NUNDA, N.Y. -- A small town in Livingston County is mourning the loss of a beloved teacher after he died in a hot air balloon accident Friday night.
"One of our Math Teachers, Ryan Almeter, had been ballooning and had suffered a fatal accident," said Thomas Kopp, Keshequa Central Schools Superintendent.
Faculty, parents and students learned throughout the day that the man killed in the accident is 34-year old Ryan Almeter, a math teacher who has been with the Keshequa Central School District in Nunda for eight years.
"I had found out first thing this morning and I thought how on Earth am I going to tell my children?" said Jamie Baran, a mother of a student.
"He was beloved. He was a math teacher, but far more than a math teacher, he wasn't an eight to three kind of guy, he was very passionate about young people," Kopp said.
State police say Almeter was restraining the basket of a hot air balloon on the ground when a gust of wind lifted up in the air according to investigators.
They believe the balloon reached about a hundred feet when Almeter let go of the basket and fell.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Students and parents say Almeter was much more than an educator. happened in a field off of Picket Line Road. Troopers say Almeter was a crew member of "Balloons Over Letchworth."
"He brought to the forefront all the good things a teacher should be, he was one of the bright spots of this school district," Baran said.
"He smiled so amazing, his smile just made everything awesome," Keshequa student Jillian Mitchell said. "It just fixed everything if you were having a really bad day and he smiled at you and it just fixed the whole day, so that's what I will miss the most."
"This is a huge loss, as I said, it's a hole in our district that won't easily be replaced," Kopp said.
"We ate lunch just about every day together, myself, him and a few other of our colleagues too," math teacher Gerald Goho. "It's going to be strange going to lunch without him sitting there, especially the personality that he had, he will be really missed by his colleagues and by the students."
District officials say grief counselors will be on hand Monday morning for the student.