A person who makes videos on YouTube has been sent to jail for six months because he crashed his plane on purpose to get more views, and then lied about it to investigators in the United States.
Trevor Jacob, who is 30 years old, put up a video of a plane crashing in December 2021, suggesting that it was not on purpose. He jumped out of the plane holding a selfie stick and used a parachute to land.
The video was watched by millions of people.
In a deal with the court, Jacob admitted that he made the video as part of a deal with a company.
The person who used to compete in the Olympics for snowboarding admitted earlier this year that they committed a serious crime by trying to hide evidence to stop a federal investigation.
Federal prosecutors in California said on Monday that Jacob most likely did this crime to get attention on social media and news and to make money.
“However, we cannot accept this kind of risky behavior,” they said.
Jacob said that he felt very down to earth by this experience and thought it was the best choice.
In November 2021, Jacob flew by himself from an airport in Santa Barbara, California. He had cameras on his plane. Jacob brought a parachute, cameras, and a selfie stick with him.
He did not want to go to where he was supposed to go. Instead, he wanted to jump out of his airplane with a parachute and film himself. The airplane would crash while he was parachuting to the ground. This information was given by the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
The airplane had an accident and hit the Los Padres National Forest 35 minutes after it took off. Jacob walked to the place and found the video.
He put a video called “I had a plane accident” on YouTube on December 23rd. The video also advertised a company that sells wallets, the prosecutors said.
Some people weren’t sure about the crash. They saw that Jacob had a parachute and didn’t try to land the plane safely.
He told the National Transportation Safety Board about the crash and they said he needed to keep the wreckage safe. Jacob said he didn’t know where the site was.
He went and came back in a helicopter, then he removed the wreckage and got rid of it later, as the plea agreement says.
The video got almost three million views before it was taken down.
Tag: Trevor Jacob
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YouTuber who crashed a plane to get views sentenced six months
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YouTuber likely to face 20-year jail term for admitting to crashing plane for views
US prosecutors have stated that a YouTuber who intentionally crashed an airplane for views will plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation by tampering with the crash site.
Trevor Jacob, aged 29, uploaded a video of the plane crash on YouTube in December 2021, falsely implying it was an accident.
The video has garnered over 2.9 million views to date. According to a plea agreement, Jacob admitted to filming the video as part of a product sponsorship agreement. He could potentially face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The US Department of Justice announced on Thursday that the pilot and skydiver, aged 29, has agreed to plead guilty to one felony charge of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
In November 2021, Jacob took off on a solo flight from a Santa Barbara, California airport, equipped with cameras mounted on his plane, a parachute, and a selfie stick
He “did not intend to reach his destination, but instead planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed”, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.
Image caption,Mr Jacob ejecting from the plane before the crash The plane crashed into the Los Padres National Forest 35 minutes after takeoff. He hiked to the site and recovered the footage.
Some YouTube viewers were sceptical of the crash, noting that Mr Jacob was already wearing a parachute and made no attempt to land the plane safely.
He reported the crash to the National Transportation Safety Board, who said he was responsible for preserving the wreckage. According to the plea agreement, Mr Jacob later claimed he did not know the location of the site.
He did, and returned by helicopter and secured and removed the wreckage, which he later destroyed, the statement says.
Mr Jacob is expected to make his initial court appearance in the coming weeks.
His pilot’s licence was revoked last year.