Who is Trevor Dainel? YouTuber pleads guilty to intentionally crashing plane

On May 11, the California Department of Justice announced that a YouTuber named Trevor Daniel, with the username "TrevorJacob," had pleaded guilty to intentionally crashing and dismantling a plane for a video that he uploaded to the platform in 2021 from Santa Barbara County. According to a report, the 29-year-old, who hails from Lompoc has agreed to the charges of destruction of that aircraft with the intent of hiding this incident from authorities.

According to official statements obtained from the DOJ, Trevor Daniel, who had prior flying and skydiving experience, executed a plan that involved taking off from the Lompoc City Airport in an airplane and heading towards Mammoth Lakes. However, he had no intention of reaching his destination and reported crashing the plane to the National Transportation Safety Board on November 26, 2021.

Next month, Daniel uploaded a video to YouTube titled "I Crashed my Airplane" and was under investigation by relevant authorities who brought the aforementioned charges forward over the following years. As for his identity, Trevor Daniel is an Olympic athlete who was part of the American Snowboarding team in 2014's Winter Olympics.

In another video from his channel featuring him performing stunts on a bike, he describes himself as an "adventurer" who is the founder of a website that provides various coaching services to people looking to learn adventure sports.

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Trevor Daniel reportedly impeded federal investigation into airplane he intentionally crashed for making YouTube video

Reportedly, in the plea agreement, Trevor Daniel has taken full responsibility for the crash and agreed that he had purposefully ejected from the aircraft within 35 minutes of takeoff. His intention had been to film his descent with the parachute for the purpose of making a video that was to be uploaded to YouTube.

Reports also mention that the creator had planted various cameras in several spots on the plane to record the crash. The video that he uploaded to YouTube proves this. After he ejected from the aircraft — showcasing it with a camera mounted on a selfie stick — shots in later sections came from cameras mounted on the aircraft as it crashed somewhere in the Los Padres National Forest.

According to a press release from the DOJ's office, Trevor Daniel had lied to the authorities. He had also attempted to impede the federal investigation by being untruthful regarding not knowing about the crash's location and dismantling, as well as hiding the plane's parts in various locations to avoid accountability.

By intentionally destroying an aircraft and not disclosing the incident to the relevant authorities, Trevor Daniel disrupted the federal investigation. As per the law, this violation can land him in jail for up to 20 years. It is unclear when this YouTuber will be charged and sentenced, with the case still in the courts.

The YouTube video in question is still up on the website, having accrued over 3.5 million views since it was uploaded back in December 2021. The DOJ also reports that Trevor's plane license was revoked in 2022 after the investigations got underway.