The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
A YouTube user pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into a staged plane crash he performed in 2021 to draw attention to himself and a sponsor’s product.
The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Trevor Jacob, 29, had entered a sponsorship agreement with Ridge Wallet, aiming to advertise its metal’s durability.
On Nov. 24, 2021, Jacob flew his aircraft, a single-engine Taylorcraft BL-65 monoplane, out of Lompoc City Airport in California and heading toward Mammoth Lakes.
As he admitted as part of a plea agreement filed Wednesday, he never planned to complete the flight, instead opting to eject and parachute as the airplane crashed.
As part of his scheme, Jacob attached several cameras to the aircraft and equipped himself with a video camera and selfie stick. About 35 minutes into the flight, above the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria, California, Jacob bailed from the plane.
YouTuber pilot Trevor Jacob who bailed out midair and deliberately sent his plane crashing into the ground to bolster viewing numbers on his channel could be jailed for up to 20 years, US authorities have said. pic.twitter.com/ojWzX2NNym
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 12, 2023
With the selfie stick and his camera, Jacob recorded the plane’s descent and crash. Upon reaching the ground himself, Jacob hiked to the wreckage to recover the footage from the plane’s attached cameras.
Two days later, Jacob informed the National Transportation Safety Board about the incident and was informed by the federal agency that he was responsible for preserving the remains of the aircraft so that they could be investigated.
On Nov. 29, 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration began its own investigation.
Jacob then lied to authorities, saying he didn’t know where the wreckage was.
Instead, on Dec. 10, Jacob and a friend took a helicopter to the site, secured the aircraft’s pieces and carried them to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County for loading into Jacob’s trailer.
The wreckage, transported back to Lompoc City Airport, was cut up into several pieces in a hangar onsite. Jacob then scattered them in trash bins at the airport and elsewhere.
In December 2021, Jacob uploaded his video, titled “I Crashed My Airplane,” containing a promotion for Ridge Wallet. The YouTube film had 3 .2 million views as of Friday.
In his incident report, Jacob lied and said the plane experienced a power failure 35 minutes into the flight. He also lied to an FAA investigator, claiming to have parachuted out of the plane only because he could not identify a safe place to land.
The FAA would go on to revoke Jacob’s pilot license on April 11, 2022.
“You demonstrated a lack of care, judgment and responsibility by choosing to jump out of an aircraft solely so you could record the footage of the crash,” the FAA wrote to Jacob, according to The New York Times.
Jacob pleaded guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
