When a small plane makes an emergency landing at a secure, national physics laboratory, that can be a difficult, stressful and potentially tragic situation, but a private-plane pilot and Fermi Nationally Accelerator Laboratory fielded that exact scenario Sunday afternoon as cleanly as a Cubs infielder in a playoff game.

No runs, no hits, no errors.

“As far as I know, this has never happened before,” Fermilab spokesman Andre Salles said.

What happened was this. A BE36 plane took off from DuPage Airport late Sunday afternoon, had engine trouble and the pilot had to set the plane down shortly after takeoff. Finding an open, flat and safe area to do that isn’t exactly easy.

The pilot — who has not been identified as of Tuesday, Oct. 13 — found a spot and was able to make a safe, emergency landing in a cornfield off of East Wilson Street in Batavia. Salles said the plane landed at around 4:25 p.m., the pilot was the only person on board and he or she was not injured.

Although the air space around Fermilab is closely monitored, Salles said there were no security concerns and officials were just happy the pilot was able to land the plane safely.