An American YouTuber who deliberately staged the crash of his plane in order to film himself escaping by parachute before the plane crashed and generate online views thanks to the sensational video was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday.
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This November 2021 video, viewed several million times, shows Trevor Jacob, an extreme athlete, exiting his plane over California with his selfie stick in hand after an apparent technical problem.
The spectacular incident was filmed from every angle by cameras attached to the device.
But in reality, this crash was staged from start to finish by this experienced pilot to promote a company with which he had a sponsorship agreement, the US Department of Justice said in a press release.
In his video, the skydiver – who also represented the United States in snowboarding at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics – showed off a wallet made by his sponsor.
Mr. Jacob “most likely committed this crime with the aim of generating media and social media coverage for financial gain,” denounced the prosecutors in charge of the case. “This type of reckless behavior cannot be tolerated.”
The 30-year-old athlete was convicted of obstructing a federal investigation. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
After the crash, he told authorities he didn’t know where the plane crashed.
However, the investigation revealed that he himself, along with a friend, recovered the wreckage using a helicopter before dismantling the plane into small pieces to throw into trash cans.
He also admitted lying by providing investigators with a false report that suggested the plane had encountered a technical problem.
The YouTuber “displayed an extraordinary lack of judgment in committing this crime,” prosecutors added.