Chapter Summary:

Crisis: The flare’s pilot and igniter fail; the reassuring flame goes out. Anxiety rises across the platform.
Improvised solution: With choppers grounded, a boat positions downwind; a Very pistol (flare gun) shot lights the gas at the tip—twice.
Aftermath: A new flare tip is installed; the episode becomes a lesson in initiative under uncertainty.
Takeaway: Preparation is vital—but so are calm improvisation, teamwork, and physics intuition.

Additional Notes:

You can listen to a Pecha-Kucha format lecture, where I discuss this "re-lighting the flare" incident with a my Intel Corporation team members on this YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/dzaY9GLWlMU