A YouTuber who deliberately crashed a plane to “get fame and make money” has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday. In his plea deal, California pilot Trevor Jacob admitted that he “deliberately destroyed” the plane wreckage and repeatedly lied to officials.
The crimes of vandalism and concealment with intent to obstruct a federal investigation carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. However, the Los Angeles District Court may impose a lesser sentence due to the plea agreement.
Jacob will appear in court in the coming weeks, the DOJ reported. Ciaran McEvoy, a DOJ information officer, told Ars that Jacob has yet to plead not guilty. After an initial court hearing — essentially a bond hearing — a plea amendment hearing will be scheduled. If Jacob pleads guilty at that hearing, a federal judge will schedule a sentencing hearing several months later. From there, Jacob would meet with the U.S. Parole Board, which will prepare a confidential pre-sentencing report recommending the sentence the agency believes he deserves. Jacob and the prosecutors can agree or disagree with that sentencing report, and ultimately a judge will determine the sentence.
Ars could not immediately reach Jacob or his lawyer for comment. [Update: Jacob’s lawyer, Keri Curtis Axel, told Ars, “Trevor is taking full responsibility for his mistake in judgment; he hopes to move past it and to use his status as a world-class action sports athlete, entrepreneur, and influencer to be a source for good in society.”]
Destroy and hide evidences of plane crash
Jacob, a former Olympic snowboarder and veteran pilot and skydiver, plotted to allegedly deliberately crash his plane on November 24, 2021, after securing a sponsorship and agreeing to promote a company’s wallet in a video . The company is not mentioned and there is no mention of wallets in the video titled “I Crashed My Airplane” which can still be seen on YouTube.
“I crashed my plane.”
YouTube did not respond to Ars’ request for comment.
The video currently has 3.3 million views. It opens with an image of Jacob dizzily flying over Los Padres National Forest in California.
About a minute and a half into the video, the plane’s propeller comes to a stop and Jacob begins cursing. After two minutes he jumps out of the plane. Footage from cameras mounted on the plane shows the crash, and Jacob uses a selfie stick to film himself parachuting into a dry scrub area, where he suffers minor injuries and is exposed to poison oak.
“I’m just kind of taking in what happened,” Jacob said in the video, which then shows him walking to the crash site to retrieve his cameras before spending a seemingly harrowing day trying to make his way out find the wilderness. .
“I’m scared,” Jacob told his approximately 100,000 subscribers when the video was posted. “I’m in trouble.”
However, in his plea deal, Jacob admitted that he had “intended to jump out of his plane in flight and film himself parachuting to the ground and his plane as it descended and crashed,” the DOJ reported.
