Ethiopian Air Lines Flight 3 departed Athens at 22:36 for a flight to Addis Ababa via Khartoum. The first leg of the flight was uneventful and the flight departed Khartoum at 05:55 GMT. At 06:10 the aircraft was climbing through FL105 to the cruising altitude of FL175 when the no. 2 engine fire warning light for zones 2 and 3 came on and the warning bell rang. The engine was feathered and the CO2 bottle fired. An explosion occurred however, followed by a violent fire, forcing the crew to make a gear-up forced landing on a large flat cultivated area. The aircraft skidded for 1020 feet before coming to rest. Just before the forced landing (at 1000 feet height) the no. 2 engine had dropped clear of the aircraft, causing severe buffeting and sharp lowering of the left wing. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The overheating of the brakes of the main landing gear during the aircraft’s taxiing and take-off run. It was caused by a dragging brake and a leakage of hydraulic oil with resultant fire and tire blow out. The tire blow out resulted in damage to hydraulic oil and fuel lines within the confined area of no.2 engine nacelle, between the rear spar, and between the fuselage and left side of the landing gear wheel well doors.”