An American YouTuber admitted to deliberately crashing the plane he was flying to increase his view count.
On the 12th (local time), according to US ABC and NBC broadcasts, YouTuber and skydiver Trevor Jacob uploaded a flight video to his YouTube channel in December 2021.
In the video, Jacob is seen piloting a small aircraft over California. Suddenly, the plane's propeller stops, and Jacob opens the cockpit door and jumps out of the plane. Holding a selfie stick, he freefalls before deploying his parachute, while the plane crashes into the middle of the Los Padres National Forest in California 35 minutes after takeoff.
As of that day, the video had recorded 2.97 million views. Some viewers suspected the crash was staged, but immediately after the incident, he told The New York Times (NYT) that it was not intentional.
However, this explanation proved to be false. According to the Central District of California Federal Prosecutor's Office, Jacob recently confessed in a plea agreement submitted to the Los Angeles (LA) Federal Court that he had filmed the video under an advertising contract with a wallet manufacturer.
The prosecution also stated that he admitted to destroying evidence at the crash site to obstruct the federal investigation, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He acknowledged using a helicopter to transport the wreckage from the mountain to a hangar, where he cut it into pieces and disposed of it.
His statements about the crash situation were also proven false. His initial response to the FAA was that the plane completely lost power 35 minutes after takeoff and that there was no safe way to land, so he jumped. However, this was not true. Jacob's pilot license was revoked last year.
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