Balloon pilot loses control of his pilot light flame control unit. He went through 1 relight procedure but the flame could not be increased or decreased. Pilot landed as soon as possible.

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Attributes
ACN	372481
Time
Date	199706
Day	Sun
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : sts
State Reference	CA
Altitude	agl bound lower : 1500 agl bound upper : 1500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Balloon
Operating Under FAR Part	other : other
Flight Phase	cruise other landing other other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 12 flight time total : 23000 flight time type : 725
ASRS Report	372481
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	observation : passenger
Qualification	other other : other
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : critical other anomaly other other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Aircraft
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

I attempted to add heat to maneuver towards a target at sts. There was silence followed by a loud 'oh shit!' the pilot light had failed! There were 2 welder's sparkers hanging around my neck. A flick of the sparker got the pilot light burning again. When I found that I could not increase or decrease the pilot flame, I landed as soon as possible without any further problem.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: BALLOON PLT LOSES CTL OF HIS PLT LIGHT FLAME CTL UNIT. HE WENT THROUGH 1 RELIGHT PROC BUT THE FLAME COULD NOT BE INCREASED OR DECREASED. PLT LANDED ASAP.

Narrative: I ATTEMPTED TO ADD HEAT TO MANEUVER TOWARDS A TARGET AT STS. THERE WAS SILENCE FOLLOWED BY A LOUD 'OH SHIT!' THE PLT LIGHT HAD FAILED! THERE WERE 2 WELDER'S SPARKERS HANGING AROUND MY NECK. A FLICK OF THE SPARKER GOT THE PLT LIGHT BURNING AGAIN. WHEN I FOUND THAT I COULD NOT INCREASE OR DECREASE THE PLT FLAME, I LANDED ASAP WITHOUT ANY FURTHER PROB.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.