Plane debris rained down “like bullets” when metal fragments fell off a Boeing 787 Dreamliner shortly after take-off in Rome.

People living under the aircraft’s flight path were pounded by hundreds of eight-inch chunks as the Norwegian jet departed the city’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport on Saturday.

“It was a storm of steel and iron,” one resident told the Il Messaggero newspaper. “I screamed and ran into the house.”

Dozens of cars and homes in the Isola Sacra area south of the city were damaged. One person reported suffering minor burns.

A witness said: “They were like bullets. My shirt was on fire.”

Blue sky thinking: How Boeing's 787 Dreamliner could change air travel forever Show all 2 1 /2 Blue sky thinking: How Boeing's 787 Dreamliner could change air travel forever Blue sky thinking: How Boeing's 787 Dreamliner could change air travel forever The Boeing 787 takes off on it's inaugural flight of at Paine Field in Everett, Washington in 2009 AP Blue sky thinking: How Boeing's 787 Dreamliner could change air travel forever Captain Mike Carriker celebrates after landing the 787 in Seattle in 2009 AFP/Getty Images

An air investigation has now been launched into the incident, which saw the plane abandon its planned flight to Los Angeles and instead, after circling twice over the Tyrrhenian Sea, return to Rome.

It is thought the debris fell from the plane’s left engine – although the extent of the problems or how at risk the 298 passengers on board were has not yet been disclosed.

A spokeswoman for Norwegian said simply that there had been “indications of a technical failure”, but added that the aircraft landed safely.

Writing on Facebook, Esterino Montino, the mayor of Fiumicino, said: “Around 4.40pm on Saturday, an aircraft taking off from the Leonardo da Vinci airport suffered a breakdown and had to return.

“During the breakdown, however, it lost metal pieces that fell at great speed to the ground.

“When falling, these fragments hit parked cars, garden sheds and other objects, damaging them."

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events