( CNN ) -- A malfunctioning jet engine on an Air Canada flight caused burning hot debris to fall to the ground after takeoff , an official with Canada 's Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday . The incident Monday , which involved Air Canada Flight 001 bound for Tokyo from Toronto with 318 passengers and 16 crew members aboard , damaged vehicles on the ground and forced the Boeing 777 to return to Toronto . No injuries were reported . Don Enns , a regional manager at the independent Transportation Safety Board of Canada , told CTV and CP24 on Tuesday that `` some sort of failure '' inside one of the plane 's two engines disrupted the airflow , causing part of the turbine section to fly out the back . `` Those pieces as they were liberated from the engine , they came out the back of the engine , '' Enns said . `` Essentially , it just fell out the back of the engine , fell down , and unfortunately , we had cars underneath them . '' He called such an occurrence `` very rare , '' saying the last time he could remember a similar incident was a decade or more ago . Engineers would dismantle the engine involved and study similar engines to try to learn why the malfunction occurred , Enns said . Boeing said in a statement that it `` stands ready to assist the Canadian regulator , if we are asked to participate . Per international rules Boeing has to be asked by the regular to participate in the investigation . '' Boeing said it would provide technical expertise about the airport and `` The engine manufacturer , GE , will have a similar role . '' For its part , GE said in a statement that it had sent a technical representative to Toronto for the investigation . `` The GE90 engine model powering this aircraft is among the world 's most reliable engines ... The GE90 engine fleet , with more than 1,400 engines in airline service , has accumulated close to 30 million flight hours and no aviation accident has ever been attributed to the engine , '' the GE statement said . The flight took off 2:10 p.m . ET Monday , but one engine then shut down , prompting the flight crew to follow `` standard procedure '' and return to Toronto Pearson International Airport , said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick . The crew requested an emergency landing , which Fitzpatrick said was standard because it gives certain planes first priority , though he also noted the aircraft involved is designed to run on a single engine if necessary . The plane landed normally , and passengers returned to the gate , according to Fitzpatrick . Constable George Tudos , spokesman for police in the regional municipality of Peel , said the aircraft returned to Toronto 's airport at 3:53 p.m. More than an hour before that , around 2:30 p.m. , people began reporting seeing smoke , and one spotted what may have been debris coming from a large airliner , according to Tudos . At least three vehicles on the ground were being investigated for damage . Sarabjit Sandhu told CP24 , a CNN affiliate , that she and her husband had just gotten gas at a Petro-Canada station in Mississauga , outside Toronto , when they `` heard a big noise , a bump , like boom . '' A number of vehicles in the service station 's parking lot were damaged , including a Nissan Altima with its back window shattered to pieces while its owner was inside the station 's convenience store . Pieces of gray , heavy material littered the scene , according to CP24 . `` It was so hot you could n't even touch it , '' Sandhu said of the debris .
An Air Canada flight had to return after takeoff from Toronto due to engine failure . The engine failed , sending debris out the back , an official says . The cause of the malfunction will be investigated . No injuries were reported , but some aircraft were damaged .