In a shocking turn of events, popular YouTuber Trevor Jacob, known for his daring stunts, could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. Jacob intentionally bailed out of a plane midair and orchestrated its crash into the ground, all for the purpose of gaining more views on his channel. This audacious act, captured in a video titled “I crashed my airplane,” attracted an audience of nearly three million viewers. However, the consequences of his actions have caught up with him, and he now faces severe legal repercussions.
The video footage, which garnered significant attention, showcases Trevor Jacob, aged 29, experiencing apparent engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021. The nail-biting sequence captures Jacob ejecting from the single-engine plane, holding a selfie stick, and gracefully parachuting into the dense vegetation of the Los Padres National Forest. Cameras installed throughout the aircraft documented its chaotic descent into the forest and its eventual crash.
In the aftermath of the crash, Trevor Jacob recorded himself trekking through challenging terrain, battling obstacles like poison oak and rugged hills. Displaying his struggle to find civilization, he provided regular updates on his thirst and feelings of being lost. Finally, he managed to locate a stream to quench his thirst, and as night fell, he stumbled upon a vehicle, seemingly providing salvation.
Following the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated an investigation into the crash. Jacob was instructed to preserve the wreckage, but he claimed ignorance regarding its precise location. However, according to a plea agreement filed in Los Angeles, he later used a helicopter to extract the wreckage from the forest, along with a friend. Prior to this, they had already retrieved data from the onboard cameras. In a series of actions, Jacob dismantled the plane into smaller pieces and discreetly disposed of them in trash bins near Lompoc City Airport.
As a result of his actions, the FAA revoked Trevor Jacob’s pilot’s license in April 2022. In a plea agreement, he admitted to intentionally obstructing federal authorities by disposing of the wreckage and creating the video to generate income through sponsorships, particularly with a wallet company. The Department of Justice confirmed Jacob’s admission of lying to federal investigators in his aircraft accident incident report, where he falsely claimed a complete power failure 35 minutes after takeoff. He also deceived an FAA aviation safety inspector by stating that the engine had failed, leaving him no choice but to parachute out of the plane.
As a consequence of his deceptive actions, Trevor Jacob has agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. This offense carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Jacob’s case serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of manipulating events for personal gain, while highlighting the importance of integrity and responsibility in content creation and aviation safety.
