YouTuber who deliberately crashed his plane faces 20 years in jail

YouTuber pilot who deliberately crashed his plane for clicks in video viewed by 3million faces up to 20 years in jail as he admits obstructing probe by destroying the wreckage

• Trevor Jacob deliberately crashed his plane while flying over California in 2021 
• He has admitted obstructing federal investigation by destroying wreckage 

A YouTube daredevil who deliberately crashed his plane to boost his viewing figures could be jailed for 20 years after he admitted to obstructing a federal investigation by destroying the wreckage.

Trevor Jacob, 29, a former Olympic snowboarder, posted a 13-minute-long video in which he appears to experience engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021.

The dramatic footage, viewed nearly three million times, shows Jacob ejecting from the single-engine plane – selfie stick in hand – and parachuting into the dense vegetation of the Los Padres National Forest.

His jump and the aircraft’s plunge were recorded by cameras mounted on the plane’s wing and tail and by the camera he carried. After landing, he hiked to the crash site and recovered video from the onboard cameras. 

Jacob had claimed he accidentally crashed the plane, but in a plea agreement filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles, he has admitted orchestrating the crash as part of a sponsorship deal. 

Trevor Jacob, 29, a former Olympic snowboarder, posted a 13-minute-long video in which he appears to experience engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021 

With a parachute strapped to his back, the adventurer leaps head first out of the plane, leaving it hanging in the air. Jacob has now admitted to staging the crash for a sponsorship deal and destroying the wreckage of the plane

The YouTube daredevil could be jailed for 20 years after he admitted to obstructing a federal investigation by destroying the wreckage. Jacob is pictured taking off off from Lompoc City Airport

Jacob, an experienced pilot and skydiver, agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

According to the plea agreement, Jacob had a sponsorship deal to promote a company’s product in a video he would post, and he never intended to complete the Nov. 24, 2021, flight.

In the video, Jacob films himself parachuting out of the plane and later hiking to the wreckage where he appears dismayed to discover the water he packed has disappeared.

Viewers see him bush-whacking through poison oak and over hills as he seemingly struggles to find civilization, giving regular updates about how thirsty he is, and how lost he feels.

Finally he stops to scoop water from a stream, and moments later comes across a vehicle and apparent salvation as night falls. 

In the weeks after the incident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a probe into the crash, and Jacob was ordered to preserve the wreckage.

The YouTuber told officials he did not know where the plane had gone down, but, according to a plea deal lodged in Los Angeles, two weeks after the drama he and a friend winched the wreckage out of the forest with a helicopter, having earlier recovered data from the onboard cameras. 

Over the next few days, he cut up the plane into small pieces, and dumped the parts in trash bins in and around Lompoc City Airport.

The YouTuber told officials he did not know where the plane had gone down, but, according to a plea deal lodged in Los Angeles, two weeks after the drama he and a friend winched the wreckage out of the forest with a helicopter, having earlier recovered data from the onboard cameras 

This image, shot by one of the many cameras mounted on the plane, captures the aircraft moments before is smashes nose-first into a hill

Video shows Jacob landing in a thicket and complaining of cuts and scrapes 

The aircraft, circled in red, is seen resting in hills of the Los Padres National Forest

Jacob (pictured in November 2021) had claimed he accidentally crashed the plane, but in a plea agreement filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles, he has admitted orchestrating the crash as part of a sponsorship deal 

The FAA, the body that regulates flying in the United States, revoked Jacob’s pilot’s license in April 2022.

In a plea agreement, Jacob admitted he had intended to obstruct federal authorities when he disposed of the wreckage, and had created the video to make money through a sponsorship with a wallet company.

‘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.’

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 be sentenced at a later date.

The video he posted attracted a lot of criticism in the weeks and months after it was published.

Numerous pilots and aviation experts commented that Jacob had failed to take even elementary steps to restart his plane’s apparently troubled engine.

Jacob is also an accomplished skateboarder, surfer, motocross rider, BMX biker, snowmobiler and made numerous appearances on MTV’s Nitro Circus. He is pictured in 2018

The athlete was also pictured with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in September 2020, however it is unclear under what circumstances they were meeting

The daredevil went paragliding in the nude in August 2020

In 2018, Jacob performed a stunt in which he skated off a roof and into a friend’s swimming pool. The video of the stunt went viral online 

Others pointed out that he could easily have safely glided the plane to a landing spot, and that wearing a parachute while flying a small aircraft was highly unusual.

Jacob, a native of California, has gained Internet fame by performing acts of derring-do, including jumping his snowboard over a moving train in 2011.

He competed in several snowboarding championships between 2012 and 2014, including the X Games, before securing a spot in the 2014 Winter Olympic games where he placed ninth in men’s snowboardcross.

Jacob is also an accomplished skateboarder, surfer, motocross rider, BMX biker, snowmobiler and made numerous appearances on MTV’s Nitro Circus, according to his Team USA biography.

The former Olympian has continued to stay in the spotlight by performing daredevil stunts and posting videos of them online. 

In 2018, Jacob made a splash on the internet when he skated off a friend’s roof on a skateboard and landed in a pool.

While not much is known about the 28-year-old’s personal life, he appears to have a strong relationship with his parents. 

He has posted several photographs to his Instagram account, showing how they have supported him throughout his career and even took his mother skydiving in October 2021.

The YouTube personality has also paid tribute to some of the sport world’s greats, including skateboarder Tony Hawk whom he skated with in 2019 and snowboarder Shaun White, whom he was pictured with at the US Open halfpipe when he was 13.

Jacob was the youngest person to ever make the US Open halfpipe.

The athlete was also pictured with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in September 2020, however it is unclear under what circumstances they were meeting. 

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