A handful of YouTube stars are famed worldwide for frequently breaking the rules of society in the name of 'entertainment'.
Last year, however, one social media favorite was found to have gone one step too far when it comes to his controversial online antics, after he admitted to deliberately crashing a plane for 'likes and views'.
Trevor Jacob - a formerly world-renowned snowboard cross competitor and extreme sports athlete - uploaded a video to his channel in December 2021 tilted 'I Crashed My Airplane', which has since racked up close to three million views.
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Implying the catastrophe had been accidental, Jacob filmed his escape from the 'stalled' plane, during which he was seen becoming stressed and swearing, before the YouTuber jumped using a parachute and recorded the moment that the aircraft crashed.
Following his escape, the video showed California-born Jacob allegedly spending hours walking through the mountains in the hope he would find civilization.
He claimed to viewers on the video: "During the flight I experienced an engine failure over some mountains. There was no safe space to land."
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But the fact there was no attempt by Jacob to safely land the aircraft led many viewers to suspect the entire incident was staged.
And in 2023, as part of a plea agreement, Jacob admitted that he had crashed the plane intentionally as part of a product sponsorship deal.
The skydiver pleaded guilty to one felony count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said: "[Jacob] most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain.
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"Nevertheless, this type of 'daredevil' conduct cannot be tolerated."
Meanwhile, a press release stated: "In the weeks following the plane crash, Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage's location.
"Jacob did not intend to reach his destination, but instead planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed."
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The release went on to say that Jacob and his friend flew via helicopter to the crash site to look at the wreckage for themselves on December 10, 2021.
Jacob then went on to take straps 'to secure the wreckage', which was eventually loaded back onto Jacob's truck and taken to the airport where the airplane originally took off.
In a statement released by the US justice department on May 11 last year, the skydiver agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
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In December, 2023, a US district judge sentenced Jacobs to six months in jail, with a scheduled start date of January 29, 2024.
And now, ahead of his prison stint, Jacob has officially spoken out about his crime, insisting, however, that he's been left surprised at the legal consequences, stating he 'had no idea' that jumping out of the plane would result in breaking the law.
"When I jumped out of the plane, I jumped and I’m like, ‘You just made the biggest mistake of your life'," he recalled in conversation on Good Morning America.
"I made sure that there was no fuel in the plane, made absolutely sure that there was nobody in that vicinity."
Despite acknowledging his mistake and taking 'full responsibility' for his crime, Jacob defended his decision to post the video, claiming he felt gratitude for being alive and believing: "I may as well put this online.”
Jacob also urged the public, especially children, to avoid similarly dangerous stunts, saying: "Let’s not get in this disgusting feedback loop of dopamine and adrenaline and views and likes, and I’m happy to be looked at as the idiot to show kids, 'Hey, don’t do this type of stuff'."
Topics: Crime, Social Media, YouTube
Rhianna Benson