Video- Madness for fame/ YouTuber crashes plane to increase views on his channel

2023-05-13 20:42:00, Kuriozitete CNA

A YouTuber accused of intentionally crashing his plane to boost views on his channel has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation, the US Department of Justice said.

Trevor Jacobs, 29, faces up to 20 years in prison for knowingly destroying a small unmanned single-engine plane that crashed in California's Los Padres National Park in 2021.

Jacob had abandoned the boat in flight, skydiving, and uploaded the video of the incident to his YouTube channel.

In his first questioning by inspectors, he had claimed that the plane's engine had been switched off, claiming he did not know the crash site. But his version convinced neither aviation experts nor federal authorities. As was later determined, Jacob made no attempt to contact air traffic control, restart the plane's engine, or seek a safe place to land.

The YouTuber, who describes himself as an experienced pilot and skydiver, never intended to complete his solo flight from Lompoc Airport in southern California to Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains, he admitted in his apology.

Before takeoff on Nov. 24, 2021, Jacobs had installed multiple video cameras in various parts of the monoplane and deployed a parachute, making sure it was equipped with a video camera and selfie stick, officials said.

About 35 minutes after takeoff, he jumped out of the plane and began filming it as it sank toward the dry bush. After the 29-year-old landed with a parachute, he went to the crash site and took the footage from the plane's cameras.

Two days later, Jacobs notified the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the plane's crash, but told NTSB and FAA investigators that he did not know where the wreckage was.

However, on December 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew to the crash site and towed the wreckage to Santa Barbara County, where Jacob placed it in a shed. Over several days, he dismantled parts of the plane and dumped them in trash cans around the airport and elsewhere, which authorities say he admitted he did to mislead investigators.

On December 23, 2021, he uploaded a YouTube video titled I Crashed My Plane. The following April, after investigators uncovered Jacobi's lies, the FAA revoked his pilot's license.

Jacob's video (which you can watch here) has received almost 3 million views./ Adapted from CNA.al