An aviation expert believes the co-pilot of Air India Flight AI171 pulled the plane’s flaps instead of retracting the landing gear, causing the plane to crash.

Airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and near-misses, has shared his theory about the accident that killed 241 people on board.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London began losing altitude moments after takeoff and crashed in a fireball over a residential area in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Steve said he suspects an exceptionally simple error occurred in the cockpit when the co-pilot was instructed to retract the landing gear, with devastating consequences.

Here’s what I think happened. Again, this is just my opinion. I believe the pilot in command told the co-pilot to ‘upshift’ at the appropriate time.

I believe the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, rather than the landing gear. If so, it would largely explain why the plane stopped flying.

Steve argued that raising the flaps would have caused a rapid loss of speed and altitude, which the pilot would have had difficulty controlling.

He explained his theory by saying that the 787’s composite wings normally bend during takeoff, as lift forces carry them through the air.

But the Air India plane doesn’t appear to have such a curvature, despite widespread speculation that the flaps that help lift the plane were accidentally retracted.

Only one of the 242 people on board survived, and 24 people on the ground lost their lives in what was the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and near-misses, shared his theory about the crash that killed 241 people on board.

The footage showed the moments before the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad.

The cause of Thursday’s tragedy remains unclear, but investigators will now try to identify possible causes such as mechanical failure or pilot error.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot of the Boeing 787, is among those believed to have died.

Mr. Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, has been appointed pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

First Officer Clive Kunder, a Mumbai native and co-pilot, had logged 1,100 flight hours and completed training at the Paris Air flight school in Florida.

The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hospital.

Mr. Ramesh told DD News, “I still can’t believe how I survived,” while speaking from his hospital bed on Friday.

He told the broadcaster that the plane appeared “stuck in the air” shortly after takeoff, before its lights began flashing green and white, adding, “All of a sudden, it hit a building and exploded.”

He said, “I still can’t believe I made it out alive. For a moment, I thought I was going to die too.”

“But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. I still can’t believe I survived.”

The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hospital, as seen here.

Among those believed to have died are Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, left, and First Officer Clive Kunder, right.

At least 24 people died on the ground, authorities said, after the plane landed on a cafeteria where students were eating lunch.

The flight data recorder, which is expected to provide clues to the cause of the crash, was recovered from the wreckage on Friday.

The plane’s digital flight data recorder, or black box, was recovered from a roof near the crash site, and India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it has begun work “at full capacity.”

The recovery of the black box marks a significant milestone in the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a social media post.

Representatives from the NTSB, FAA, Boeing, and General Electric will be among the US participants in the investigation.