Yellowknife (May 17/06) - What should have been a routine cargo-drop and re-fuelling was anything but at the Yellowknife Airport Sunday.

The Russian-made 124 Antonov (AN-124) - the biggest plane still in production in the world -- was scheduled to make a two-hour stop at the airport to drop off mining equipment and re-fuel.

But getting into position proved more difficult than the Russian crew expected.

Attempting to re-position the plane onto the north/south runway for takeoff -- the larger of the two runways at the airport - the pilot was unable to keep the front-nose wheels from slipping off the landing strip.

Making the situation more difficult was the fact that the plane could not get back on the runway under its own power without risking puncturing the tires on the a runway pull-pits -- holes in the runway where electrical wiring controlling lights are located.

The pilot of the plane, Captain Sergay Andrienov, the plane's crew and airport staff, including manager Michel Lefrance, immediately set to work out a solution.

All flight traffic was directed to the east/west runway while crews tried to use the First Air loader to pull the plane back onto the runway.

After working for just under three hours, crews were able to pull the plane back onto the runway, avoiding the pull-pits and any damage to the aircraft.

The AN-124 was finally able to take off from the Yellowknife airport at 3:09 p.m. on Sunday, but not before Andrienov thanked the Yellowknife Airport staff for their help.

A representative of Polet Cargo Airlines in Russia, the company that chartered the plane, said the Yellowknife ground crew worked well together with the plane's staff.

The AN-124 was originally designed as a strategic cargo plane for the USSR Air Force, according to the Antonov Airlines website.

It is now used to ship specialty equipment including space launchers, satellites, helicopters, construction and engineering equipment, and industrial machines.