YouTuber who staged California plane crash gets 6 months in prison for obstructing investigation

LOS ANGELES — An influencer who staged a plane crash in California to make a YouTube video of himself parachuting himself to safety was sentenced Monday to six months in prison for obstructing the investigation by destroying the wreckage, said the U.S. Department of Justice Monday.

Trevor Daniel Jacob, 30, an experienced pilot and skydiver, pleaded guilty in June to one count of criminal damage and concealment with intent to obstruct a federal investigation.

The video titled “I Crashed My Airplane” emerged in December 2021 and purported to show Jacob's small plane having an engine failure over the mountainous Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County. He already had a parachute on and jumped out with a selfie stick camera in hand.

His jump and dive from the plane were recorded by cameras mounted on the plane's wing and tail and by the camera he was carrying. After landing, he walked to the crash site and collected video footage from the onboard cameras, the government said.

According to the plea agreement, Jacob had a sponsorship deal to promote a company's product in a video he would post, and he never intended to complete the November 24, 2021 flight.

The Justice Department said Jacob later notified federal investigators of the crash, was told he was responsible for preserving the wreckage, agreed to identify its location — and then lied about not knowing its location.

On Dec. 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew to the site in a helicopter that was used to lift the wreckage and fly it to a trailer attached to his pickup, according to the agreement. The plane was later cut into pieces and the parts were thrown away in garbage bins.

Jacob, of Lompoc, California, had his pilot's license revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022.