ISLAMABAD, Pakistan_A Pakistan-bound passenger jet from the country's national airline returned to Toronto with engine trouble shortly after taking off from the Canadian city on Wednesday, airline officials and a news report said.
The Pakistan International Airlines direct flight, bound for the eastern city of Lahore, landed back in Toronto after one of its engines began malfunctioning, said Chaudhry Mohammed Bashir, a spokesman for the airline.
The engine of the plane began vibrating as it climbed, the Associated Press of Pakistan said, quoting a news release from the airline.
The PIA Boeing 777-200 jet was carrying 200 passengers and 10 crew members, Bashir said.
The aircraft safely returned to Toronto after about one hour into its flight, an official in PIA's engineering department said on condition of anonymity because he did not have the authority to make media comments.
The engine No. 1 of the plane was "badly" damaged and must be replaced, he said.
The plane is expected to take off from Toronto on Thursday and its Pakistan-bound passengers have been accommodated in hotels, Bashir said.
The fan of engine No. 1 malfunctioned and "damaged the acoustic panels," causing postponement of the flight, APP quoted the PIA news release as saying.
PIA authorities will investigate what caused the trouble, the report said.
