacle, please be careful.


Stay in range and be aware of controller interference

GDU Byrd Premium 1.0 review

I think I just explained this one – simple enough, most drones will advertise their effective operating range. When I say range, I am not talking about how much ground it can cover before the battery runs out, I mean the straight line distance between the controller and the craft. Stay within the listed range and be prepared to run toward your craft if you slip up.

As per the FCC, all radio frequency electronics in the United States must accept interference. While the FAA would like for anything in the sky to not experience interference, it happens. It actually happens a lot, get used to it and prepare for it. This is particularly true of video feeds if your drone is equipped with a FPV camera and live-streams video to your phone or the controller.

Obviously you should try to avoid flying places that have a high natural magnetic interference, it messes with the GPS. You will find that flying close to large structures, power lines or radio towers can be really bad. In these instances, your drone may fail to fly stable and you may actually lose control of the craft for spells of time – I hope I don’t have to tell you that that is a bad thing.

There are things you can do to mitigate these problems, but the simple solution is to consider these places unsuitable for flight.


Propeller wash

One of the most common mistakes a pilot can make is to fly too close to the ground. Keeping it low sounds like a safe thing to do, especially for first time pilots, but you are creating one of the least stable flying situations possible for a drone. It boils down to the physics of quadcopter flight. As the propellers spin, they move air downward with enough force that the craft can take off of the ground; when close to the ground, that air bounces back up to the craft.

Two things happen when you hover close to the ground: First, the drone is given an extra boost, that high pressure air helps keep the drone aloft, even though you don’t actually have enough throttle to sustain flight. You can test this with a nano drone in the house. Hover as low as you can on a table or counter, slowly navigate off the edge, the drone will drop to the floor, the propeller wash kept the drone from landing on the table, but there was not enough power to actually fly.

DJI Mavic Mini review bottom front

Second, and this is way more important, propeller wash is extremely unstable. I’ve seen drones hovering low that all of a sudden whip into a spin or even completely flip upside down. Remember, your drone is producing enough air flow to lift itself into the air; if that air bounces off the ground back up into your craft at a weird angle, strange things can happen.

For most drones, you should be safe once you are a few feet off the ground, but I might suggest what my DJI flight instructor taught me, take off, immediately go to about 7 or 8 feet in the air, hover while you re-asses your surroundings and see how things like wind are affecting your craft, then continue your flight from there.


Wind and air temperature

DJI M200 M210 M210RTK wind turbine windmill inspection

I don’t want to get too technical here, but please keep in mind that wind and air temperatures will greatly affect your flight. Wind is really straightforward – it’s stronger the higher up you are, but it’s unpredictable, it’s powerful and it can make for a bad day. Another thing about wind you may not think about is how much battery power it takes for your drone to fight wind. Take note of wind direction and speeds before you take off, make sure you’ve got enough battery to get back.

Air temperature is not as straightforward. Related reading: Air density and drones – science of flight

Have you ever seen a hang-glider in action? What about an eagle or hawk soaring? These are made possible (largely) thanks to pockets of warm, rising air. Often found over hillsides, these thermals are extremely powerful when harnessed properly. There’s a good chance that your drone does not have a large surface, like a big airplane wing, to catch a thermal like this, but there is enough to make a difference.

When flying around hillsides, particularly if you come over the edge from the crest of the hill, expect some turbulence. This can also be true when flying over altering terrain, for example, flying from the beach out over the water or from over top of cool grass to over top of hot concrete of a road or parking lot. There will be different air temperatures and potential for thermals. A thermal truly poses minimal risk to the types of consumer drones we’re taking to the sky today, but a bump in your otherwise perfect video capture can be avoided, at least, or take advantage of the thermals to get more flight time.

Finally, air pressure is drastically different at different air temperatures, with all else being equal, you would find that your battery would last longer on a cool day than on a hot day. The denser air makes it easier for the propellers to create the lift needed to fly. Isn’t physics fun?!?!


Science of Flight series

We have plenty more to read if you are interested in the science of drone flight. We are not physicists, but we know just enough to explain some of the basic concepts of how drones operate, how they fly and how to do so effectively. Be sure to check out our other Science of Flight articles to learn more.


Fly alone, don’t share until you’re ready

This sounds like terrible advice, at least it sounds rude to your fellow human beings. Truth is, flying a drone is an experience that should be had from start to finish. Think of each flight like driving a car: you are welcome to trade off with others, but not while the car is in motion. Land the drone before handing over the controls. If nothing else, you know for sure who crashed it if anything goes wrong – no need to add the risk of a bumped lever while handing the controls over.

When I tell you to fly alone, I mean to stay away from the local drone park until you know your craft. You do not need the added confusion and commotion when you first put your drone into the sky. This goes for anything that may require your attention, pets and children, for example. Remember, the FAA says you are solely responsible for everything that drone does until it is safely back on the ground. You legally need to give your drone your full attention and you should not take off if anything may pull you away before landing.

I hope you grow to be able to fly with others, however, as it can be tons of fun.


Start small

Hubsan nano drone

Reiterating what I just talked about, practice makes perfect, or at least can help make sure you are familiar with your flying machine when anything funny happens. In addition to simple practice, have you considered starting on a small device?

We highly recommend that your first drone be a toy-class unit that is, for all intents, disposable. We have a list of cheap drones you can start looking at, just inexpensive fliers that you can get the hang of things on.

To this end, we also recommend starting on something with less power. I know, you learned how to drive a car by sitting into a race car or fancy Ferrari or something, but we recommend starting small and working your way up when it comes to drones. There are powerful and fast machines out there, why not have a solid idea how to work them before hitting a wall?


If you missed it above all of the drone laws are here!


Update software before leaving your house

DJI Fly FlySafe update

Sounds like a straight forward idea, but if you are like me, you often forget to check for updates before you leave the house. Needless to say, burning up a battery, mobile data and time while in the field is a huge annoyance. You can easily avoid this grief with a quick plug into your PC and/or check for updates for the mobile app. We’ve covered how to update the DJI Mavic Pro and Spark, your other machines should be, conceptually, similar.


Batteries die, quickly

Continuing the idea of being patient, apply that to power as well. You may be tempted to take to the sky with less than a full charge. I’m not saying this is a bad idea, but there is no doubt you’ll have fun while the drone is up and will wish the battery lasted longer already. There is huge risk in running a battery low while in the air – these machines don’t just slowly drift to the ground when power gets down, they simply stop and drop.

This goes for the drone and the remote control. Remember that it is your legal responsibility to ensure that your machine maneuvers and lands safely, you should not take off if you do not think you can land. Taking off with a full charge on all your equipment is the easiest way to mitigate an incident.

Related reading: Drones with the best battery life


Don’t rely on AI

Unedited DJI Mavic 2 Pro photo

One of the primary reasons we recommend learning to fly on a low-cost toy drone is that they do not offer an abundance of autonomous flight modes. There is no doubt that autonomy, especially the ability for a GPS-enabled drone to hover perfectly in place, makes flying extremely easy. In truth, almost anyone can fly drones like the DJI Mavic Pro – tap the button to take off, it hovers with extreme accuracy, then press the button to land almost exactly where you took off.

Using the Mavic Pro for your first flight is so simple, but what did you learn? More important, what will you do if those AI features fail? Once again, practice is the key to future successful flights, over-dependence on AI is not practice.


Where is the sun?

The general idea for many of us is to capture great photos and videos from the sky, this is fantastic, but remember that basic photography rules apply. For the vast majority of drones, your source of light is the sun. That bright orange ball is both amazing and destructive when it comes to cameras, and with any sort of cloud, lighting inconsistencies can ruin your shot. This is a reality, we just have to work with it, my advice is to take a moment to plan your flight before you take off.

Related reading: DJI Mavic Pro camera review

Shooting while facing the sun can be a problem for contrast with a bright sky and dark ground, shooting with the sun on your side can put some weird shadows on objects or cause flares on the lens of your camera. Shooting with the sun behind you is ideal, just then be aware of the shadow of your drone; it can get into frame, which I think is cool, but you may not.

DJI Mavic Pro stills from video samples 7

Aside from photography, the sun offers another serious consideration, it’s bright. Have you ever sat out on a lawn chair and just stared at the sun? I sure hope you haven’t! Remember, to fly legally, you must fly in line-of-sight of your drone — this means you need to be able to see your drone at all times. If your drone is in the air such that finding it by eye means you need to stare into the sun… I hope you see what I’m trying to say.

Take the time to plan your location and your flight path, consider sun glasses and a hat, do whatever you need to protect your eyes and your drone at the same time.

One of our recommended accessories is a sun shade for your remote control. Using the FPV camera to see what your drone sees is a great way to help when things like the sun are causing you grief, a little sun shade will help make sure you can see your display without issue. Just remember, the video feed has a delay and should be used as your secondary visual method of flight.

Fly safe and have fun

DJI Mavic Pro fog featured DR

We just threw a ton of info at you, it can be a lot to take in, and weeks, if not months to master it all. I did say to be patient, didn’t I? Please take the time to make sure that conditions are right for a safe flight, and be sure to follow the rules – the FAA is not now actively out there hunting for drone pilots to penalize, they have been handing out some steep fines for overly unsafe violators.

If you keep safety in mind at all times, primarily the safety of others, we are sure you can enjoy some amazing time in the air.

Did we miss any key tricks that a new drone pilot should know before they put a machine into the air?


Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do if I crash my drone?

Turn it off! Does your drone have an emergency stop? Do you know how to activate it?

Spinning propellers are a hazard, and can cause catastrophic damage to the motors if there is an obstruction. Your biggest concern, however, is the battery. Lithium powered batteries tend to go up in flames if they are punctured. An impact may also damage the structure of the battery, leading to a bulge and possible rupture, again a big fire risk.

Damage to the chipboard or other electronics on the drone, even just the lights, can cause electrical shorts in the system — electrical shorts can cause damage to other components, including the battery. Did we mention batteries like to burst into flames?

Before you leave the crash site, make sure to check the area for all of your parts, as things like light covers and rubber feet tend to go missing pretty easily.

Consider taking photos of the area. If you have caused property damage, you should report to the property owner and facilitate repairs. This is not a drone law, follow the property law in your area.

What do I do if I crashed my drone?

Relax, we’ve all been there. Play it over in your head, what went wrong? Can you prevent this from happening again? Congrats, you learned something new today. Now for that drone, perform a thorough inspection to make sure everything is securely attached. Check the propellers for cracks, check for debris in the motors. How is the battery looking? There should be no gouges or bulging, nor any tears in the cables, no exposed wires, and the connectors should be undamaged. Replace parts as needed, don’t risk flying a broken drone.

Once the machine is mechanically recovered, be sure to fully power up and connect to your remote, to check the status of your connectivity and of the GPS module. We recommend arming the props and letting them spin for a bit, but then shut it all down and restart everything again before taking to the sky. Give your drone every opportunity to tell you if something is wrong before you take to the sky again.

Do I have to report when I crash my drone?

Generally speaking, no. There is no legal requirement to report any damage to your drone from any incident, however, if you cause damage to property or cause injury to a person, you will be liable for those damages. If you have insurance on your drone, you will have to report an accident to that insurance company, but that’s an agreement between you and the insurance company, not a legal matter.

Very important: If you are operating under the Part 107 regulations for commercial drone flight, you do have to report accidents. In the FAA’s words: “You must report any operation that results in serious injury, loss of consciousness, or property damage of at least $500 to the FAA within 10 days.” You are reporting the property damage or injuries, the cost of your drone does not factor into this evaluation.

What do I do if I lose my drone?

There are recovery tactics you can try if you lose your drone, but if your machine is not equipped with GPS that you can track, your only real solution is to start walking and hope you see it somewhere. If you followed the law and affixed your FAA registration number to the outside of your drone, perhaps someone will take actions to return your machine.

I would recommend affixing a note to your machine with info like: “If found, please call: ###.”

Remember, it is your legal responsibility to never fly in a manner that you should lose sight of your drone, let alone lose your drone entirely, so please reevaluate your flight practices if you honestly expect to lose your machine.

Loss-of-control flyaways do happen, which is more of a mechanical failure with the machine than a failure in piloting, maybe it’s best you don’t get that drone back, it’s obviously unsafe to fly.


Subscribe to our newsletter

Join our most passionate readers to get instant access to tech reviews as they arrive!