“YouTuber facing up to 20 years in prison after crashing a plane and hindering investigation”

Trevor Jacob admitted that he wanted to hinder the progress of the investigation by getting rid of the wreckage, and that he made the video to earn money as part of a partnership with a company.

A YouTuber, also an airplane pilot, who voluntarily sent his plane crashing to the ground while escaping in midair, before posting the video on the internet, faces up to 20 years in prison, said on Thursday US authorities.

In his video seen nearly three million times, entitled “I crashed my plane”, the YouTuber films himself in full flight over California, in November 2021.

Trevor Jacob seems to encounter a technical problem during the flight and ends up ejecting from the plane (selfie stick in hand), to land, by parachute, in the middle of nature.

The aircraft crashes spectacularly in the Los Padres National Forest. All filmed by cameras placed on the plane. Trevor Jacob then walks to the wreckage, where he discovers, looking disappointed, that the stock of water he was carrying has disappeared.

Viewers then see him progressing through bushes, over hills and seemingly struggling to regain civilization. He explains being thirsty, feeling lost.

He pleads guilty

A few weeks later, federal agencies launched an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the crash. Trevor Jacob had been ordered to keep the wreckage of his plane.

The YouTuber said he didn’t know where the plane crashed but, according to court documents, he and a friend pulled the wreckage out of the forest using a helicopter two weeks after the incident. He then cut the plane into small parts, threw them in trash cans.

He also admitted to lying when he gave investigators a report that the plane had encountered a technical problem, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

The YouTuber pleaded guilty to destroying and concealing evidence for the purpose of obstructing a federal investigation, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.