Investigation Underway: Captain Dhalla on Air India Flight 171 Crash

Former DGCA Flight Operations Inspector, Captain Prashant Dhalla, has commented on the ongoing investigation into the Air India flight 171 crash. Dhalla stated that it’s premature to blame pilot error for the incident, while addressing the preliminary report by the AAIB. The report’s mention of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployment led Dhalla to consider whether pilots were trying to manage the engines due to potential technical problems. He highlighted the ‘startle effect’ as a possible factor influencing pilot behavior during emergencies. He also discussed the design of fuel switches to avoid accidental activation. Dhalla emphasized that more information, including the CVR transcript, is required. He pointed out that the pilots likely faced engine issues and had very little time to handle the situation, being at a low altitude when the incident happened.