Trevor Jacob Plane Crash Controversy

Overview

The Trevor Jacob Plane Crash Controversy refers to the online accusations that former Olympian Trevor Jacob purposely recorded a video (called "I Crashed My Plane") of himself pretending to have an engine failure and crashing a 1940 Taylorcraft plane in Los Padres National Forest to gain views on YouTube. The video became a hot topic for YouTubers and members of the online aviation community, with many criticizing Trevor for staging the event and his complete recklessness of crashing the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the crash.

Background

The incident happened on November 24th, 2021, but Jacob did not upload the video to YouTube until a month later, on December 24th, 2021. The beginning of the video (which has since been edited out by Jacob) shows him talking about flying the plane to supposedly spread the ashes of a deceased friend. While flying over Los Padres National Forest, the plane's engine suddenly stalls out. Jacob panics and decides to jump out of the plane with a parachute. The plane (which is equipped with multiple cameras recording the incident) crashes onto the side of a mountain and Jacob lands in a brush area. Jacob walks to the crash site of the plane to see the damage on the aircraft, and spends the rest of the day walking out of the area until he is rescued by some farmers. The video gained over 1.5 million views on YouTube (shown below).

Developments

On January 24th, The New York Times^[1] reported on the story, noting The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, which is routine for both organizations after any plane crash. Jacob denied allegations that he crashed on purpose, saying in a statement, "I’ll happily say I did not purposely crash my plane for views on YouTube."

The Times interviewed pilot Robert Perry, who noted that Jacob's plane would not have room for a parachute and himself unless he removed the padding from the seats. Further discrepancies include the notion that Jacob need not have jumped from the plane and could have glided it safely to a clearing rather than allowing it to crash. The propeller suddenly stopping also struck pilots as odd, as aviation lawyer Timothy Loranger noted "That would happen only if Mr. Jacob pulled back the control and slowed the aircraft, creating a 'dramatic effect.'"

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that Trevor Jacob's private pilot license has been revoked and he could face daily fines of over $1,000 if he fails to turn in his license, determining that he purposely crashed his plane.

Online Reactions

Jacob's actions have been widely condemned by YouTubers and members of the online aviation community, who have all concluded that the plane accident was staged. Other videos have been uploaded to YouTube in response to Jacob's video, pointing out many inconsistencies and calling him out for deliberately crashing the aircraft. On January 5th, 2022, YouTuber penguinz0 uploaded a video on YouTube called "Youtuber Possibly Crashed Plane for Views" sharing his thoughts on the event. The video gained over 2.5 million views (shown below, left). On January 6, 2022 YouTuber Trent Palmer uploaded a video called "Pilot Reacts To Trevor Jacob Crash Video" watching and talking about Trevor's video. The video gained over 700,000 views (shown below, right).

On January 11th, 2022 Youtuber scooby1961 uploaded a video called "What Trevor Jacob doesn't want you to see," investigating Trevor's video. The video gained over 100,000 views (shown below, left). On January 29, 2022, YouTuber Tucker Gott uploaded a video called "My Thoughts On The Trevor Jacob Plane Crash…" sharing his thoughts on the event. The video gained over 80,000 views (shown below, right).

On December 4th, 2023, Jacob was sentenced to six months of prison for destruction and obstruction of a federal investigation. The court ruled that Jacob lied and told investigators he did not know where the plane crashed when in reality he had already cleared the wreckage site and destroyed the wreckage of the plane.

Search Interest

External References