Following the deadly crash of Air India Flight AI-171, which resulted in the loss of 241 lives, Aviation expert and commercial pilot Captain Steve, who has flown both the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, has said that the Air India AI-171 crash may have occurred due to a loss of lift — not a direct engine failure. The theory is based on his detailed review of visuals from the incident and his knowledge of aircraft behaviour.
“Three main theories revolve around the loss of lift of this aeroplane,” he said in a YouTube video. Observing the crash visuals, he noted that the Dreamliner seemed to maintain a flat profile before its nose dipped — suggesting the aircraft might not have been producing enough lift at a crucial moment. This, he explained, was likely related to the aircraft’s flap settings.
According to Captain Steve, a possible mistake during takeoff could be that the co-pilot accidentally raised the flaps instead of the landing gear. “If that happens, it’s big — and that explains why the aeroplane stopped flying. The lift over the wings died because the flaps were retracted too early,” he said. He added that keeping the landing gear down while retracting the flaps causes excessive drag and loss of lift — a dangerous combination just after takeoff.
He also ruled out an immediate twin-engine failure, saying, “We can see both engines. There’s no indication they’re not producing thrust — no sparks, no flames. Everything looked smooth.” Other theories, like bird strike or fuel contamination, did not align with the available footage, according to him.
Captain Steve described the possible pilot reaction during the sequence: “The pilot may have thought the gear didn’t retract, unaware the flaps had been mistakenly raised. At that point, the aircraft was losing airspeed and altitude — leading to a power-on stall.”
He also said it’s unlikely that the plane began its takeoff roll without flaps, as Boeing 787 aircraft are designed to alert the crew in such a scenario. “It’s inconceivable that they took off with no flaps and no warnings going off in the cockpit,” he added.
While official investigations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are still underway, Captain Steve’s analysis raises the possibility of a critical human error during takeoff.
The AI-171 flight was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating on the Ahmedabad–London route. It crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 241 people. A Digital Video Recorder (DVR) has since been recovered from the wreckage, which may shed further light on what went wrong.