An American YouTuber Crashed A Plane On Purpose For A Viral Video, According To Officials
The YouTuber has responded in another video, too.👇
Trevor Jacob piloting his plane. Right: Trevor Jacob jumping out of the same plane.
What would you be willing to do to go viral? American YouTuber Trevor Jacob has reportedly lost his licence to operate aircraft after an alleged stunt ended with him parachuting out of his plane after he says it malfunctioned.
Jacob, a former Olympic snowboarder, documented the incident in a nearly 13-minute long YouTube video titled "I Crashed My Plane."
In the clip, his plane's propeller seems to stop mid-flight, prompting him to jump out of the craft before parachuting to safety.
Later, he tells the camera, “I’m just so happy to be alive.”
However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said that Jacob purposely allowed the plane to crash.
As reported by The New York Times, an FAA letter to Jacob said that he operated his single-engine plane in a "careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.”
Additionally, the FAA said that the influencer didn't do what was expected of someone who was in an emergency situation, such as contact air traffic control, look for a place to safely land or try to restart the plane's engine.
“During this flight, you opened the left side pilot door before you claimed the engine had failed,” the FAA added.
It also pointed out unusual aspects of the video that suggest the crash was done on purpose, such as flying with a parachute on, something that is uncommon in aviation.
The FAA said that after the crash, Jacob also “recovered and then disposed of the wreckage."
The agency said it would revoke Jacob's pilot licence, which means he is no longer permitted to operate any aircraft.
In the letter to the YouTuber, the FAA said that his "egregious and intentional actions on these dates indicate that you presently lack the degree of care, judgment and responsibility required of a certificate holder."
As of April 24, Jacob has over 134,000 subscribers on Youtube. The video of him "crashing" the plane has over 2 million views.
In a video after the incident, Jacob told his followers, “I can’t talk about it, per my attorney.
"But the truth of that situation will come out with time, and I’ll leave that at that," he said.
In another YouTube video posted on April 23, Jacob responded to the flurry of coverage. "I didn't know that posting a video of an adventure gone south would ruffle so many feathers," he said.