New Delhi, July 12 -- Former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Flight Operations Inspector Captain Prashant Dhalla on Saturday floated the idea of "startle effect" in play before the Air India flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after departure while noting that it was "premature" to assume human error.

Discussing the importance of understanding human factors in crash incidents, he noted that the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) states the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was "out". On this basis, he pushed a theory that refers to pilots trying to engage and disengage the engines after realising the possibility of technical issues.

Having said this, Captain Dhalla stated that it was "too premat...