The wait is not yet over for the families of World War II plane B-24 J nicknamed “Hot As hell.” We first wrote about it in a comprehensive article Hot as Hell, Found in Paradise. US and India have agreed – disagreed – agreed over the recovery of the plane. Since the discovery on 7 December 2006, by a private American investigator, Mr. Clayton Kuhles, joint Indian-US Defense Policy Group (DPG) have met may times with no results. Finally the families were told that the recovery will be during September-November 2010.

In late June 2010, the families of the “Hot as Hell” crew received the note below from the US Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) to all the “Hot as Hell” families. JPAC spokesperson Cheryl Holm told the families in the note that the conclusion of “Hot as Hell” recovery operation, originally scheduled for September-November 2010, has been delayed a year, until September-November 2011. This change in plans came as a great shock to the families of the fallen soldiers.

The JPAC reasoning is that needed negotiations with the Indian Government regarding MEDEVAC and communications procedures could not be completed and therefore the final phase of the recovery had to be delayed a year. The note reads:

This spring, JPAC started attempts to coordinate technical talks with GOI representatives to establish the groundwork for logistical requirements needed to conduct the operations, e.g., guides, communication frequencies, area access, provincial contacts/coordination etc. Despite our best efforts, no time window became available to establish the necessary arrangements with the GOI for this recovery operation. JPAC is still attempting to gain clearance to conduct investigation and survey operations in a nearby province and plans to deploy teams in the November 2010 time frame if that clearance is granted and logistical arrangements can be made.

The technical meeting for this mission is critical to ensure a successful and safe excavation and must be the first step taken toward the next excavation of MACR 2140. As you might be aware, the site is in Arunachal Province, which is involved in a territorial dispute between India and China. Also, the site is in a remote and rugged area, heightening the need to establish sound medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) procedures and communication capabilities to ensure the safety of our team members and those accompanying the team.

US can push through multi-billion deals like C-130 J Hercules, P-8I Poseidon etc. Its hard to fathom that US is not able to push through a simple recovery deal. The standards set by US for recoveries is amazing, as Locals living in Arunachal Pradesh frequent this place and manage to take off the plane parts and sell it in the local market as scrap. Even US knows, if they follow the procedures of Indian government to the hilt, they will get their job done in another 60 years. Why is that they don’t follow this case with same fervor like they do with multi-billion dollar jobs? Or is it that US won’t push, unless its contractors don’t benefit?