According to US officials on Thursday, a YouTuber pilot who intentionally crashed his plane into the ground in mid-flight to increase the number of viewers on his channel could spend up to 20 years in prison.
In the “I crashed my aeroplane” video, which has been viewed by almost three million people, Trevor Jacob appeared to have engine issues as he flew over southern California in November 2021.
With a selfie stick in hand, 29-year-old Jacob was seen in the dramatic video jumping out of the single-engine aircraft and landing in the deep forest of the Los Padres National Forest. The aircraft’s uncontrollable fall into the forest and final crash landing was captured on cameras positioned all over it.
According to The National News, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration launched a probe into the crash, and Jacob was ordered to preserve the wreckage.
The YouTuber claimed to the authorities that he did not know where the plane had crashed, but according to a plea agreement filed in Los Angeles two weeks after the incident, he and a friend used a helicopter to hoist the wreckage out of the jungle after recovering data from the onboard cameras.
He disassembled the jet over the following few days, discarding the pieces in dumpsters near Lompoc City Airport.
In April 2022, the FAA, which oversees air travel in the US, seized Jacob’s pilot’s licence.
In a plea deal, Jacob acknowledged that when he disposed of the wreckage, he did so with the intent of obstructing federal officials. He also acknowledged that he made the video to profit from a sponsorship deal with a wallet manufacturer.
The Department of Justice said, “Jacob further admitted he lied to federal investigators when he submitted an aircraft accident incident report that falsely indicated that the aircraft experienced a full loss of power approximately 35 minutes after takeoff.
“Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he said an aeroplane’s engine had quit and, because he could not identify any safe landing options, he had parachuted out of the plane.”
He has agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The YouTuber is expected to formally enter his plea in Los Angeles in the coming weeks and will be sentenced at a later date.
