A YouTuber is under investigation after being accused of crashing his plane on purpose - you guessed it - for the clout.
On December 23 last year, former Olympic snowboarder Trevor Jacob took to the skies in his single-engine aircraft, as per flight registry records, with the intention of spreading the ashes of his friend Johnny Strange, who died in a wingsuit accident back in 2015.
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As he soared above the Sierra Nevada Mountains, he claims his plane suffered from engine failure. With 'nowhere safe to land', he unlatched his door and leapt to safety with a parachute. Of course, he filmed his escape with a selfie stick.
As reported by AVWeb, Jacob's crash is now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Agency. 'The agency does not discuss open investigations,' it said.
The video goes onto to show him discovering the wreckage, before wandering the forest hills in search of help. 'I am exhausted. I'm so thirsty. I'm scared, I'm in trouble, I'm cut all over the place,' he said.
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'The only option I have is crawling through these bushes like I have been for the last five hours. And, uh, I'm in pain, man. I'm hurting. Whatever I'm going through, I wish upon nobody.'
He eventually came across a 'farmer' after dark, who helped him get home. Jacob then uploaded the video the very next day, where it's racked up more than 1.1 million views on his YouTube channel - however, it's also generated controversy, with many believing the crash was staged for likes.
There's been a few 'explainers' and common observations about the video: some have pointed out that Jacob's 'skydiving' parachute is too cumbersome and big for a pilot to wear out of caution; others believe the door was already unlatched; and YouTuber Trent Palmer, a professional drone pilot, even identified a nearby area where he could have attempted an emergency landing.
'YouTuber Trevor Jacob completely faked a plane crash for clout. He went up wearing a sport parachute which ZERO private pilots do, pitched the airplane down and jumped while making sure to film via a selfie stick. Disgusting & Fake. Source: My wife and best friend who are pilots,' another user tweeted.
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While the video is clearly edited for time, it doesn't appear to show Jacob trying to revive his plane or radioing for any assistance, nor does he seem to consider landing the plane at all.
The availability of footage in the wake of the crash, particularly one brief overhead clip of the plane descending into the hills, has also raised suspicions about the true nature of the incident.
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Cameron Frew