DOJ Says YouTuber Has Admitted To Crashing Plane For Views

A YouTuber pilot, Trevor Daniel Jacob, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of a federal investigation by deliberately destroying the wreckage of an airplane that he intentionally crashed to gain views on his YouTube channel. 

According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Jacob admitted that he intended to crash his plane in a video that he created to promote a wallet. The YouTuber later cleaned up the wreckage to prevent federal investigators from investigating the crash site.

Jacob “agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison,” according to the release.

The YouTuber took off from Lompoc City Airport on November 24, 2021, with a plan to eject from the aircraft mid-flight and film himself parachuting to the ground. He had mounted several cameras on the plane and equipped himself with a parachute and selfie stick. He ejected 35 minutes after takeoff, filmed the plane crash, and recovered the data from the wreckage. 

He later lied to investigators about not knowing the crash site’s location but eventually took a friend to retrieve the wreckage, which he transported to Lompoc City Airport. He then destroyed the wreckage and disposed of it in trash bins to obstruct federal authorities from investigating the crash.

“Jacob further admitted he lied to federal investigators when he submitted an aircraft accident incident report that falsely indicated that the aircraft experienced a full loss of power approximately 35 minutes after takeoff,” the USAO-CDCA wrote. “Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit and, because he could not identify any safe landing options, he had parachuted out of the plane.”

Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money through the video. The video in question has been viewed 3.2 million times as of this writing. The YouTuber is expected to make his initial court appearance in the coming weeks.

While his YouTube video and channel are still up and collecting views, Jacob’s plane-flying days are over as the FAA revoked his pilot’s license in April 2022.

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