YouTuber is facing 20 years in prison for intentionally crashing his plane in a real-life GTA stunt and then lying about it to the government
Remember when the FTC published new disclosure guidelines for influencers that the agency said "leaves no room for misunderstanding(opens in new tab)?" It looks like the Federal Aviation Administration might have to do the same thing: YouTuber Trevor Jacob recently pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal investigation by hiding evidence that he intentionally crashed his plane in a video made as part of a sponsorship deal to promote a wallet.
The whole sordid, stupid story began in November 2021, when Jacob took his single-engine private plane out, purportedly so he could spread the ashes of his best friend over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Midway through the flight, however, his engine suddenly went dead!
Cursing his misfortune, he bailed out of his stricken craft, leaving it to crash into the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California, while he was forced to trek long miles through the rugged, mountainous landscape after touching down, before being rescued by a passerby.
Shortly thereafter, Jacob posted a video of his narrow escape to YouTube, and that's where his troubles really began. Questions about the crash emerged almost immediately: There was no indication in the video that Jacob had tried to do anything to restart the engine, call for help, or look for a safe landing spot before bailing out of the plane, and while he appeared to be in a state of near-panic after the engine quit, he also had the presence of mind to have his selfie stick in hand when he jumped out. Oddly enough, he was also wearing a parachute when he went up, and had mounted multiple cameras in strategic locations on the plane.
«Honestly, so many red flags here. Nothing makes sense in the context of a genuine engine failure,» redditor
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