The tires of a JetBlue airplane caught fire in Sacramento, Calif., but all passengers escaped without serious injuries. (Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

The tires of a JetBlue airplane caught fire Thursday during a hard landing in Sacramento, Calif., that left 15 people with minor injuries and sent passengers down emergency slides to escape the aircraft.

Passenger Michelle McDuffie said people onboard felt a thud when the plane touched down about 12:50 p.m. PT after a flight from Long Beach, Calif., but nobody thought there was an emergency until the crew shouted for everyone to exit on the inflatable slides.

McDuffie, 33, saw the burning tires when she was on the ground.

"I was just happy that I wasn't hurt," she said.

The plane appeared to experience trouble with its brakes, and four tires blew out during the landing, airline spokeswoman Sharon Jones said.

The 87 passengers were taken to the terminal on buses, airport spokeswoman Gina Swankie said.

Five people were taken to a hospital, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately clear, she said.

Everyone was "able to slide down that slide and walk over to our triage," Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Burgess said.