Influencer Trevor Jacob recently admitted that he intentionally crashed an aeroplane in November 2021 to get views on YouTube.
The 29-year-old had taken a solo flight out of Santa Barbara, California with a parachute and a selfie stick. His plane had mounted cameras to capture his journey. After 35 minutes, his plane crashed into the Los Padres National Forest near New Cuyama, California. The social media star then hiked to the site of the crash to retrieve the camera footage and uploaded the video on YouTube in December 2021, which has received over 2.9 million views to date.
At the time, some of his viewers questioned the authenticity of the crash, pointing out that he had made little to no attempt to stop it from happening and he was well prepared with his parachute.
A federal investigation into the accident has since revealed that the crash was, in fact, intentional and Jacob has now accepted a plea deal, confirming that he filmed the video as a part of a product sponsorship deal he had.
The YouTuber is expected to make his initial court appearance for obstructing a federal investigation by cleaning up the site of the crash in the coming weeks and he could face up to 20 years of prison.
But, who is Trevor Jacob? Here is the run down on the YouTuber.
Who is Trevor Jacob?
Trevor Jacob is an American snowboarder, athlete, YouTuber and now former aircraft pilot. The Californian represented the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014, finishing ninth.
He went on to compete in other snowboard competitions in the following years, as well as participating in surfing, BMX, mixed martial arts and motocross events.
He is also the founder of Adventured.com, a platform for those seeking coaches, guides, or instructors for activities ranging from cooking and meditation to fishing and windsurfing.
The 29-year-old has a significant presence on YouTube with 138,000 subscribers and over 19 million views to date.
