diff --git a/src/modules/local_position_estimator/BlockLocalPositionEstimator.cpp b/src/modules/local_position_estimator/BlockLocalPositionEstimator.cpp
index b7653a4047..cf7f639f9d 100644
--- a/src/modules/local_position_estimator/BlockLocalPositionEstimator.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/local_position_estimator/BlockLocalPositionEstimator.cpp
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include <systemlib/err.h>
 #include <matrix/math.hpp>
 
-orb_advert_t mavlink_log_pub;
+orb_advert_t mavlink_log_pub = nullptr;
 
 // timeouts for sensors in microseconds
 static const uint32_t 		EST_SRC_TIMEOUT = 10000; // 0.01 s