Aviation expert says what he thinks caused Air India crash that killed 241

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India flight AI171 crash.

The Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick Airport crashed on the perimeters of Ahmedabad Airport in western India.

The plane was carrying 242 people on board including 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.

Local police had originally said that it appeared there were no survivors from the crash, however, one person, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was later revealed to have survived.

The 40-year-old Brit said: “When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did," Ramesh said, per Metro.

Captain Steve, a commercial airline pilot and YouTuber, claimed that a simple error in the plane’s cockpit could have caused the aircraft to crash.

In a YouTube video, he explained: “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 - and this is a big if - this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying."

According to the Captain Steve, if the plane’s flaps were raised, this would have caused the flight to lose airspeed and altitude rapidly.

However he did say that it was 'impossible' to know whether or not the flaps were up or out.

You can watch the full video here: