Viral plane crash video could see YouTuber face 20 years in prison
YouTuber pilot Trevor Jacob could face up to 20 years in prison for purposely crashing his plane to get views and then lying to federal authorities.
The things people will do to get views on social media these days is really getting out of hand. YouTuber and pilot Trevor Jacob crashed an airplane on purpose in order to get views on his YouTube channel and now he could be facing up to 20 years in prison.
The video, posted in November 2021, shows 29-year-old Jacob jumping out of the plane due to supposed engine problems. The plane was flying over Los Padres National Forest in California. There were several cameras placed around the plane and in Jacob’s hand as well, clearly showing the entire incident. As he parachutes out and lands, Jacob films himself hiking along looking for water and complaining of being very thirsty before he is finally able to find a vehicle that takes him to safety.
The video, titled “I crashed my airplane” and seen by nearly three million people was staged as an accident, but it was later revealed that Jacob lied to federal authorities and actually purposely staged the crash.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration launched a probe into the incident and ordered Jacob to go and preserve the wreckage, at which point Jacob lied and told them he didn’t know where the plane went down. In reality, he had gone with a friend to find the wreckage, taken it out of the forest, cut it up into tiny pieces, and dumped it around trash cans throughout the Lompoc City Airport.
“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,” a statement from the Department of Justice said. “Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit and, because he could not identify any safe landing options, he had parachuted out of the plane.”
Jacob will plead guilty to destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation and could face up to 20 years in federal prison for the crime.