Trevor Jacob plane crash video: YouTuber has pilot license revoked by FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration withdrew Trevor Jacob's pilot certificate this month after the YouTuber crashed his single-engine airplane over the California mountains. The incident took place last year in November. He recorded the same for his YouTube channel under a video titled I Crashed My Plane. The video has amassed over 1.8 million views since it was uploaded in December.

The FAA has demanded that Trevor Jacob immediately surrender his pilot certificate following the crash. The letter read:

“On November 24, 2021, you demonstrated a lack of care, judgment, and responsibility by choosing to jump out of an aircraft solely so you could record the footage of the crash. Your egregious and intentional actions on these dates indicate that you presently lack the degree of care, judgment and responsibility required of a certificate holder.”

Jacob was flying a Taylorcraft BL-65 single-engine plane that crashed in the Los Padres National Forest.

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How did Trevor Jacob’s plane crash?

The YouTuber was the sole occupant of the plane. On the video uploaded to his channel, one could see that his propeller stopped spinning at one point. Jacob went on to make comments which were bleeped out in the video. One of them included him saying that the engine was out.

He went on to record himself opening the door and jumping off the aircraft with the help of a parachute. Cameras that were attached to the now-empty airplane showed it crashing into the mountains.

The FAA announced that the content creator made no effort to contact air traffic control. Nor did he attempt to find a solution to the problem by restarting the engine prior to jumping. The FAA said he:

“made no attempt to look for areas to land safely even though there were multiple areas within gliding range.”

Jalopnik reported that the plane, which was a vintage model from the 1940s was in a “state of despair and in need of major maintenance.” The publication added that Jacob tried fixing it himself.

Unsurprisingly, one might think that the YouTuber orchestrated the horrific incident for views on his YouTube channel. However, Trevor Jacob said in a statement:

“I’ll happily say I did not purposely crash my plane for views on YouTube.”

The New York Times asked the YouTuber about the FAA’s letter, and he responded in an email:

“Where’d you get that information?”

According to the FAA, Trevor Jacob can face a penalty of over $1,600 for each day he fails to surrender his license.

The content creator has been an avid adventure seeker. According to his USA bio page, he snowboarded at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Along with the same, he has taken part in other extreme sports (including skydiving), which have been uploaded to his YouTube channel.