ASHLAND – John Moran, a Cortland area man and a 23-year veteran of Ashland Balloonfest, has been identified as the man who died in a post-landing incident following a flight Friday evening.
Moran, 74, was piloting a balloon called Tetris, a largely white balloon with a multicolored pattern during the 28th annual Ashland Ballonfest.
“The Ashland Balloonfest committee is saddened by the loss of balloonist, John Moran,” Balloonfest committee president Mindi Cantrell said Saturday afternoon in a news release. “John was a staple here at our event, this being his 23rd year with us. John loved the sport and the ballooning community. He will be deeply missed by so many.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. We will be honoring the memory of John tonight at our balloon glow, scheduled for 9:15 p.m. at Freer Field,” the release said.
Friends of Moran’s who declined to be named said he lived in and worked for Johnston Township near Cortland, Ohio. Moran’s Facebook page indicates he served as the township’s fiscal officer.
“We lost a dear friend,” balloon pilot Walt Rudy said of Moran. “He was an ambassador for ballooning, and several of the pilots here grew up with him.”
Moran was a Kubicek Balloons dealer who repaired and inspected balloons in his shop. Like many balloon pilots, Moran enjoyed sharing his love of ballooning with others and teaching people how to fly, friends said.
“He really jumped into everything with a passion,” Rudy said.
Friends described Moran as eccentric and even a little goofy. He raised free-range chickens on his fifth-generation family farm, and he would give away the eggs to anyone who would promise to return the cartons.
He loved ice cream and was even known to carry a scoop in each hand. He also cared for his black lab, Jackson, and he was actively involved in church.
Rudy remarked that while Moran will be deeply missed, the pilot died while doing what he loved.
“You’ve got to live your life like every day’s going to be your last,” Rudy said.
The incident that led to Moran’s death occurred around 8 p.m. Friday, shortly after Moran’s balloon landed in a field on the 100 block of Eastlake Drive just outside city limits on Ashland’s north side.
“During disassembly of the balloon the pilot hit his head on the burners, sustaining a fatal injury,” Cantrell said in a press release.
Balloonfest cancelled its morning flight Saturday but is holding all other events as scheduled. The pilot meet-and-greet was abbreviated due to hot weather.
Several balloon pilots emphasized their belief that hot air ballooning is generally safe and their knowledge that Moran was a pilot who took safety seriously.
In an interview with a Balloonfest pilot prior to Friday’s incident, pilot Jeff Conley explained the training the FAA requires of balloon pilots.
“You have to have a certain number of hours being trained by a commercial pilot that has been passed for the FAA instruction,” he said. “Once you do that, you have to have a minimum number of solo flights, meaning only you in the basket flying, and then pass an exam with an FAA examiner actually flying, going over all aspects of emergency landings, safety, altitude difference, just a conglomerate of things you learn in your training.”
The incident remains under investigation by the FAA. The Ashland Post of Ohio Highway Patrol, Ashland Fire Department and Ashland Police Department also responded to and assisted at the scene.
