YouTuber Staged Plane Crash for YouTube Views; Ends in Federal Prison
Trevor Daniel Jacob, a 30-year-old from Lompoc, California, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for obstructing an investigation into a staged airplane crash aimed at gaining YouTube views, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Jacob pleaded guilty in June to destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, admitting to deliberately destroying wreckage from a November 2021 crash. The incident was later revealed to be a staged event for a video titled “I Crashed My Airplane,” where Jacob purportedly experienced engine failure over the mountainous Los Padres National Forest.
The video, uploaded in December 2021, showed Jacob wearing a parachute before jumping out of the small plane with a selfie stick camera, all part of the orchestrated crash. Federal prosecutors argued that Jacob's primary motivation was financial gain through the video, which included a sponsorship promotion. Following the staged crash, he provided false information to investigators and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Despite Jacob's initial cooperation with the NTSB, he later lied about the wreckage's location, indicating exceptionally poor judgment in the commission of the offense, according to prosecutors. The sentencing memorandum emphasized that such "daredevil" conduct, designed to generate social media and news coverage, cannot be tolerated. Jacob, identified as a YouTuber, experienced pilot, skydiver, and former Olympic athlete, secured sponsorship for the video from a company selling various products, agreeing to promote one of the products in the YouTube video.
Two days after the staged crash, Jacob informed the NTSB, initiating investigations by both the NTSB and FAA. Despite agreeing to provide coordinates of the wreckage and videos, he misled investigators about the wreckage's location and falsely attributed the crash to engine failure. Jacob used a helicopter to lift the wreckage from the forest, subsequently destroying parts in different locations over several days. The sentencing underscores the severity of Jacob's actions in orchestrating a dangerous event for social media attention.
The video, uploaded in December 2021, showed Jacob wearing a parachute before jumping out of the small plane with a selfie stick camera, all part of the orchestrated crash. Federal prosecutors argued that Jacob's primary motivation was financial gain through the video, which included a sponsorship promotion. Following the staged crash, he provided false information to investigators and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Despite Jacob's initial cooperation with the NTSB, he later lied about the wreckage's location, indicating exceptionally poor judgment in the commission of the offense, according to prosecutors. The sentencing memorandum emphasized that such "daredevil" conduct, designed to generate social media and news coverage, cannot be tolerated. Jacob, identified as a YouTuber, experienced pilot, skydiver, and former Olympic athlete, secured sponsorship for the video from a company selling various products, agreeing to promote one of the products in the YouTube video.
Two days after the staged crash, Jacob informed the NTSB, initiating investigations by both the NTSB and FAA. Despite agreeing to provide coordinates of the wreckage and videos, he misled investigators about the wreckage's location and falsely attributed the crash to engine failure. Jacob used a helicopter to lift the wreckage from the forest, subsequently destroying parts in different locations over several days. The sentencing underscores the severity of Jacob's actions in orchestrating a dangerous event for social media attention.
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