A hot air balloon pilot with the Ashland BalloonFest died Friday night following an incident.
According to officials, the 74-year-old pilot suffered a fatal injury when he hit his head on the burner while disassembling the balloon.
Update from Ashland @balloonfestlive: The committee is not ID'ing the pilot who passed away Friday night, as the FAA investigates the incident. They did tell me after the balloon landed & the pilot was disassembling it, he hit his head on the burners sustaining fatal injuries.
— Meg Shaw (@MegDShaw) June 30, 2018
The pilot was identified as John Moran, 74.
John Moran ID’d as pilot who died Friday night during incident at the 28th annual Ashland @balloonfestlive. This was his 23rd with the event. Organizers say he was a staple to the festival & will be missed by many. @WEWS pic.twitter.com/CDz3ssTrh4
— Meg Shaw (@MegDShaw) June 30, 2018
The Saturday morning competition flight was canceled as a result. The evening competition and festivities will continue as planned.
They called the pilot a 'staple' of the festival and said he's been a long-time pilot. They are planning to continue with tonight's scheduled activities and competition flights.
— Meg Shaw (@MegDShaw) June 30, 2018
The Ashland Balloonfest committee released the following statement:
The Ashland Balloonfest committee is saddened by the loss of Balloonist, John Moran. 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 FAA is investigating the incident.
