Trevor Jacob plane crash
On November 24, 2021, American YouTuber and former professional snowboarder Trevor Jacob crashed his Taylorcraft B into the Los Padres National Forest on purpose. The Youtuber, also a parachuter, jumped from the plane and filmed himself parachuting to safety, while cameras on the aircraft captured the remainder of the aircraft's flight. Jacob then hiked to the aircraft's wreckage to recover his cameras before filming himself walking out of the forest. A video of the flight was published to YouTube the next month.[1][2][3]
Flight History
On November 24, 2021, Jacob departed from Lompoc City Airport in Santa Barbara County, California for the Mammoth Lakes Airport. He was flying a Taylorcraft B he had recently purchased. Jacob intended to snowboard, paraglide, and spread the ashes of his late friend Johnny Strange upon arriving in Mammoth.[1][3][4]
Roughly 35 minutes into the flight, the aircraft experienced engine trouble. The video Jacob posted showed the propeller spinning intermittently, and Jacob is heard cursing about his engine trouble. Jacob then opened the pilot-side door and jumped.[1][5][6]
As he paraglided to the ground, Jacob used a selfie stick he had jumped with to film himself looking back towards the aircraft. Cameras inside the aircraft kept rolling as the aircraft continued to glide and eventually pitched forward into the ground.[1][3]
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that Jacob recovered the wreckage a few days after reporting the accident to the National Transportation Safety Board.[7][8]
YouTube Video
A video of the flight was published to Jacob's YouTube channel in December 2021. It includes video of the crash as well as Jacob's attempts to hike out of the valley he crashed in, find water, and be rescued.[3][4]
Public Reception
The video faced immediate heavy scrutiny, especially from pilots and other members of the aviation community.[6] People pointed to Jacob's sudden, abnormal decision to wear a parachute during the whole flight; the fact that he attached cameras in the aircraft and then hiked to retrieve them; the fact he did not make a distress call to Air Traffic Control; the fact that he made no effort to restart the engine; his decision to carry a selfie stick after jumping from the plane; falsely claiming there was no place to land the aircraft; and his decision to dispose of the wreckage after the crash as evidence that he had purposefully crashed the aircraft.[1][6][9]
Viewers also pointed out that the fuel selector in the aircraft was disconnected, the fact that Jacob appeared to have fire extinguishers in his pants, and the fact that he wore a parachuting altimeter.[8]
Jacob is known for being an extreme sports enthusiast. His YouTube channel features these extreme sports as well as pranks and social experiments.[10]
Initial FAA Investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration suspended Jacob's pilot certificate for one year in April 2022. The agency wrote that Jacob "demonstrated a lack of care, judgment, and responsibility by choosing to jump out of an aircraft solely so you could record footage of the crash." Jacob would be fined $1,644 for each day that his certificate was not surrendered.[3][5][6][9]
Jacob initially said that he did not crash the plane. However, as the FAA's investigation intensified, he would not comment on the investigation, going so far as to stop responding to correspondences with news agencies on the issue. Jacob's lawyer also declined to comment.[10][11]
Besides listing all the red flags already mentioned, the FAA also noted that Jacob seemed to open the aircraft's door even before the engine failed, as if he was anticipating the engine's failure and the need to jump out.[10][12]
NTSB Investigation and Guilty Plea
Though the NTSB normally does not investigate unscheduled off-airport landings of vintage light aircraft unless there is a failure of a flight-control system, damage to something other than the aircraft in excess of $25,000, or serious injuries as the result of the accident, the board did investigate this accident.[7]
In May 2023, Jacob agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of interfering with a federal investigation.[2] The charge stemmed from reports that Jacob lied to investigators about not knowing where the wreckage. Rather, Jacob had flown a helicopter to the crash site with a friend, lifted the wreckage to Ranco Sisquoc, and placed it on a trailer attached to a pickup truck. Jacob then drove the wreckage to Lompoc City Airport, where he unloaded it into a hangar and disposed of the aircraft into trash bins around the airport and elsewhere.[13][14]
Jacob is expected to appear in court in May or June, 2023 for a hearing on the proceedings.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Starkey, Jun (2022-01-05). "Did YouTuber Trevor Jacob Crash His Plane in Los Padres on Purpose?". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maxouris, Christina; Mossburg, Cheri (May 12, 2023). "YouTuber agrees to plead guilty to federal charge after intentionally crashing his plane for online views, DOJ says". CNN. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Niles, Russ (2022-04-21). "FAA Revokes Certificate Of YouTuber Who Crashed Plane". AVweb. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Godlewski, Meg (2022-01-21). "FAA Investigates Former Olympian". FLYING Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Genovese, Daniella (2022-04-21). "YouTuber Trevor Jacob purposely crashed plane, FAA says". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Mark, Julian (2022-04-25). "A YouTuber crashed his plane. The FAA says it was all for show". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Genovese, Daniella (2022-04-21). "YouTuber Trevor Jacob purposely crashed plane, FAA says". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Georgilidakis, Spyros (2022-04-21). "Trevor Jacob Loses Pilot License Over Deliberate Crash". Mentour Pilot. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Starkey, Jun (2022-04-22). "YouTuber Trevor Jacob's Pilot License Revoked Following Scathing FAA Report". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Clark, Mitchell (2022-04-21). "FAA will revoke YouTuber's pilot license after plane crash video". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ "YouTuber who jumped from plane caused it to crash in order to record video of it, FAA says". NBC News. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ Yip, Waiyee. "YouTube Influencer pilot Trevor Jacob crashed his plane on purpose so that he could record it for a video, the FAA finds". Insider. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ Desk, ZACHARY ROGERS | The National (2023-05-15). "YouTuber pleads guilty to intentionally crashing plane for views, could face 20 years in prison". WLOS. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ↑ Mather, Katie (2023-05-15). "YouTuber pilot admits he intentionally crashed plane to boost views, secure sponsorship deal". In The Know. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
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