Chunks of metal the size of a cellphone fell onto cars in a neighborhood near Toronto airport Monday, around the same time as an Air Canada Boeing 777 made an emergency landing, CBC reported.

The airliner, bound for Japan, suffered a failure in one of its engines shortly after takeoff from Pearson International Airport.

The plane dumped fuel before returning to Pearson, landing normally using one engine. No injuries were reported.

The aircraft is thought to be fitted with GE90 engines. (GE is part-owner of NBC Universal, which is joint parent company of msnbc.com).

At least four vehicles were hit by pieces of metal, according to Peel regional police Constable George Tudos, but there was no immediate confirmation the debris was from the plane.

“We believe it is, but it's not up to us — we're not the investigating body,” Tudos told CBC.

"As it [the plane] was traveling away from Pearson we had other complaints stating that debris, consisting of metal objects, was falling from the sky," he said.

On Twitter, residents near the intersection of Derry and Kennedy Roads in Mississauga were posting photos of a vehicle’s rear windshield that was apparently smashed by falling material from the plane, Canada's National Post reported.

CBC said there were 318 passengers and 16 crew aboard Flight AC001, which took off from Pearson at 2:10 p.m. ET and returned to make its emergency landing at 3:53 p.m. ET.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the plane's crew requested the emergency landing shortly after takeoff.

A businessman who was on board the plane tweeted that passengers were told it was an engine overheating.

"Seems my plane fell apart! Luckily we managed to land it," Jason Flick tweeted, adding that the plane spent 20 minutes dropping fuel.

The passengers were given hotel accommodation overnight and were expected to resume their journey Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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