6 months in prison for YouTuber who staged a plane crash to get views in Southern California

AFP on December 5 quoted US officials as saying that YouTuber Trevor Jacob was sentenced to 6 months in prison for recklessly crashing a plane to attract views and lying to investigators about the incident.

Photo taken from video recording of American YouTuber staging plane crash to attract views

In the video titled "I crashed my plane," the YouTuber appeared to experience engine failure while flying the plane over southern California in November 2021.

The video clip, which has attracted millions of views on YouTube, shows Trevor Jacob, now 30, jumping out of a single-engine plane, selfie stick in hand, and parachuting into the Los Padres National Forest.

Cameras placed throughout the plane captured images of the ill-fated plane losing control and crashing into the forest before exploding.

Mr. Jacob, a former US Olympic skier, filmed himself walking to the wreckage and made sure to collect all the footage of the crash.

Next, the American YouTuber continued to film himself overcoming the difficult journey before reaching safety.

Conspiracy to destroy evidence

Several weeks after the crash, investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened an investigation into the incident, and Mr. Jacob was required to preserve the wreckage.

YouTuber told US officials he did not know where the plane wreckage was.

"In fact, on December 10, 2021, Mr. Jacob and a friend flew a helicopter to the location of the plane wreckage," AFP quoted information from the US District Attorney's Office in California.

"At the scene, Mr. Jacob used ropes to secure the wreckage and then used a helicopter to transport the wreckage to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County, where it was loaded onto a trailer attached to Mr. Jacob's pickup truck," according to the office.

The remains of the engine were shredded and dumped in dumpsters at the Lompoc City Airport and around the airport area in an attempt to conceal evidence.

The FAA revoked the pilot's license in April 2022. The American YouTuber has now reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to staging a plane crash to gain views.

(According to Thanh Nien, December 5)

Source