Three million views on YouTube could cost 20 years in prison for pilot Trevor Jacob, who willingly crashed his plane in November 2021 and then published the video on the platform to increase clicks. He is also accused of obstructing investigations.

In November 2021, Jacob took off in a small single-engine plane equipped with cameras from Lompoc Airport in Southern California. After 35 minutes of flight, he parachuted, filming himself with a video camera, into the Los Padres National Forest before the plane crashed.

After touching down, the pilot returned to the crash site and found the video, which was later published on YouTube. The video quickly reached 3 million views, but also raised the first suspicions of the authorities.

In fact, Jacob hadn’t tried to call air traffic control, nor had he tried to restart the engine or look for a safe place to land.

Reporting to the investigators, the man had initially said that the crash was due to a loss of engine power. He also said he did not know where the debris had gone. However, the federal investigation revealed that after several weeks, Jacob and a friend returned to the crash site and together they towed the crashed plane to Santa Barbara County, where he had left it in a hangar and then torn it apart and dumped it in dumpsters. of trash to destroy evidence.

Jacob admitted he intended to obstruct the investigation by disposing of the waste, a crime that carries up to 20 years in prison, and that he made the video to make money as part of a partnership with a company. He also admitted he lied when he told investigators the plane had a technical problem. In April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration revoked his pilot’s license.