Santa Barbara County man sentenced to prison after YouTube stunt

December 4, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

A Santa Barbara County man was sentenced today to six months in federal prison for obstructing a federal investigation by deliberately destroying the wreckage of an airplane that he intentionally crashed in Santa Barbara County to gain YouTube views.

YouTuber Trevor Jacob, a former Paso Robles resident who currently resides in Lompoc,pled guilty in June to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. He had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in 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.