• A Delta flight made an emergency landing just 10 minutes after takeoff.
• In air traffic control audio, one of the flight's pilots can be heard saying there is smoke in the cabin.
• Footage and images shared on social media showed passengers evacuating onto the tarmac.

A Delta Air Lines flight was evacuated after the pilot reported smoke in the cabin on Monday morning.

The Boeing 717 was set to fly from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Columbia, South Carolina, operating as Flight 876.

But data from Flightradar24 shows it started to turn back around five minutes after taking off from the world's busiest airport. In total, it was in the air for just over 10 minutes.

In communications published by LiveATC.net, one of the pilots can be heard declaring an emergency after ascending to 3,000 feet.

"Got smoke in the cabin and need to plan a return back," he says. "Have the fire trucks roll for us, please."

He added that there were 99 people on board.

Images shared on social media appear to show passengers evacuating after landing safely, with people standing on the wings and a slide deployed from the 717's tail.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane returned safely "after the crew reported possible smoke in the flight deck."

It added that the FAA will investigate the incident.

"The flight crew followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure," Delta said in a statement shared with a number of media outlets.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience," the airline said.

Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.