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Trevor Jacob, the Olympic athlete turned YouTuber pilot was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for obstructing a federal investigation by destroying the wreckage of the aircraft he intentionally crashed to gain views online. Jacob spoke out on Tuesday on social media, sharing how he has learned from the experience and how it has changed him as a person. The video also shows him flying again and showing off paperwork that he said logged his flight hours and allowed him to fly again.A review of the online FAA Airmen Certification database by GlobalAir.com shows a Trevor D. Jacob, which matches the middle initial of the YouTuber, holds a third-class medical certificate granted in November, such certificates are generally granted for student pilots. It does not show the person, whose address was withheld at the request of the person, holding a valid certificate. The FAA responded Friday to an email request submitted by GlobalAir.com, saying that Jacob has a temporary pilot certificate and that his pilot application is working its way through the FAA's standard process.
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Jacob stoked ire in the aviation world when he uploaded a video to his YouTube channel in late 2021 entitled, "I Crashed My Airplane." In it, the experienced pilot, skydiver and former Olympic athlete takes off in his TaylorCraft BL-65, strapped with cameras on his plane, ejects from his aircraft midflight claiming engine problems and videos himself parachuting to the ground as the plane descends and crashes in a National Forest. During the investigation process, Jacob lied and told investigators he did not know where the crash site was, despite retrieving his cameras from the plane and later removing the wreckage to be cut up and discretely disposed of.The video went viral, drawing more attention once it was known the FAA was investigating the crash. He lost his pilot's license and faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison by May of 2023. A representative from the Department of Justice told GlobalAir.com on Monday that Jacob must report to the U.S. Marshals Service or the Federal Bureau of Prisons by Jan. 29 to serve six months.
On Tuesday Jacob uploaded a new video to his YouTube channel and made a post on his Instagram. On Instagram, he shared images from the orignal viral video as well as one of Jacob in front of a courthouse, his thoughts on the situation, two years out.
"Two years ago I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and let it crash into the ground, took some bad advice, and decided to remove the wreckage," Jacob shared in his post.
He thanked the friends and family who stood by his side, as well as his lawyers. Jacob also thanked Federal Judge Walter for "understanding the truth of the situation," and giving him a second chance at life.
"This situation could have been a lot worse, and I am extremely grateful I am here to talk about it," he said. "I look forward to teaching our youth from my mistake, and the lessons I have learned from this, it has changed me as a person forever, and therefore, I am so excited for this next chapter of implementing those changes into society for the better."
His new YouTube video gave a glimpse of his life now, looking back on the experience and a path forward. He said he has grown since the incident.
"I thought I was grown up," Jacob said in his video. "But normally when you think you're something, or you think something's a certain way, it actually sometimes turns out to be the exact opposite. And that's exactly what happened."
At this point in his video, he is sharing his experience whilst cooking eggs in his kitchen, 10 days out from his federal sentencing. Initially, he was facing multiple felony charges with possibly 20 years of prison time for each count. Before the trial, he was facing one charge for covering up evidence. He knew walking into court with a federal judge meant he could be looking at a wide scope of possible sentences, anywhere from one-year probation to 20 years in prison.
"I never thought I'd be in this position, but looking back, hindsight is 20/20," Jacob said.
"The biggest thing that I never really considered was the influence that that could have on the younger generation," he said. "There's so many kids that are getting influenced by what they see on the internet, you know, that has the effect to inspire someone to do something maybe harmful or evil. I knew I wasn't going to hurt anyone, but I never really considered that some kid out there might take this and run with it in a really bad direction."
Looking back, Jacob said he never would have pulled the stunt if he had fully understood all the ramifications. After showing some downtime skating at a park, riding wheelies on a motor bike, practicing martial arts, and skydiving out of a plane, Jacob shared that he has his pilot's license back after losing it in 2022. He said passed his written and got permission from a CFI to retake his checkride in June, the same month he pleaded guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.Jacob flew around with his dog and a friend in the video before he was back at home, talking about the enormity of his situation in the kitchen again. He talks of the seriousness of the situation, going from an adrenaline-seeking, sports-loving person to someone looking at prison time.
"It has really built me," he shared. "Whatever happens from here on out in the future, I had to go through this to learn. I had to go through this to really grow as a person."
Jacob said this experience has allowed him to learn and grow as a person.
"I didn't know that a human being could go through this," he said. "I didn't know that I could feel the things that I've felt and endure the suffering and pain that this has caused me, but I needed it. I deserved it."
His viral video, featuring the intentional plane crash, featured a sponsored ad for a wallet. He admitted that he uploaded the video to make money through his promotion. He initially claimed he posted so other pilots could learn from his experience, but after speculation over the truth of the accident, he edited out about four minutes including the intro, text screens, a paid advertisement and the ending of the video.In the FAA's letter sent to Jacob in 2022, the agency said he left the pilot door before he claimed engine failure, made no attempt to contact ATC on the emergency frequency, did not try to restart the engine and failed to find a safe place to land despite close there being multiple clear areas within gliding range. The FAA takes stunts like these seriously, taking the licenses of the Red Bull pilots who attempted a mid-air plane swap without FAA approval.
Jacob shared that after he walked away from the forest and the plane wreckage he suffered from head-to-toe poison oak for two months, claiming he felt he deserved it. He said once he landed in the bushes, he had the realization of what he had just done and the misadventure that awaited him. He almost fell off a cliff, was covered in poison oak, his water cannister had exploded in the plane, he had no food and no phone service. He hiked for 15 miles down a mountain, unaware of where he was headed or whether he would even live. He said his experience after the crash, his immense fear and his discovery by the local ranchers were all very real. He said the entire ordeal and the legal proceedings brought him to his knees, but were what he needed to grow.
"I'm not afraid to say I screwed up," Jacob said.
Then Jacob shared his real reason for pulling the stunt, and he said it was not for views.
"I told this to the judge in my letter, that's why I did that, it was a bucket list goal," he said. "I always told myself that before I die I will jump out of a plane and watch it crash into the ground, pull my parachute."
Jacob said this stunt was to live out a childhood dream, not "chasing clout" or trying to get "reinforcement for his ego." He said he just wanted to cross an item off of his bucket list and had a sponsor willing to pay for it, but he was not doing it for attention or views. Jacob said he wanted to share his bucket list experience with the world, and it backfired. He ended the video by sharing he was grateful for the whole experience and that he would learn from the mistake. In court, prosecutors had a different view of why he jumped.
"It appears that [Jacob] exercised exceptionally poor judgment in committing this offense," prosecutors said. "[Jacob] most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain. Nevertheless, this type of ‘daredevil' conduct cannot be tolerated."Asked about the latest video to be posted by the convicted social media star, a spokesperson for the U.S. District Attorney's office that prosecuted the case responded to GlobalAir.com by email: "We have no comment. Thank you."
Whatever his reasoning for the intentional plane crash or the lessons he says he has learned from the experience, Jacob will face six months in federal prison for his decision. Aviation safety should never be taken lightly and the FAA will take irresponsible flying seriously.