According to information released on Thursday by the Justice Department, a 29-year-old YouTuber who intentionally crashed a plane will enter a guilty plea to a federal felony after destroying the aircraft’s wreckage.
Trevor In a video he produced to advertise a wallet, Daniel Jacob acknowledged to investigators that he had intended to crash his plane. In order to prevent federal investigators from looking into the crash scene, he later gathered the aircraft’s debris and removed it, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
In order to hinder a federal investigation, Jacob, a pilot, and skydiver consented to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment, according to the press statement.
On November 24, 2021, the flight took happen. Jacob stated in the plea agreement that he never planned to land the aircraft after it took off from Lompoc City Airport in Santa Barbara County. Instead, he “planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed,” the press release states.
According to the press release, Jacob had set up multiple cameras throughout the aircraft and had also included a selfie stick, video camera, and parachute.
“Jacob ejected from the aircraft and videoed himself parachuting to the ground about 35 minutes after takeoff while flying above the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria,” it continued.
YouTuber Intentionally Crashes Plane for Views
According to the press statement, he parachuted to the ground, recorded the crash, then hiked to the debris and brought the video data with him.
Two days after the collision, the YouTuber informed the National Transportation Safety Board of it and offered to make the crash scene public. However, he falsely told investigators that he did not know the location of the accident site. Then, according to the statement, which quotes the plea deal, he flew to the scene with a companion about two weeks later, loaded up the wreckage, and later burned it.
About a month after the incident, he posted a video on YouTube titled “I Crashed My Airplane,” which featured Jacob jumping out of the aircraft and the crash itself.
Pete Peterson posted a tweet in wrote Jacob admitted he feel guilty:
“On Dec 23, 2021, Jacob uploaded a YT video titled, “I Crashed My Airplane,” that contained a promotion of the wallet and depicting him parachuting from the plane and the aircraft’s subsequent crash. Jacob admitted…he intended to make $ through the video. https://t.co/et0rEqmKAZ
— Pete Peterson (@Pete4CA) May 11, 2023
With several comments pointing out that Jacob was already wearing a parachute, that he made no attempt to glide the aircraft to a safe landing spot, and that he took his camera and selfie stick with him when he abandoned the plane, some viewers were dubious of the act.
According to the press release, “Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money off the video.”
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The news announcement stated that he also acknowledged lying to federal authorities after submitting an event report for an aviation accident and making the false allegation that the plane completely lost power around 30 minutes after departure.
Jacob further misled a Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector, it said, by claiming that the plane’s engine had failed and that he had parachuted out of the aircraft after being unable to find a safe place to land.
According to the press release, Jacob’s pilot’s license was canceled by the FAA last year.
The upcoming weeks are when Jacob is anticipated to show up in court.
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