India, Aug. 7 -- On October 19, 1988, Pankesh Patel and his family were eagerly waiting to receive his younger brother Rakesh and his wife Bhavna, a US citizen. The couple had gone to Mumbai to attend the famous garba festivities at Mithibai College.

"After the wedding, they were coming home for the first time. The college was famous for garba competition and my brother and bhabhi were skilled at garba, hoping to win a prize," said Patel, now a retired bank employee.

That was not to be.

The Indian Airlines Boeing 737 Flight IC-113 that was carrying the Patel family among 129 passengers crashed on its final approach to Ahmedabad at approximately 6.53am on October 19, 1988.

The aircraft carried 129 passengers, including five children, a...