Central Coast YouTuber pleads guilty to crashing plane for views

May 11, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

A Central Coast YouTuber pled guilty to obstructing a federal investigation after he deliberately crashed an airplane in Santa Barbara County and then destroyed the evidence to gain online views, the Justice Department announced today.

YouTuber Trevor Jacob, a former Paso Robles residents who currently resides in Lompoc, pled guilty to concealing and destroying evidence in order to obstruct a federal investigation. He now faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Jacob, an experienced pilot and skydiver, was the youngest member of an American snowboard racing team during the 2014 Winter Olympics.

After securing a paid sponsor, who required that Jacob promote their wallet, Jacob took off on a solo flight purportedly to Mammoth Lakes on Nov. 23, 2021.

However, Jacob planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed in the Los Padres National Forest, he admitted in the plea agreement.

After parachuting to the ground, Jacob hiked to the wreck and recovered video recordings of his flight and the crash of the airplane.

Two days later, Jacob reported the crash to the National Transportation Safety Board, which then ordered Jacob to preserve the wreckage.

In the weeks that followed, Jacob lied to investigators claiming he did not know where the plane had crashed.

However, on Dec. 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew by helicopter to the wreckage site, put straps on the plane and flew it to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County. The men loaded the plane onto a trailer attached to Jacob’s pickup truck. Jacob then cut up and destroyed the evidence.

Jacob posted a 12-minute video of the crash on YouTube on Dec. 23, 2021, which has already received more than 2.9 million views. Jacob admitted that he intended to make money off the video.

The FAA revoked Jacob’s pilot license in April 2022.