LOS ANGELES — Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight from Washington DC to Los Angeles endured a bit of a scare Thursday night when the plane made an abrupt landing after losing a tire on takeoff.

A flyer recorded the stunning arrival at LAX. The cabin erupted in applause after the plane safely put the wheels down and began to slow to taxi on the tarmac.

Flight 309 had 175 passengers and six crew members on board, which landed safely at LAX around 8 p.m. with no injuries reported, according to the airline.

Those passengers included dozens of Orange County middle school students returning from a trip to Washington.

“I had to stay really calm for my daughter,” said passenger Allison Mueller of Virginia. “I was scared.”

The gear problem was noticed shortly after takeoff from Dulles International Airport.

Cabin crew reported on the radio feeling a “shock” strong enough to open some overhead luggage bins and trigger an emergency oxygen mask to fall from the ceiling.

Passengers reported hearing a “loud pop” and feeling the plane shake after takeoff.

The crew asked the airport to check the runway at Dulles to see if they might have run over something on the surface or if they had actually lost part of the tire. Crews checked the asphalt surface and confirmed they found pieces of tires.

The landing gear still retracted properly and the crew decided to continue the flight as scheduled.

“There is no reason we can abort the flight at this time,” a cabin crew member is heard saying over the radio traffic. “Just go to Los Angeles and take care of it there.”

The flight crew declared an emergency as a precaution, and fire engines could be seen ready nearby at LAX as the plane touched down. LAX officials say the plane was able to safely taxi itself to the gate without further disruption to airport operations.

Passengers were alerted to prepare about an hour before landing.

“They put us in a seatbelt,” said passenger Brent Drewette of San Juan Capistrano. “It was 10 seconds of really violent shaking. But then the emergency crews checked and brought us in and everything was fine.”

Alaska Airlines says the Boeing 737-900 will be taken out of service while the incident is investigated.

“While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely handle many scenarios,” Alaska Airlines said. “We understand this may have been a worrying time for our guests on board. We apologize for what they experienced.”