A Southwest Airlines jet made a safe emergency landing after blowing a tire during takeoff Friday.
Emergency crews were standing by as the jet made its emergency landing at Dallas Love Field on Friday morning.
Southwest Airlines said Flight 8 was en route to Austin when the tire problem was discovered after takeoff.
The Boeing 737-700 returned to Love Field and made a fly-by so that ground crews could look for potential damage. The plane circled and returned for a final approach.
NBC 5's Chopper 5 showed the plane landing with smoke coming from the outboard left side tire as it touched down.
The plane slowed and came to a stop without incident, and emergency crews met the plane. Ground crews then changed the tires and towed the plane in from the runway.
All 125 passengers and a crew of five were put on another plane to continue their journey to Austin, according to Southwest Airlines.
Passengers said the plane had been in the air for about an hour and was nearly to Austin when it turned back to Dallas.
Some passengers described the mood on board as "jolly," saying people were joking and laughing.
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Eric Maas, who got off the flight after missing a morning meeting in Austin, said he was nervous.
He texted his wife to let her know what was happening and immediately started Googling to learn of other incidents with landing gear.
"I was nervous, but I had my game plan. I was like, 'OK, if something happens what am I going to do?'" Maas said. "I was just kind of waiting to see, but I felt weird because I was like the only person I thought was panicking, and I was just quiet in my seat."
David Hannah praised the captain for keeping passengers informed the entire time and for landing the plane safely despite the damaged tire.
"We did the fly-by and then we circled back around then we landed," Hannah said. "When we landed you could definitely tell from the left side of the plane that there was a shudder or rumble on that left side, and then we were informed by the captain that our left two tires - that one was damaged and it was off the rim, and the other was shredded.”
