One former Olympian and social media daredevil has been forced to abandon his YouTube channel after a shocking jail sentence, with a viral video involving a crashed plane at the heart of it all.
YouTube and social media at large isn't spared of criminal consequences, as there have been a number of notable incidents where content created for the website has caused people to get in trouble with the authorities.
Controversial prankster Vitaly is reportedly trapped in 'jail hell' in the Philippines after a number of videos he captured harassing locals, and some have been been sentenced for playing retro games on a console.
However, former Olympian snowboarder Trevor Jacob found himself in trouble with law authorities and even the FBI after posting a video of his plane crashing, and it caused his channel to be abandoned as a consequence.
Why was he sentenced to prison?
As reported by NBC News, Trevor Jacob faced six months in prison after being charged with one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
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The issues first began with the crash itself, as it is illegal to crash a plane without any faults forcing the destruction to occur. Jacob was clearly unaware of this when he filmed the video too, and upon being challenged and faced with ongoing investigations he attempted to obstruct proceedings.
Not only did he lie to investigators, including those from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the location of the downed plane and the events that led to the crash, but he also moved the plane when specifically instructed not to in order to hide and destroy the evidence.
Jacob began his six month prison sentence on January 29, 2024 at USPP Lompoc in California, and was released on June 12 of the same year. His pilot's license was also temporarily suspended by the FAA.
Why did he crash the plane?
While Trevor Jacob initially claimed that he was forced to eject himself from the plane and cause it to crash as the engine failed, it was revealed that the purpose of the event was to create a viral video, which he subsequently achieved.
A 13-minute video titled 'I Crashed My Plane' was released around a month after the event, where multiple cameras attached to the vehicle captured its destruction, and Jacob also had a handheld camera to film his subsequent skydive.
The video managed to earn over 4.5 million views in the short time that it was up, but it was its popularity that led to his demise as many began to spot inconsistencies and mistakes.
As shared by Visual Venture on YouTube, Jacob failed to perform any of the necessary measures that you would undertake if your engine had indeed failed — including attempting to restart the engine, contacting air traffic control, and initiating a forced landing.
Many also noticed that Jacob had a parachute on when he entered the plane, implying that he knew that he was going to jump out and that the entire stunt was premeditated.
His plea agreement as part of the sentencing also indicated that Jacob intended to use the video as part of a sponsorship with an unnamed wallet company, and that it was part of a wider scheme to make money.
"This is a unique circumstance in that someone crashed an airplane for views, but the idea of doing stunts for views or for branded content is certainly not unique," outlined Assistant US Attorney Dominique Caamano, adding that "the message here is: If you're going to do something against the law, there's going to be a consequence.
Jacob abandoned his YouTube channel after the sentencing and for the duration of his time in prison, and until around nine months ago had only uploaded a single new video.
However, he has recently started uploading once more with podcast-style videos and vlogs centered around self-help and advice, including one where he details how he was cheated on by his partner while in prison.
His most recent video, titled 'It's Over.', he discusses the end of what he calls the 'last chapter' of his life, stating: "Actually, it did f*** me up, and this chapter has been wild, like really wild. But it also exposed me to who I really am as a person, as a man."