YouTuber Who Crashed Plane for Clicks Pleads Guilty, Faces 20 Years

A YouTuber is facing prison time for intentionally crashing his plane and trying to stymie a federal investigation into the incident. 

On Thursday, 29-year-old Trevor Daniel Jacob agreed to plead guilty to obstructing an investigation into the crash. In December 2021, he uploaded video(Opens in a new window) of the incident, which shows him dropping out from his two-seater plane in mid-flight and parachuting to the Los Padres National Forest. Meanwhile, his unmanned plane crashes into a hill full of trees.

In the video—which now has 3.2 million views—Jacob claims his plane’s engine cut out, forcing him to bail since he had nowhere to land. However, prosecutors say Jacob planned the crash as a stunt to gain views on YouTube and to promote a wallet. 

“Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money through the video,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in the announcement(Opens in a new window). 

The YouTuber also repeatedly lied to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board when they began investigating the crash. For example, Jacob originally told investigators he didn’t know exactly where his plane crashed. But in reality, Jacob and a friend had flown a helicopter to the wreckage site. The YouTuber then transported the plane’s remnants back to Lompoc City Airport. 

But rather than hand the plane over to investigators, Jacob tried to destroy the evidence. “He then cut up and destroyed the airplane wreckage and, over the course of a few days, deposited the detached parts of the wrecked airplane into trash bins at the airport and elsewhere, which he admitted in his plea agreement was done with the intent to obstruct federal authorities,” prosecutors say. 

“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,” federal investigators added. “Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit.” 

Jacob now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for obstructing the federal investigation into the crash. The exact sentencing will be determined in the coming weeks.