YouTuber who staged California airplane crash sentenced to 6 months in prison

An influencer who intentionally crashed an airplane in California to gain YouTube views was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for obstructing the investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Trevor Daniel Jacob, 30, of Lompoc, California, had pleaded guilty in June to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. According to federal prosecutors in California, Jacob "deliberately" destroyed the wreckage from a staged plane crash in November 2021.

A video titled “I Crashed My Airplane” was uploaded in December 2021 and purported to show Jacob’s small plane have engine failure over the mountainous Los Padres National Forest. The video, which included a sponsorship promotion, showed Jacob already wearing a parachute before jumping out with a selfie stick camera in hand.

Prosecutors said Jacob intended to make money through the video. Following the crash, prosecutors said Jacob had lied to investigators and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

"It appears that (Jacob) exercised exceptionally poor judgment in committing this offense,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “(Jacob) most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain. Nevertheless, this type of 'daredevil' conduct cannot be tolerated."

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Who is Trevor Daniel Jacob?

Jacob is a YouTuber, experienced pilot, skydiver, a and former Olympic athlete, according to prosecutors. After securing a sponsorship from a company that sold various products, Jacob — who has 143,000 subscribers on YouTube — agreed to promote one of the products in a YouTube video.

On Nov. 24, 2021, prosecutors said Jacob took a solo flight in a small plane mounted with several cameras. About 35 minutes into the flight, he ejected himself from the airplane and recorded himself parachuting to the ground.

After landing, he hiked to the crash site and recovered the footage from the onboard cameras, according to prosecutors. Jacob’s pilot license was revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022.

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Prosecutors: YouTuber lied to federal authorities

Two days after the crash, prosecutors said Jacob informed the National Transportation Safety Board about the incident and the board launched an investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration also launched its investigation into the crash.

Despite agreeing to provide coordinates of the plane's wreckage and videos of the crash to investigators, prosecutors said Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage’s location.

He also falsely indicated that the aircraft experienced a full loss of power in an incident report and falsely told an FAA aviation safety inspector that he had parachuted out because the plane's engine had quit, according to prosecutors.

On Dec. 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend used a helicopter to life the wreckage out of the Los Padres National Forest, according to prosecutors. And then over the course of a few days, prosecutors said Jacob destroyed the plane wreckage and discarded parts in various locations.

Contributing: The Associated Press