YouTuber intentionally jumped from the plane that caused the crash to record it, FAA letter reads

A YouTuber parachuted from a small plane over the California mountains last year after claiming an engine failure intentionally caused the plane to crash so he could record footage, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. a recent letter.

The April 11 letter to Trevor Jacob said Jacob’s private pilot license or certificate had been revoked.

“On November 24, 2021, you showed carelessness, judgment and responsibility by choosing to jump out of the plane just to be able to capture footage of the accident,” the warrant said. FAA emergency response written.

That day, the single-engine Taylorcraft BL-65 left Lompoc in Santa Barbara County and crashed in the Los Padres National Forest.

New York Times reported the FAA letter on Wednesday.

The video titled “I Crashed My Plane” was posted on December 23 on Jacob’s YouTube channel. Questions about whether the accident was intentional lift up and quoted in Media reports and aviation website.

In it, Jacob, the pilot and lone occupant, was flying a single-engine plane when video emerged showing the propellers stopping. Jacob makes comments, some of which are exposed, including one about the engine in action.

He then opened the door and jumped out of the plane, recording his fall and using a parachute. Cameras attached to the now-empty plane showed it crashing into a mountain.

Jacob did not immediately respond to messages sent to the email address attached to the YouTube page late Wednesday or to messages sent to his Instagram account and to a website that appear to be related to the site. he.

An attorney listed in the FAA letter appearing to represent Jacob said he could not comment on Jacob’s matter.

“I am happy to say that I did not intentionally crash my plane to get YouTube views,” Jacob said in a statement in January, the New York Times reported at the time.

Jacob has advertised himself on his YouTube channel as an adventurer, an Olympic athlete, and the founder of an adventure-themed website.

He competed for Team USA in snowboarding at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and finished 9th in men’s snowboarding.

The video “I crashed the plane,” had more than 1.8 million views as of Thursday night.

The FAA letter states that “during this flight, you opened the left pilot door before you declared that the engine failed.”

The letter said Jacob did not attempt to contact air traffic control at emergency frequency, to restart the engines by increasing airflow over the propellers or to search for areas to land safely. “although there are many areas within flight range where you could have landed safely.”

He also wore a sports parachute backpack before the flight, attached multiple cameras to the outside of the plane and used a “selfie stick” to record after he jumped, the letter read.

Jacob recovered the plane’s wreckage and disposed of it, and also retrieved the cameras attached to it before the flight, the letter read.

In the video uploaded to YouTube, Jacob says on the ground, “I’m so happy to be alive,” heads to the wilderness and says there’s nowhere to land and “that’s why I’m always free.” fly with a parachute.”

The FAA letter cited what it called a “serious and intentional act” by Jacob as saying he was ineligible for an airline employee certification.

The FAA does not have the power to prosecute and cannot file criminal charges, the agency said. It can impose civil penalties, such as fines on unruly plane passengers, and it can suspend or revoke a pilot’s flight certificate.

A pilot’s license is required to fly solo.

Sean Aidukas, assistant director of air safety for the US Forest Service, said the crash happened deep in the Los Padres National Forest and the plane was removed before the video was posted to YouTube.

He added that planes crash or make emergency landings on Forest Service lands, and sometimes debris is brought up by other planes operated by private companies that work with companies. operating insurance. It is not clear how the plane that crashed in November was relocated.

A spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest called it a stunt, and he noted that anyone intentionally starting a bushfire could be responsible for all costs of fighting the fire.

“Thankfully this incident did not cause a fire,” said spokesman Andrew Madsen.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here