Social media continues to influence more people to do crazy things for clicks and views every single year. Most of the time, these fame-chasers face no repercussions and only spiral to virality due to their jaw-dropping nature. This was not the case for Trevor Daniel Jacob.
The Staged Crash
The licensed pilot, former Olympic athlete, and YouTuber was approached by a wallet company to promote a sponsorship. In response, Jacob decided to stage a small plane crash for monetary gain and social media coverage. In a 12 minute video, he is seen jumping and deploying a parachute out of an aircraft that crashes into the mountainous regions of Santa Barba County, California.
The YouTube video then shows Jacob stuck in fallen tree branches. He can be heard saying “Oh my god, get me out of this”. He cut parts of his body upon landing and states he was “happy to be alive”. Out of the 4.5 million views he has garnered on the video titled “I Crashed My Airplane”, many people deemed the crash fishy.
“As an airplane and helicopter pilot with 10,000 hours, I’ve never had the urge to jump out and make sure I had a selfie stick ready in an emergency. This dude is a clown and should do jail time.”
Commenter under Jacob’s YouTube video
Obstruction and Lies
Jacob lied to fans, insisting that the purpose of the flight was to spread his friend’s ashes in Mammoth Mountain. He also lied when investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming he had no idea where the wreckage was located. He said there were no safe landing options after he experienced “complete loss of power” 35 minutes after take-off.
It was later discovered that Jacob and a friend flew by helicopter to retrieve the wreckage with intentions of destroying all evidence. He then dismantled and disposed parts of the airplane over the course of a couple days at the Lompoc City Airport. His report to the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were completely falsified.
Cries for Forgiveness
Although the original video of the crash was posted to YouTube in December of 2021, he did not plead guilty until May of 2023. He was sentenced to six months in federal prison for destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. This charge can carry up to 20 years in prison.
Jacob’s attorney attempted to request for probation rather than prison time. They argued that Jacob was living alone in a shed/hangar and the Coronavirus pandemic caused a “series of bad choices that culminated in the offense to which he has plead guilty”.
Jacob wrote to the judge saying he was sincerely sorry and “suffered a lot of consequences from this offense”. He admitted that he never should have gone through with his actions even though he “carefully researched the plane route to make sure the crash would not be near human housing or trail routes”. This led to his pilot license to be reinstated by the FAA, which was previously revoked in April of 2022. Jacob’s case sets an example to others planning to attempt these acts and for them to know that “this type of ‘daredevil’ conduct cannot be tolerated” in court.
