Nobody Seriously Hurt; Reports of Type of Airplane Vary

The Khaleeji Times says, with some authority, that "Khalifa Zassin, Director, Engineering Projects, at the Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA) termed the mishap as a minor incident: ..."The hydraulic brakes in the right hand landing gear of the Boeing 767 aircraft had been broken, and this led to a minor fire."

The fire lasted about a minute, and was quickly extinguished by fire crews at the 'World's Favourite Airport,' as Dubai was recently named.

The Times also noted that there were 218 passengers and 11 crew, and that "Dubai International Airport, [is] the only one in the world currently to achieve a Category 10 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rating for its Fire Safety services."

Gulf News, though, while reporting the same 218/11 complement, says that, "The aircraft, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 707 from Addis Ababa was taxiing towards the terminal at about 4am."

We tend to go with the report of the 767, as 229 people would be quite a load for a 707. There's one other thing: Ethiopian flies just one 707, a freighter... [and we know that's neither, above --ed.]

The fire was apparently spotted first by ATC personnel, who noticed the flames as the big 'liner came in to dock.

Gulf News, too, attributed the fire to a hydraulic leak.

FMI: www.flyethiopian.com