FAA revokes YouTuber's pilot license after he intentionally crashes plane in viral video

A YouTuber and former Olympian who parachuted from a small aeroplane over the mountains of California last year have now landed in trouble as the Federal Aviation Administration said that he intentionally let the plane crash. The FAA in a recent letter said that the YouTuber’s claims of engine trouble that purposely caused the aircraft to crash were false. It noted that the social media influencer intentionally jumped out of his plane and let it crash late in order to record it for a viral video.

Trevor Jacob, a YouTuber who makes adventurous videos, is under fire after the FAA said that he intentionally crashed his plane late last year. According to The New York Times, Jacob on November 24 flew his small plane over California’s Los Padres National Forest. The 28-year-old had stated that he was flying to spread a late friend’s ashes over the forest when the propeller of his single-engine Taylorcraft plane stopped moving.

FAA revokes YouTuber's pilot certificate after crash

In a video posted by him, Jacob claimed that the plane stopped working and he was forced to jump from the plane while wearing a parachute. He landed in the forest unhurt. The video, which was uploaded on YouTube in December, received 1.8 million views. Following this, an investigation was launched into the matter.

The FAA on April 11 wrote a letter to Jacob revoking his pilot certificate in response to the incident. The agency stated his “careless or reckless” behaviour as the reason for the action. Explaining the investigation, the agency also noted that the pilot’s door was already open when the alleged engine failure took place in the video. According to The New York Times, the letter also pointed out that the YouTuber did not attempt to contact air traffic control or restart the engine before jumping off the plane with his parachute. The FAA also noted that the YouTuber "recovered and then disposed of the wreckage" of the plane after the crash, leading them to the conclusion that the event was set up by him for a video, The Times reported.

It is noteworthy that Jacob is also an Olympian. The American snowboarder has taken part in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Interestingly, he had previously denied that the crash was intentional. However, he later stated that he couldn’t talk about the crash due to legal reasons.

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