Trevor Jacobs agreed to plead guilty to federal charges surrounding the crash and now faces up to 20 years in prison.
YouTubeA cartridge clip from Trevor Jacob ’s YouTube video showing him kick the bucket his planer .
Trevor Jacob , a 29 - year - old pilot film and skydiver , post the video of him abandoning his plane mid - flight in December 2021 and now face one felony reckoning of demolition and concealment with the intent to obstruct a Union probe after lying to investigators about the wreck site .
In the video of the crash , which now boasts 4.1 million views , Jacob flew from Santa Barbara with a stash of camera , a selfie control stick , and a chute .
YouTubeA clip from Trevor Jacob’s YouTube video showing him exiting his plane.
Jacob was piloting a 1940 Taylorcraft and carry the ash of his protagonist Johnny Strange , who died in a wingsuit accident in 2015 .
In thevideo , Jacob lay claim that he was experiencing locomotive engine issues only 35 minutes into his flight and afterward jumped from his plane with a chute .
Footage from after his jump shows Jacob walk around the brush of the Los Padres National Forest where he bring .
YouTubeTrevor Jacob parachuting from his plane.
Jacob find his agency to safety and notified the authorities about the crash , reporting the incident to the National Transportation Safety Board two days after the crash and agreed to facilitate find oneself the crash site .
However , Department of Justice documentsdetail that Trevor Jacob instead lie to authorities , stating that he did not make love where the crash internet site was .
In reality , Jacob knew exactly where the crash site was . Roughly two weeks after the crash , Jacob and a friend flew to the site , collected the debris , and later destroyed it at an airport hangar .
In December , Jacob stake the footage on his YouTube television channel under the title “ I break apart My Airplane . ” The attention - grabbing title entice millions of rum viewers , including other aviation expert .
These experts now question the authenticity of the crash , citing that Jacob did not attempt to call atmosphere dealings control , had opened the plane ’s door before he stated that the locomotive engine had failed , and did not attempt to restart the engine .
Additionally , Jacob also strategically placed cameras around and on the plane to show the flight from various angles . One of these cameras capture a light thought of Jacob opening the plane door and parachute out .
But the cherry tree on top ? Jacob had been have on a chute since the beginning of the flight .
YouTubeTrevor Jacob jump from his plane .
Not astonishingly , the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) open up an investigation into the collapse only a month after Jacob posted the picture .
In reaction , Trevor Jacob told theNew York Timesthat he “ did not intentionally crash my carpenter’s plane for views on YouTube ” and made sure to submit that he is “ shoot everything I do . ”
Despite Jacob ’s claims of ingenuousness , the FAA revoked Jacob ’s pilot ’s license in April 2022 .
This calendar month , the U.S. Department of Justice announced that they would be shoot Jacob with a felony , and he recently match to plead guilty .
harmonize to the Department of Justice ’s document , “ Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money through the video . ”
As of today , Jacob has admitted to crash a operative plane on intention , falsely report electrical event to a federal organization , lying to federal authority regarding the location of the crash website , and destroy crash web site materials that would have been used in the investigation .
Jacob will appear in court in a few weeks ; only time will differentiate if the aeronaut ’s next landing will be in prison .
After read about Trevor Jacob ’s plane crash stunt , look at other bizarre story with ties to YouTube , including the story ofSherry Shriner and her alien cult . Then , explore the stories ofseven famous hoaxesthat fool the worldly concern .
