Plane crashes are horrific, and therefore, governing bodies keep a check on a lot of parameters of the aviation business to keep away from such disasters. However, a YouTuber deliberately crashed his single-engine plane in a bid to get more views on his video. After being a part of a court trial, he has agreed to plead guilty for obstructing a federal investigation. The 29-year-old YouTube – Trevor Jacob, will face imprisonment of up to 20 years for this act, as he intentionally destroyed the debris of his plane, which crashed in the Los Padres national forest in California in 2021.

YouTuber pilot Trevor Jacob who bailed out midair and deliberately sent his plane crashing into the ground to bolster viewing numbers on his channel could be jailed for up to 20 years, US authorities have said. pic.twitter.com/ojWzX2NNym
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 12, 2023

The YouTuber jumped out of his plane with a parachute, prior to its crash. He even documented the same in his video. While being investigated, Jacob claimed that the plane lost power. He also denied being aware of the wreckage’s whereabouts. With aviation experts and authorities investigating the matter, doubts led them to find out that no calls to ATC were made when the engine lost power. The YouTuber did not ask the traffic controller for a safe place to land either.

In fact, the whole incident seems to be a well-plotted one. Jacob describes himself as a seasoned pilot and of course, a skydiver. In the plea, he confirmed that he never wanted to finish his flight to Mammoth Lake in Sierra Nevada Mountains. Also, right ahead of the take-off, he got himself prepared with a parachute and equipped the plane with cameras. He observed the plane until it crashed. He then trekked to the crash site to get back his cameras for the footage.

Also read – Sri Jagannath Puri International Airport: Odisha CM Asks PM Modi To Expedite Site Clearance Process

It was only after two days that Jacob informed NTSB about the crash but said that he wasn’t aware of the crash site’s whereabouts. Well, the YouTuber didn’t stop here. He flew to the crash site with his friend and got the plane towed to a hangar in Santa Barbara County to disassemble it and trash the parts. However, he later uploaded a video on YouTube, titled, ‘I Crashed My Plane’ that led investigators to uncover Jacob’s lies.