Pete Robinson said he was feeding his sheep when he heard sirens and saw a “massive response going up Blackstone Edge”.
He added: “So I went up into a top field and saw what I thought at the time to be a paraglider on the moor edge, engines and lights everywhere.”
The farmer, from Shaw, said he saw response teams running up the track to the pylon.
He said the wind was “horrendous up on the moor edge”.
Stephanie Mills, from Dickey Steps Riding School, told BBC Radio Manchester: “There wasn’t any noise – I didn’t hear anything – but there is a huge yellow parachute. There is a lot of police and helicopters here too.”
Describing the parachute canopy, Andrew Mayall, a green keeper at Whittaker Golf Club, said: “I thought at first that a massive sheet had been blown up there as it’s very windy up here.”
A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: “We can confirm that a private light aircraft left from the XLR Executive Jet Centre at around 10:00.
“We are supporting all our partners, and no further comment will be made until all facts are established.”
XLR, which has teams at Birmingham, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Exeter, describes itself as catering for “discerning private clients” and “creating a premium flying experience for VIP passengers”.