American YouTuber Trevor Jacob, who deliberately staged and filmed a plane crash two years ago, will plead guilty at the next California court hearing. The announcement was made by the Public Ministry, with whom Jacob had made a prior agreement.
According to the BBC, Jacob, who faces up to 20 years in prison, emphasized in the written agreement with the prosecution that he made the video of the plane crash as part of a publicity contract. Specifically, the 29-year-old pilot and skydiver will plead guilty to destroying evidence and obstructing investigations.
A 13-minute video of the crash, titled “I Crashed My Plane”, got many views. It shows Jacob piloting a small Taylorcraft plane, with aerial footage of the Los Padres National Forest.
“Didn’t intend to reach the goal”
In November 2021, Jacob had taken off alone on a plane from Santa Barbara, California. He had cameras attached to the plane and was carrying a parachute and a selfie stick.
Jacob “did not intend to achieve his objective, instead exiting the plane mid-flight and filming himself skydiving and the plane falling and crashing,” prosecutors said.
35 minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed into the Los Padres National Forest. Jacob walked to the crash site and took the cameras with him.
Lots of stunt references
Several people who saw the video on YouTube quickly expressed doubts and suspected an intentional accident to produce a spectacular video of this stunt.
They pointed out, for example, that Jacob, who had his pilot’s license revoked, had already strapped on a parachute and was not attempting an emergency landing. Jacob then quickly blocked the comment function on the video. According to the FAA, Jacob opened the left door before saying in the video that the engine had failed.