Seventeen years after it crashed on takeoff at a remote site in the Antarctic, a ski-equipped Hercules aircraft Sunday flew over the ice and snow that had once buried all but three feet of its tail.

Outfitted with overhauled engines and propellers, the plane, a Lockheed LC-130, took off from the site known as D-59, about 800 nautical miles northwest of McMurdo. Nearly five hours later, at 10:56 P.M., it touched down on the ice ''skiway'' at Williams Field and was toasted with California champagne.

After inspection and further work here, it is to go on to Christchurch, New Zealand, for further repairs before returning to the United States for modernization. Dug Out Last Year

After crash-landing in 1971 on a resupply mission to an international traverse party, the plane was deemed unrecoverable and stripped for parts. Later evaluations led to a change in plans and the plane was dug out of the ice last year.