Pond Inlet (Sep 04/06) - A military Twin Otter aircraft that got stuck in the mud after landing at a remote airstrip won't be going anywhere until after freeze-up.

The plane was carrying military personnel involved in Operation Lancaster when it landed at Siuralik, roughly 175 kilometres northwest of Pond Inlet, at the tip of the Borden Peninsula Aug. 18. The location was one of three observation points set up by the Canadian Armed Forces to monitor ship traffic through the Northwest Passage.

Capt. Joanna Labonte, spokesperson for Canadian Forces' Joint Task Force North, said the plane sank into the "austere runway" after it came to a halt.

"Nobody was injured," she said.

The soldiers continued their travel back to Pond Inlet by helicopter.

Labonte said the plane was hoisted out of the mud, but will wait until the ground starts to freeze before it is flown out of the site.

Rangers from Pond Inlet were guarding the site and being rotated in and out in groups of four. Labonte said the military is worried curious polar bears might damage it.