A glider pilot triggered an emergency response after performing what he described as a “routine” landing in a Perthshire field.
Four fire engines, two ambulances and police descended on Middlebank Farm in Errol after a report the glider had crash landed at around 5pm on Thursday.
But pilot Geoff Hughes, of Lancashire, maintained it was a textbook landing, if not at his chosen destination.
“It’s routine,” said Mr Hughes, 45, who chairs Bowland Forest Gliding Club, based near Preston.
“We’re trained to select appropriate fields that are safe to land in.”
Having set off from Portmoak Airfield near Kinross, he had intended to pass over Glamis and return to the Scottish Gliding Centre near Loch Leven.
But the thermals keeping his glider airborne started to weaken and he was forced to land in the barley field.
He added: “The advantage of coming to Scotland is the terrain. It’s got lots of good fields for landing in.”
Middlebank Farm is owned by Russell Taylor, who said the pilot was fortunate the conditions were dry.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews had turned up to discover it was a false alarm.
