Lompoc resident that deliberately crashed airplane for YouTube video pleads guilty to felony obstruction charge

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A YouTuber, pilot, and Lompoc resident has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge for obstructing a federal investigation after deliberately destroying wreckage of an airplane he intentionally crashed for views online, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

The 29-year-old, Trevor Daniel Jacob, agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, the maximum sentence for that crime is 20 years in federal prison.

According to his plea agreement, Jacob received a sponsorship from a company which required he promote the company's wallet in a YouTube video he would post.

On Nov. 24 of 2021, Jacob took off in his Taylorcraft BL-65 single-engine plane from Lompoc City Airport on a solo flight destined for Mammoth Lakes.

Jacob, an experienced pilot and skydiver, did not intend to reach his stated destination and instead planned to eject mid-air and video himself parachuting to the ground, he detailed in his plead deal.

Prior to take-off, Jacob mounted multiple video cameras on different parts of the plane as well as equipped himself with a parachute and selfie stick with an attached video camera.

Approximately 35 minutes after take-off, while above portions of the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria, Jacob exited the cockpit and videoed himself parachuting to the ground.

Jacob recorded himself parachuting and the subsequent plane crash. After landing, he returned to the site of the downed plane and retrieved the data recording the crash, the plea agreement states.

On Nov. 26, 2021, Jacob informed the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about the plane crash.

NTSB then launched an investigation into the crash and informed Jacob he was responsible for preserving the wreckage so the agency could analyze it.

Jacob agreed to determine the crash location and provide both the coordinates of the wreckage and videos of the incident to NTSB investigators. Three days later, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched its own investigation of the plane crash.

During the investigation over the succeeding weeks, Jacob informed federal investigators that he did not know the location of the plane wreckage, but on Dec. 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew in a hired helicopter to the crash site.

While at the scene of the crash, Jacobs secured straps to the wreckage and use a helicopter to lift the plane to Rancho Sisquoc where it was then loaded onto a trailer attached to Jacob's pick-up truck.

Jacobs then drove the wreckage to Lompoc City Airport, unloaded it into a hanger, and then cut up and destroyed the plane over the course of a few days. He deposited the detached parts of the plane into multuple trash bins at the airport and other locations which he admitted in his plea deal was done with the intent to obstruct federal investigators.

On Dec. 23, 2021, Jacob uploaded a YouTube video titled, "I Crashed My Airplane" that contained video of the crash, parachuting, and a promotion of the wallet. In his plea agreement, he intended to make money through the video.

Jacob further admitted in his plea deal to lying to federal authorities when he submitted an aircraft incident report that falsely claimed the aircraft had experienced a full loss of power 35 minutes into the flight. Jacob also lied to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he claimed the airplane's engine had quit and was forced to parachute when he could not identify any safe landing options.

The FAA revoked Jacob's pilot license in April of 2022.