According to US officials, a YouTuber pilot who bailed out midway and purposefully crashed his plane into the ground to increase views on his channel faces up to 20 years in prison.
In a video viewed by over three million people titled "I crashed my airplane," Trevor Jacob appears to have engine issues while flying over southern California in November 2021.
The stunning video shows Jacob, 29, ejecting from the single-engine plane while holding a selfie stick and parachute into the dense undergrowth of the Los Padres National Forest.
Cameras installed throughout the aircraft capture the aircraft's out-of-control descent into the forest and final crash landing.
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Jacob videos himself hiking to the debris, where he appears disappointed to realize that the water he packed has vanished.
Viewers observe him bushwhacking through poison oak and over hills, ostensibly trying to find civilization while providing regular updates on his thirst and loss.
Finally, he comes to a halt to collect water from a brook, and as darkness falls, he comes upon a vehicle and apparent salvation.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board initiated an investigation into the crash in the weeks following the occurrence, and Jacob was instructed to preserve the debris.
The YouTuber told officials he didn't know where the plane had gone down. Still, two weeks later, according to a plea agreement filed in Los Angeles, he and a friend winched the wreckage out of the forest with a helicopter, having previously collected data from the onboard cameras.
Over the next two days, he disassembled the jet and put the pieces in garbage cans at Lompoc City Airport.
The FAA, which oversees aviation in the United States, revoked Jacob's pilot's license in April 2022.
Jacob stated in a plea agreement that he planned to obstruct federal officials when he disposed of the debris and made the film to make money through sponsorship.
"Jacob further admitted to federal investigators that he lied when he submitted a plane incident report that falsely stated that the aircraft incurred a full loss of power approximately 35 minutes after takeoff," the Department of Justice said.
"Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he claimed the plane's engine had failed and he had parachuted out of the plane because he couldn't find any safe landing options."
He has consented to plead guilty to one count of damage and concealment with the intent to hinder a federal inquiry, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in federal detention under federal law.
The YouTuber is anticipated to formally submit his plea in Los Angeles in the following weeks.
Many pilots and aviation experts noted that Jacob had yet to make even the most basic efforts to restart his plane's seemingly ailing engine.
Others pointed out that he could have easily glided the plane to a landing site and that carrying a parachute while flying a small plane was extremely rare.
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