Atlanta: A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Columbia, South Carolina, returned to Atlanta shortly after takeoff on Monday (Feb 24) due to reports of a smoky haze in the cockpit, federal officials said.

Delta Flight 876 landed safely at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after the crew reported possible smoke in the flight deck, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA said it's investigating the incident, which came after a Delta plane flipped over last week while crash landing in Toronto, injuring 21 people.

Delta released a statement saying 94 passengers were on board the Boeing 717 aircraft departing Atlanta on Monday morning “when a haze inside the aircraft was observed.” It said pilots declared an emergency to get priority handling from air traffic controllers.

Once the plane landed, slides were deployed so that passengers could quickly exit. Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau said by email that “EMTs attended to two customers.”

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

-B