Passengers evacuated from Delta flight after tire pops during landing in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Passengers were safely evacuated from a Delta Air Lines plane on Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a tire popped after a hard landing on the runway.

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According to witnesses, Flight 1437, which was arriving from Richmond, Virginia, blew a tire after the pilot braked abruptly at about 6 p.m. EDT, causing the Boeing 757 to skid down the runway, WSB-TV reported.

There were 190 passengers on the aircraft, according to the television station.

The passengers used emergency slides to leave the aircraft and then were taken from the tarmac to the terminal by a bus, WSB reported.

According to airport officials, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and airport emergency operations responded to “an incident involving an aircraft,” according to the television station.

A spokesperson for Delta offered an apology for the inconvenience for passengers.

“We appreciate the efforts of our flight crew and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport first responders to manage through the safe landing of flight 1437 at our hub this afternoon.” the spokesperson said. “Initial reports indicate that one of the aircraft’s tires blew upon landing and components of the landing gear were hot.

“Customers evacuated via emergency slides and are being moved to the terminal via bus. We apologize to each for this experience -- nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”

Airport officials have not confirmed the exact reason why the tire popped, WSB reported. Delta said it would conduct an investigation into the incident.