US YouTuber sentenced to six months in prison for staging a plane crash
A daredevil YouTuber who intentionally crashed a plane and lied to investigators about it to boost his channel's viewership has been sentenced to six months in prison after reaching a plea deal, US authorities say. It was announced on Monday.
In the video of the incident, titled “Plane Crashed,” Trevor Jacob appears to suffer engine trouble while flying over Southern California in November 2021.
The dramatic footage, which has been viewed millions of times on YouTube, shows Jacob, now 30, jumping from a single-engine plane with a selfie stick in hand and parachuting into the dense vegetation of Los Padres National Forest. is shown.
Cameras placed throughout the plane showed the plane losing control, descending into a forest, and eventually crash-landing.
Former Olympic snowboarder Jacob filmed himself hiking to the wreckage, where he appeared dismayed to discover his pack of water was gone.
But he has the spirit to recover footage from the camera.
He then documented his seemingly difficult journey through the undergrowth to reach safety.
Weeks after the incident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began investigating the crash, and Jacob was ordered to preserve the wreckage.
The YouTuber told authorities he did not know where the plane crashed.
“Indeed, on December 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew to the wreckage site by helicopter,” the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced Monday.
“There, Jacob used straps to secure the wreckage, and a helicopter lifted the wreckage to Rancho Siscock in Santa Barbara County, where it was loaded onto a trailer attached to Jacob's pickup truck.”
The remains of the single-engine plane were cut into pieces and dumped in trash cans at and around Lompoc Airport to hide evidence of the crash.
The FAA, which regulates flights in the United States, revoked Jacob's pilot's license in April 2022.
When pressed by investigators, Jacob struck a deal and agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
“Mr. Jacob lied to federal investigators and submitted a false report that the aircraft had completely lost power,” the U.S. District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
“(Jacob) most likely committed this crime to generate social media and news coverage for himself and for financial gain,” federal prosecutors said.
“Still, this kind of ‘daredevil’ behavior is unacceptable.”
Jacob's original video has now been removed from YouTube, along with several other videos he posted after his escape, but a copy can be viewed here.
In the nearly two years since this video was first released, pilots and aviation experts have been highly critical of Jacob.
Many pointed out that Jacob apparently failed to take even the basic steps to restart the plane's engine.
Others noted that it was easy for him to glide the plane safely to the landing site, and that it was highly unusual for him to wear a parachute while flying a small plane.
Source: guardian.ng