The US Justice Department said that a 29-year-old YouTuber has decided to plead guilty to a criminal felony after destroying the wreckage of a plane he purposely crashed to get views on YouTube.
Trevor Daniel Jacob revealed to federal investigators in a video he made to promote a wallet that he intended to crash his jet. According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, he later removed the aircraft’s wreckage and disposed of it to obstruct federal officials from investigating the crash site.
According to the announcement, Jacob, a pilot and skydiver, agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the purpose to hinder a federal investigation.
The flight occurred on November 24, 2021. Jacob took off from Lompoc City Airport in Santa Barbara County, but he never meant to land, according to his plea bargain.
Instead, he “planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and the aeroplane as it descended and crashed,” the statement said.
According to authorities, Jacob installed multiple cameras around the plane and brought a parachute, video camera, and selfie stick with him.
“Approximately 35 minutes after taking off, while flying above the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria, Jacob ejected from the aeroplane and videoed himself parachuting to the ground,” the statement continued.
According to the statement, after parachuting to the ground and recording the collision, he hiked to the debris and took the video footage with him.
Two days later, the YouTuber reported the collision to the National Transportation Safety Board and agreed to share the crash location with the agency. Instead, he told police he didn’t know where the accident site was, then flew there with a companion, loaded up the plane debris, and subsequently destroyed it, according to the release, which references the plea bargain.
A month after the incident, he posted a video on YouTube titled “I Crashed My Aeroplane,” which depicted the crash and Jacob parachuting from the plane.
His YouTube viewers were sceptical of the act, with many pointing out Jacob was already wearing a parachute, made no attempt to glide the plane to a safe landing spot, and carried his camera and selfie stick with him when he ditched the plane.
“Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money through the video,” according to the announcement.
According to the news release, he also acknowledged to lying to federal authorities after submitting an aircraft accident event report and falsely claiming the plane lost power around half an hour after departure.
“Jacob also lied to (a Federal Aviation Administration) aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit and he had parachuted out of the plane because he couldn’t identify any safe landing options,” it added.
According to the announcement, the FAA cancelled Jacob’s pilot licence last year as a result of the prank. He is scheduled to appear in court in the following weeks.
The investigation is ongoing.
Trevor Daniel Jacob, a 29-year-old YouTuber who intentionally crashed his airplane while pretending it was an unavoidable accident, has pleaded guilty to federal charges and faces 20 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/QzlNAROu4q
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 12, 2023