Youtuber and Olympic snowboarder Trevor Jacob has been left with no choice but to admit to justice that he deliberately faked an accident with his plane in California in 2021, according to court documents to which Agence France-Presse (AFP) has had access.
Jacob acknowledged that he wanted to hinder the progress of the investigation by disposing of the remains and that he made the video to earn money as part of a partnership with a company. Now he faces up to 20 years in prison, according to US authorities.
In addition, he admitted to lying when he told investigators that the plane had a technical problem during the flight, which is why he had to jump from the aircraft, the Justice Department explains in a statement.
In November 2021, Jacob uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled “I Crashed My Plane”, where he can be seen parachuting out of his plane because, according to him, it was about to crash due to a technical problem.
“It was the most intense experience of my life. I didn’t think I would survive. I promised myself that I would always do that route with a parachute, since a friend lost his life doing that same route and thankfully,” explained the man at the time. Olympic snowboarder.
However, some details of the video and his story did not add up. Several users questioned the veracity of the images. They also wondered why Jacob hadn’t attempted an emergency landing or why he hadn’t contacted air traffic control.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also distrusted his account and revoked his pilot’s license for crashing his plane on purpose. Later, federal agencies launched an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
Now, Jacob has admitted that he deliberately faked an accident with his plane to monetize his YouTube video and that he lied when he told investigators that the plane had a technical problem during the flight.
In addition, according to court documents, the snowboarder would have destroyed evidence that incriminates him. The youtuber claimed that he did not know where the plane crashed but, according to court documents, he and a friend removed the remains from the forest using a helicopter two weeks after the incident. They then cut the aircraft into small parts and threw them in the trash.