A California pilot could face jail time after deliberately crashing his airplane to gain more views for his YouTube channel, federal authorities said Thursday.
Trevor Jacob, a 29-year-old professional snowboarder-turned-pilot, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Central California.
On Nov. 24, 2021, Jacob filmed himself parachuting out of his single-propeller plane that he alleged had malfunctioned above the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria, California. On Christmas Eve, he uploaded to his YouTube channel a video titled “I Crashed My Plane,” which instantly went viral, racking up more than 1 million views in a matter of weeks….