Passengers aboard a full flight from Atlanta had to brace for an emergency landing Wednesday night.

According to a Southwest Airlines representative, the Captain of Airtran Airways flight 189 heard a strange noise on takeoff and feared a tire had blown.

The Boeing 737-700 was headed to Seattle and had 137 passengers and a crew of five on board.

Passenger Kathryne Howard described the event to Channel 2's Carl Willis.

"The flight attendant said 'brace' and kept yelling that, and I got really nervous, and people were crying," said Howard.

The captain decided to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport rather than continue to Seattle.

Southwest Airlines spokesman Brad Hawkins said the plane was fully fueled for the cross country flight.

The captain circled north of metro Atlanta for an hour and a half to burn fuel and lessen the weight before attempting another landing.

"I knew it because we still weren't at elevation," said Howard. "I could still see all the lights in the city. We weren't that high."

As the plane circled, emergency response vehicles got in position to standby.

After a shaky takeoff, Howard said she prepared for an even scarier landing.

"They came on and told us to get in the fetal position, that they were going to treat this as an emergency landing," said Howard.

As Howard and the rest of the packed flight braced for the worst, the flight touched down without incident.

Another flight was brought in to complete the trip.

However, after all of the mid-air drama, Howard said she was told the captain declined to make another run. She knows it could have turned out worse, but said a potential safety issue turned into a customer service problem.

"There was no flight, and that's when people blew up," she said. "I'm sure there are people who need to get back to their loved ones or back to work today and they're here."

"Employees on the ground found nothing wrong with the tires or landing gear of the aircraft," said Hawkins. "We sincerely apologize for the delay but there is no higher concern than the safety of passengers and employees."