Expert details pilot's chillingly simple mistake which 'led to horror crash' ?

This simple - but devastating - mistake caused the plane to crash into the medical college in Ahmedabad, western India, commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve said yesterday. All but one of the 242 people onboard the plane, which was destined for London Gatwick Airport, died. Mirror reported.

commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve

Steve, who analyses plane crashes and close calls, said: "Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time. 

I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying."

Raising the flaps would have caused the plane to lose airspeed and altitude quickly, something Steve stresses would have been very difficult to control. This, he feels, would have led to the horrific impact, marking the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Steve believes his theory may be the case because the 787's composite wings would normally bend during take off as lift forces take it into the air. However, in footage taken moments before the impact, the Air India plane appears to show no such bending, supporting the speculation the flaps which help lift the plane off had accidentally been retracted.

Investigators will only know conclusively what happened once they have found and analysed both of the plane's black boxes. One of these was recovered on Friday morning among wreckage and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will now study the recordings.

Other theories being considered, the Mirror highlighted, include potential engine failure, runway miscalculation and a bird strike. Steve, though, acknowledged that, while both pilots were experienced professionals, human error can happen.

Vishwash somehow walked from the plane after the middle section of the aircraft - where he was seated in seat 11A - was spared from the worst of the impact. He continued: "When I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived."